If you have been looking for Non US - Equity funds, a place to start could be Wasatch Global Opportunities Fund (WAGOX Quick QuoteWAGOX - Free Report) . WAGOX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify WAGOX in the Non US - Equity category, which is an area rife with potential choices. Investing in companies outside the United States is how Non US - Equity funds set themselves apart, since global funds tend to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. Many of these funds like to allocate across emerging and developed markets, and will often focus on all cap levels.

History of Fund/Manager

Wasatch is based in Salt Lake City, UT, and is the manager of WAGOX. Wasatch Global Opportunities Fund made its debut in November of 2008, and since then, WAGOX has accumulated about $94.65 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, J.B. Taylor, has been in charge of the fund since June of 2011.

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 6.62%, 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 10.29%, 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. Compared to the category average of 12.9%, the standard deviation of WAGOX over the past three years is 13.86%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 12.91% compared to the category average of 12.5%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment.

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. WAGOX has a 5-year beta of 0.99, which means it is likely to be as volatile as 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -3.78, which shows 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, WAGOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.55% compared to the category average of 1.28%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, WAGOX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Wasatch Global Opportunities Fund ( WAGOX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Wasatch Global Opportunities Fund ( WAGOX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

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