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Is MSIF Global Opportunity Portfolio I (MGGIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, it would not be wise to start your search with MSIF Global Opportunity Portfolio I (MGGIX - Free Report) . MGGIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

MorgStanley is responsible for MGGIX, and the company is based out of New York, NY. Since MSIF Global Opportunity Portfolio I made its debut in May of 2010, MGGIX has garnered more than $1.90 billion in assets. The fund's current manager, Kristian Heugh, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2010.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 4.56%, and it sits 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 1.29%, 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. Over the past three years, MGGIX's standard deviation comes in at 26.95%, compared to the category average of 18.2%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 22.95% compared to the category average of 15.81%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.05, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. With a negative alpha of -4.2, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

For 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, MGGIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.97% compared to the category average of 1.10%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, MGGIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1 million, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, MSIF Global Opportunity Portfolio I ( MGGIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on MGGIXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. 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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