Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports I (MIOIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

If you have been looking for Global - Equity funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports I (MIOIX - Free Report) . MIOIX has 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 MIOIX 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

MorgStanley is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of MIOIX. Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports I made its debut in March of 2010, and since then, MIOIX has accumulated about $475.79 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Kristian Heugh is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2010.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -2.34%, 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 13.76%, 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. The standard deviation of MIOIX over the past three years is 16.97% compared to the category average of 11.74%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 22.38% compared to the category average of 13.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. MIOIX has a 5-year beta of 1.2, which means it 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. MIOIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -13.98, 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, MIOIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.00% compared to the category average of 0.93%. From a cost perspective, MIOIX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1.00 million, 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, Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports I ( MIOIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports I ( MIOIX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about MIOIX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.

Published in