Any investors hoping to find a Global - Equity fund might consider looking past Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports A (MIOPX Quick QuoteMIOPX - Free Report) . MIOPX possesses 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 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. Since Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports A made its debut in March of 2010, MIOPX has garnered more than $111.30 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Kristian Heugh who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2010.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. MIOPX has a 5-year annualized total return of -2.16%, and is in the bottom 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 14.2%, 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 MIOPX over the past three years is 16.67% compared to the category average of 11.74%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 22.26% 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 1.2, the fund is likely to be more 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. MIOPX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -14.75, which means 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 1.35% compared to the category average of 0.93%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, MIOPX is actually more expensive than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, while 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 A ( MIOPX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

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