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Is FMI International Fund (FMIJX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Non US - Equity fund category, make sure to pass over FMI International Fund (FMIJX - Free Report) . FMIJX holds 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 FMIJX 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
Fiduciary is responsible for FMIJX, and the company is based out of Milwaukee, WI. FMI International Fund debuted in December of 2010. Since then, FMIJX has accumulated assets of about $821.01 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.54%, 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 10.03%, 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. Over the past three years, FMIJX's standard deviation comes in at 11.25%, compared to the category average of 11.84%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.1% compared to the category average of 14.18%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.63, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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. FMIJX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -1.79, demonstrating 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, FMIJX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.97% compared to the category average of 0.85%. From a cost perspective, FMIJX is actually more expensive than its peers.
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, FMI International Fund ( FMIJX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, FMI International Fund ( FMIJX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Non US - 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 FMIJX too 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.
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Is FMI International Fund (FMIJX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Non US - Equity fund category, make sure to pass over FMI International Fund (FMIJX - Free Report) . FMIJX holds 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 FMIJX 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
Fiduciary is responsible for FMIJX, and the company is based out of Milwaukee, WI. FMI International Fund debuted in December of 2010. Since then, FMIJX has accumulated assets of about $821.01 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.54%, 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 10.03%, 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. Over the past three years, FMIJX's standard deviation comes in at 11.25%, compared to the category average of 11.84%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.1% compared to the category average of 14.18%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.63, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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. FMIJX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -1.79, demonstrating 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, FMIJX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.97% compared to the category average of 0.85%. From a cost perspective, FMIJX is actually more expensive than its peers.
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, FMI International Fund ( FMIJX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, FMI International Fund ( FMIJX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Non US - 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 FMIJX too 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.