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Is AMG TimesSquare International Small Cap N (TCMPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Index funds, consider AMG TimesSquare International Small Cap N (TCMPX - Free Report) as a possibility. TCMPX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

AMG Funds is responsible for TCMPX, and the company is based out of Norwalk, CT. The AMG TimesSquare International Small Cap N made its debut in January of 2013 and TCMPX has managed to accumulate roughly $199.18 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Robert Madsen, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2013.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 9.66%, 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 11.27%, 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, TCMPX's standard deviation comes in at 12.03%, compared to the category average of 8.85%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 11.05% compared to the category average of 8.8%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment.

Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.71, 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. TCMPX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.09, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, TCMPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 0.85%. So, TCMPX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Index, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


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