Is American Century International Opportunity A (AIVOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Having trouble finding a Non US - Equity fund? Well, American Century International Opportunity A (AIVOX) would not be a good potential starting point right now. AIVOX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveZacks categorizes AIVOX 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/ManagerAmerican Century is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of AIVOX. The American Century International Opportunity A made its debut in March of 2010 and AIVOX has managed to accumulate roughly $5.17 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.PerformanceObviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.84%, and is in the bottom 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 9.79%, 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. AIVOX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.87% compared to the category average of 14.94%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 17.66% compared to the category average of 14.46%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsWith a 5-year beta of 0.96, the fund 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. AIVOX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -9.78, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesFor 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, AIVOX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.71% compared to the category average of 1.00%. AIVOX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, American Century International Opportunity A ( AIVOX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, American Century International Opportunity A ( AIVOX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.This could just be the start of your research on AIVOX in the Non US - Equity category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! 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Click to get this free report Get Your Free (AIVOX): 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