Is DFA Continental Small Company I (DFCSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

If you have been looking for Europe - Equity funds, a place to start could be DFA Continental Small Company I (DFCSX). DFCSX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveThe world of Europe - Equity mutual funds is an area filled with options, like DFCSX. Europe - Equity mutual funds tend to invest their assets in stocks across the European continent, including countries such as Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. European funds generally offer slower growth but can offer solid levels of stability.History of Fund/ManagerDFCSX is a part of the Dimensional family of funds, a company based out of Austin, TX. DFA Continental Small Company I made its debut in April of 1988, and since then, DFCSX has accumulated about $766.82 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. 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. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.12%, and is in the middle 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 20.24%, which places it in the middle 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. Over the past three years, DFCSX's standard deviation comes in at 16.25%, compared to the category average of 16.25%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 19.48% compared to the category average of 18.76%. 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 0.95, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. DFCSX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.44, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesAs 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, DFCSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.12% compared to the category average of 0.98%. From a cost perspective, DFCSX is actually cheaper than its peers.While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, DFA Continental Small Company I ( DFCSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.For additional information on the Europe - 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 DFCSX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! 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