Is Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports I (MIOIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Having trouble finding a Global - Equity fund? Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports I (MIOIX) is a potential starting point. MIOIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

MIOIX is classified in the Global - Equity segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Even though Global - Equity mutual funds invest in bigger markets like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, these kinds of funds aren't limited by geography. Rather, they offer an investment strategy that utilizes the global economy to provide stable returns.

History of Fund/Manager

MorgStanley is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of MIOIX. The Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports I made its debut in March of 2010 and MIOIX has managed to accumulate roughly $596.59 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Kristian Heugh who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2010.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.65%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 17.5%, 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. The standard deviation of MIOIX over the past three years is 20.54% compared to the category average of 14.74%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 22.22% compared to the category average of 14.18%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.1, so it is likely going to be more 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -12.34, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs 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, MIOIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.00% compared to the category average of 0.95%. From a cost perspective, MIOIX is actually more expensive than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1.00 million; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Opports I ( MIOIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Global - 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 MIOIX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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