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Is Oppenheimer Developing Markets Y (ODVYX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Non US - Equity fund could think about starting with Oppenheimer Developing Markets Y (ODVYX - Free Report) . ODVYX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

ODVYX is classified in the Non US - Equity area by Zacks, and this segment is full of potential. Non US - Equity funds focus their investments on companies outside of the United States, which is an important distinction since global mutual funds tend to keep a sizable portion of their portfolio based in the United States. Most of these funds will allocate across emerging and developed markets, and can often extend across cap levels too.

History of Fund/Manager

Invesco is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of ODVYX. Oppenheimer Developing Markets Y debuted in September of 2005. Since then, ODVYX has accumulated assets of about $18.64 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Justin Leverenz who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2007.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. ODVYX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.65% and is 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 7.86%, 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, ODVYX's standard deviation comes in at 13.49%, compared to the category average of 10.3%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 14.55% compared to the category average of 10.42%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. In ODVYX's case, the fund lost 57.18% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 2%. These results could imply that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.89, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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. ODVYX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -6.09, which means 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, ODVYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.03% compared to the category average of 1.25%. ODVYX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Oppenheimer Developing Markets Y ( ODVYX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Oppenheimer Developing Markets Y ( ODVYX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Non US - Equity segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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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