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Is Oberweis Int'l Opportunities (OBIOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Oberweis Int'l Opportunities (OBIOX - Free Report) . OBIOX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
OBIOX is a part of the Oberweis family of funds, a company based out of Lisle, IL. Oberweis Int'l Opportunities debuted in February of 2007. Since then, OBIOX has accumulated assets of about $204 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Ralf A. Scherschmidt who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2007.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 5.61%, 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 9.18%, which places it in the top 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. The standard deviation of OBIOX over the past three years is 24.86% compared to the category average of 18.3%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 22% compared to the category average of 15.98%. 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 1.14, which means it is hypothetically more 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. With a negative alpha of -7.61, 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, OBIOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.60% compared to the category average of 1.15%. OBIOX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Oberweis Int'l Opportunities ( OBIOX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Oberweis Int'l Opportunities ( OBIOX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 OBIOX too 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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Is Oberweis Int'l Opportunities (OBIOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Oberweis Int'l Opportunities (OBIOX - Free Report) . OBIOX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
OBIOX is a part of the Oberweis family of funds, a company based out of Lisle, IL. Oberweis Int'l Opportunities debuted in February of 2007. Since then, OBIOX has accumulated assets of about $204 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Ralf A. Scherschmidt who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2007.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 5.61%, 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 9.18%, which places it in the top 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. The standard deviation of OBIOX over the past three years is 24.86% compared to the category average of 18.3%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 22% compared to the category average of 15.98%. 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 1.14, which means it is hypothetically more 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. With a negative alpha of -7.61, 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, OBIOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.60% compared to the category average of 1.15%. OBIOX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Oberweis Int'l Opportunities ( OBIOX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Oberweis Int'l Opportunities ( OBIOX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 OBIOX too 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.