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Is Goldman Sachs Emerging Markets Equity A (GEMAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you're looking for a Non US - Equity fund category, then a potential option is Goldman Sachs Emerging Markets Equity A (GEMAX - Free Report) . GEMAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify GEMAX 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

GEMAX is a part of the Goldman Sachs family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. The Goldman Sachs Emerging Markets Equity A made its debut in December of 1997 and GEMAX has managed to accumulate roughly $152.60 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Basak Yavuz, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2015.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. GEMAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.29% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.77%, 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. GEMAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 14.68% compared to the category average of 9.94%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.72% compared to the category average of 10.21%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In the most recent bear market, GEMAX lost 64.64% and underperformed its peer group by 6%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.85, so it is likely going to be 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -4.04. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, GEMAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.55% compared to the category average of 1.20%. So, GEMAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Goldman Sachs Emerging Markets Equity A ( GEMAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about GEMAX? 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. 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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