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Is Oberweis Int'l Opportunities (OBIOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Oberweis Int'l Opportunities (OBIOX - Free Report) . OBIOX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various 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. Since Oberweis Int'l Opportunities made its debut in February of 2007, OBIOX has garnered more than $133.61 million in assets. 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. OBIOX has a 5-year annualized total return of -0.1% 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 -1.16%, which places it in the bottom 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, OBIOX's standard deviation comes in at 23.41%, compared to the category average of 17.42%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 25.22% compared to the category average of 18.13%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.18, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. OBIOX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -11.74, demonstrating 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, OBIOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.60% compared to the category average of 1.13%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, OBIOX is actually more expensive than its peers.
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.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Oberweis Int'l Opportunities ( OBIOX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on OBIOXin 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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Is Oberweis Int'l Opportunities (OBIOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Oberweis Int'l Opportunities (OBIOX - Free Report) . OBIOX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various 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. Since Oberweis Int'l Opportunities made its debut in February of 2007, OBIOX has garnered more than $133.61 million in assets. 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. OBIOX has a 5-year annualized total return of -0.1% 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 -1.16%, which places it in the bottom 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, OBIOX's standard deviation comes in at 23.41%, compared to the category average of 17.42%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 25.22% compared to the category average of 18.13%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.18, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. OBIOX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -11.74, demonstrating 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, OBIOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.60% compared to the category average of 1.13%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, OBIOX is actually more expensive than its peers.
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.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Oberweis Int'l Opportunities ( OBIOX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on OBIOXin 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.