If you have been looking for Global - Equity fund category, a potential starting could be Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports A (MIOPX Quick QuoteMIOPX - Free Report) . MIOPX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that MIOPX is a Global - Equity option, an investment area loaded with different options. While Global - Equity mutual funds invest their assets in large markets-think the U.S., Europe, and Japan-they aren't limited by geography. Their investment technique is one that leverages the global economy in order to offer stable returns.

History of Fund/Manager

MIOPX is a part of the MorgStanley family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports A debuted in March of 2010. Since then, MIOPX has accumulated assets of about $141.77 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Kristian Heugh, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2010.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -5.21%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 7.38%, which places it in the middle 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 10.93%, the standard deviation of MIOPX over the past three years is 16.51%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.99% compared to the category average of 13.28%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.19, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. With a negative alpha of -15.95, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, MIOPX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.32% compared to the category average of 0.93%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, MIOPX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports A ( MIOPX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on MIOPX in the Global - Equity category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.