If investors are looking at the Global - Equity fund category, Artisan Global Opportunities Investor (ARTRX) could be a potential option. ARTRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes ARTRX as Global - Equity, which is a segment packed with options. Global - Equity mutual funds invest in large markets like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and operate with very few geographical limitations. They also provide an investment technique that leverages the diverse nature of the global economy in the hopes of providing a stable return.
History of Fund/Manager
Artisan Funds is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of ARTRX. Artisan Global Opportunities Investor debuted in September of 2008. Since then, ARTRX has accumulated assets of about $932.16 million, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. ARTRX has a 5-year annualized total return of 14.71% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 16.39%, 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, ARTRX's standard deviation comes in at 16.64%, compared to the category average of 14.74%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.49% compared to the category average of 13.14%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. ARTRX has a 5-year beta of 0.93, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 3.77, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, ARTRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.15% compared to the category average of 1.16%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, ARTRX is actually cheaper than its peers.