Any investors hoping to find a Non US - Equity fund might consider looking past Oppenheimer Developing Markets A (ODMAX). ODMAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes ODMAX 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/Manager

ODMAX finds itself in the Invesco family, based out of Kansas City, MO. Oppenheimer Developing Markets A debuted in November of 1996. Since then, ODMAX has accumulated assets of about $4.41 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Justin Leverenz, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2007.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.51%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 8.94%, which places it in the bottom 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. ODMAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 19.1% compared to the category average of 16%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.21% compared to the category average of 13.35%. 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. ODMAX has a 5-year beta of 0.8, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -3.25, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, ODMAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.20% compared to the category average of 1.18%. ODMAX 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 $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Oppenheimer Developing Markets A ( ODMAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Oppenheimer Developing Markets A ( ODMAX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Non US - Equity funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare ODMAX to its peers as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.

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