There are plenty of choices in the Non US - Equity category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Stock (PRMSX Quick QuotePRMSX - Free Report) . PRMSX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes PRMSX as Non US - Equity, a segment stacked high with options. Non US - Equity mutual funds like to invest in companies outside of the United States, an important characteristic since global mutual funds are known to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. These kinds of funds can often extend across all cap levels, and will typically allocate their investments between emerging and developed markets.

History of Fund/Manager

T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRMSX. T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Stock debuted in March of 1995. Since then, PRMSX has accumulated assets of about $559.00 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. PRMSX has a 5-year annualized total return of -1.19%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.4%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. Compared to the category average of 14.89%, the standard deviation of PRMSX over the past three years is 17.74%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.52% compared to the category average of 14.47%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.59, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. PRMSX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -9.55, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, PRMSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.22% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, PRMSX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Stock ( PRMSX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Non US - Equity, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.