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Is T. Rowe Price Japan Fund (PRJPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Japan - Equity fund seekers should not consider taking a look at T. Rowe Price Japan Fund (PRJPX - Free Report) at this time. PRJPX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that PRJPX is a Japan - Equity option, an area loaded with different choices. Japan - Equity mutual funds primarily invest in companies in one of the world's richest and most diversified economies, Japan. While the country remains partially exposed to global economic trends due to its export focus, its lack of natural resources can also impact the nation.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is responsible for PRJPX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. The T. Rowe Price Japan Fund made its debut in December of 1991 and PRJPX has managed to accumulate roughly $162.70 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Hiroshi Watanabe is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2024.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.05%, and it sits 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 15.35%, 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 11.98%, the standard deviation of PRJPX over the past three years is 14.32%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 16.11% compared to the category average of 13.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.69, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. PRJPX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -7.32, demonstrating that 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, PRJPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.14% compared to the category average of 0.93%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRJPX is actually more expensive than its peers.
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.
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 Japan Fund ( PRJPX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, T. Rowe Price Japan Fund ( PRJPX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Japan - Equity area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PRJPX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is T. Rowe Price Japan Fund (PRJPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Japan - Equity fund seekers should not consider taking a look at T. Rowe Price Japan Fund (PRJPX - Free Report) at this time. PRJPX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that PRJPX is a Japan - Equity option, an area loaded with different choices. Japan - Equity mutual funds primarily invest in companies in one of the world's richest and most diversified economies, Japan. While the country remains partially exposed to global economic trends due to its export focus, its lack of natural resources can also impact the nation.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is responsible for PRJPX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. The T. Rowe Price Japan Fund made its debut in December of 1991 and PRJPX has managed to accumulate roughly $162.70 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Hiroshi Watanabe is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2024.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.05%, and it sits 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 15.35%, 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 11.98%, the standard deviation of PRJPX over the past three years is 14.32%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 16.11% compared to the category average of 13.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.69, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. PRJPX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -7.32, demonstrating that 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, PRJPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.14% compared to the category average of 0.93%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRJPX is actually more expensive than its peers.
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.
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 Japan Fund ( PRJPX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, T. Rowe Price Japan Fund ( PRJPX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Japan - Equity area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PRJPX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.