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If you've been stuck searching for International Bond - Emerging funds, you might want to consider passing on by T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Bond (PREMX - Free Report) as a possibility. PREMX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PREMX is part of the International Bond - Emerging section, a segment that boasts an impressive array of other possible selections. International Bond - Emerging funds offer a unique type of geographic diversification by focusing on fixed income securities from emerging nations around the globe. With these funds, investors can expect exposure to economies such as China, Brazil, India, South Africa, and Indonesia, just to name a few. While this can be appealing, these funds can also introduce currency risk.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is responsible for PREMX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Bond made its debut in December of 1994, and since then, PREMX has accumulated about $379 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Samy Muaddi is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2020.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PREMX has a 5-year annualized total return of 0.03% and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of -2.43%, which places it in the middle 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. Compared to the category average of 12.84%, the standard deviation of PREMX over the past three years is 11.64%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.08% compared to the category average of 14.1%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.15, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PREMX has a positive alpha of 1.31, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, PREMX has 36.96% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 54.51%, giving PREMX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
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, PREMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.98% compared to the category average of 0.94%. PREMX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, 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, T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Bond ( PREMX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the International Bond - Emerging 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 PREMX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is PREMX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for International Bond - Emerging funds, you might want to consider passing on by T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Bond (PREMX - Free Report) as a possibility. PREMX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PREMX is part of the International Bond - Emerging section, a segment that boasts an impressive array of other possible selections. International Bond - Emerging funds offer a unique type of geographic diversification by focusing on fixed income securities from emerging nations around the globe. With these funds, investors can expect exposure to economies such as China, Brazil, India, South Africa, and Indonesia, just to name a few. While this can be appealing, these funds can also introduce currency risk.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is responsible for PREMX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Bond made its debut in December of 1994, and since then, PREMX has accumulated about $379 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Samy Muaddi is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2020.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PREMX has a 5-year annualized total return of 0.03% and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of -2.43%, which places it in the middle 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. Compared to the category average of 12.84%, the standard deviation of PREMX over the past three years is 11.64%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.08% compared to the category average of 14.1%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.15, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PREMX has a positive alpha of 1.31, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, PREMX has 36.96% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 54.51%, giving PREMX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
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, PREMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.98% compared to the category average of 0.94%. PREMX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, 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, T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Bond ( PREMX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the International Bond - Emerging 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 PREMX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.