Any investors hoping to find a Global - Equity fund could think about starting with T. Rowe Price Global Stock (PRGSX Quick QuotePRGSX - Free Report) . PRGSX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes PRGSX as Global - Equity, which is a segment packed with options. Global - Equity mutual funds invest in large markets like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and operate with very few geographical limitations. They also provide an investment technique that leverages the diverse nature of the global economy in the hopes of providing a stable return.

History of Fund/Manager

PRGSX finds itself in the T. Rowe Price family, based out of Baltimore, MD. T. Rowe Price Global Stock made its debut in December of 1995, and since then, PRGSX has accumulated about $746.60 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, David J. Eiswert, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2012.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 16.34%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 14.75%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

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. Over the past three years, PRGSX's standard deviation comes in at 12.48%, compared to the category average of 9.75%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 11.61% compared to the category average of 10.56%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In PRGSX's case, the fund lost 60.98% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 8.55%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.06, the fund is likely to be more 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -0.15, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, PRGSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 1.20%. PRGSX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Global Stock has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Global Stock looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Global - Equity, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.