Is Artisan International Fund Investor (ARTIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

There are plenty of choices in the Non US - Equity category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Artisan International Fund Investor (ARTIX). ARTIX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveWe classify ARTIX 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/ManagerARTIX is a part of the Artisan Funds family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Since Artisan International Fund Investor made its debut in December of 1995, ARTIX has garnered more than $1.53 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.PerformanceObviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. ARTIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.13% and is 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 13.95%, which places it in the top 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. ARTIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.11% compared to the category average of 15.51%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 15.97% compared to the category average of 15.09%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsThe fund has a 5-year beta of 0.84, 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.98. This means that 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, ARTIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 0.94%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, ARTIX is actually more expensive than its peers.Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.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 strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Artisan International Fund Investor ( ARTIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential 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 ARTIX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.Higher. Faster. Sooner. Buy These Stocks NowA small number of stocks are primed for a breakout, and you have a chance to get in before they take off.At any given time, there are only 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. On average, this list more than doubles the S&P 500. 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