Is American Century Emerging Market Investor (TWMIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Have you been searching for a Non US - Equity fund? You might want to begin with American Century Emerging Market Investor (TWMIX). TWMIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveZacks categorizes TWMIX as Non US - Equity, a segment stacked high with options. Non US - Equity mutual funds like to invest in companies outside of the United States, an important characteristic since global mutual funds are known to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. These kinds of funds can often extend across all cap levels, and will typically allocate their investments between emerging and developed markets.History of Fund/ManagerTWMIX is a part of the American Century family of funds, a company based out of Kansas City, MO. American Century Emerging Market Investor debuted in September of 1997. Since then, TWMIX has accumulated assets of about $303.38 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Patricia Ribeiro, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2006.PerformanceObviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.28%, and it sits in the bottom 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 3.84%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.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. TWMIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 17.38% compared to the category average of 14.1%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 17.19% compared to the category average of 13.81%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsInvestors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.67, 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. With a negative alpha of -5.86, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesCosts 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, TWMIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.27% compared to the category average of 0.96%. From a cost perspective, TWMIX is actually more expensive than its peers.This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, American Century Emerging Market Investor ( TWMIX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.For additional information on the Non US - Equity area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into TWMIX too 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.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.5% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (TWMIX): Fund Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks