Scalper1 News
Domestic equity-focused funds are facing a tougher time in terms of fund outflows than what they experienced during the financial crisis. According to Morningstar data, US-focused mutual funds and exchange traded funds have seen $78.8 billion worth of outflows in the first seven months of 2015. This is higher than any full-year outflows since 1993. Continued transfers from open-end mutual funds to collective investment trusts at Fidelity triggered much of the outflows. In contrast, investors have poured $179.2 billion in these seven months into funds focused on international equities. This is close to the full-year peak of $201.6 billion recorded in 2013. In response to this outflow, we will pick 3 top-ranked funds for investors interested in foreign mutual funds. Before doing so, let’s look into some other details. US versus International Markets International markets have attracted investors backed by the improving conditions. Greece debt negotiations had been a concern through most of 2015’s first half, but Europe as an investment destination had other attractions. The monetary stimulus plan, for example. China had a great bull bun before it hit a rough patch in June, though. Japan too has been profitable, and the country’s equity funds notched the best gains in first half of 2015. As of July 31, the Standard & Poor’s 500 (.INX) returned 2.2%. In contrast, MSCI EAFE Index had returned 6.5%. Morningstar notes that the consensus opined that the US is in late stages of bull market. Foreign country stocks are said to be cheaper on a fundamental level. Investors are aware of the US and Europe’s “different points in the economic cycle”, which is being revealed in the flows. The fund outflows in 2015 so far has been worse than that of the recession years. Since 2007, the US has witnessed outflows 6 times (including YTD 2015). International equity funds have witnessed outflows only once in 2008. Active versus Passive Fund Flow Inflows into passive funds failed to offset the outflows from the active US equity funds. In July alone, estimated net outflows from US equity funds in July increased to $14.3 billion from $8 billion in June. The active funds saw outflows of over $20 billion in July, while inflows of over $6 billion were recorded on the passive side. Over the last 1-year period, over $158 billion flowed out of active funds, while the passive funds added over $140 billion. Meanwhile, international equity funds saw inflows on both active and passive sides. Active and passive funds added over $3 billion and $18 billion, respectively. Category and Fund Family Performance The foreign large blend category has emerged as the best one. Inflows to this category were higher than those to the other top four categories, says Morningstar. Assets of foreign large blend funds are concentrated in Europe. Along with this, European stock also featured in the top 5 list. So, Europe did prove to be a favorable investment decision in July. As for the laggards, Large Growth , Large Value and Large Blend were the worst losers. These are almost all the representative categories of the US markets. Coming to the fund families, only 3 out of the 10 fund families under the study witnessed inflows on the active side in July. These are american funds SPDR State Street Global Advisors and J.P. Morgan. Meanwhile, Fidelity Investments witnessed the biggest outflows on the active side for both July and the last 1-year period. Again, much of Fidelity’s outflows indicated continued transfers from mutual funds to collective investment trusts. Fidelity witnessed outflows of over $10 billion in July and close to $19 billion over the last 1-year period. Fidelity Contrafund Fund No Load (MUTF: FCNTX ), Fidelity Growth Company Fund No Load (MUTF: FDGRX ) and Fidelity Low-Priced Stock Fund No Load (MUTF: FLPSX ) accounted for outflows of $2.36 billion, $2.1 billion and $1.46 billion in July. Franklin Templeton Investments was also a big loser for both periods, while Vanguard and T. Rowe Price witnessed outflows in July against inflows over the last 1-year period. If we look into 5 of the bottom-flowing active funds, 3 of them are from Fidelity. 3 Non-US Mutual Funds to Buy Morningstar notes that the fund flows indicate investors’ expectations for the future. So, investors looking to buy non-US Equity mutual funds should consider the following funds that either carry a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 or Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2. Matthews Japan Fund Investor (MUTF: MJFOX ) invests most of its assets in preferred and common stocks of firms located in Japan. The fund may invest in companies of all sizes, but the adviser expects them to be mid- to large-cap firms. MJFOX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2. MJFOX has returned 22.9% so far this year, and its one-year return stands at 15.3%. The 3- and 5-year annualized returns are 18.1% and 14%, respectively. The fund carries an annual expense ratio of 1.03%, lower than the category average of 1.43%. MJFOX carries no sales load. Cambiar International Equity Fund Investor (MUTF: CAMIX ) invests a large chunk of its assets in equity securities of medium- to large-cap non-US companies. For greater liquidity and lesser custodial expenses, CAMIX buys American Depositary Receipt listings of foreign firms on the US exchanges instead of buying them on foreign exchanges. CAMIX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1. It has returned 12.5% so far this year and its one-year return stands at 7.6%. The 3- and 5-year annualized returns are 12.1% and 10.3%, respectively. CAMIX carries an annual expense ratio of 1.09%, lower than the category average of 1.17%. The fund carries no sales load. Fidelity Overseas Fund No Load (MUTF: FOSFX ) seeks long-term capital growth. It invests a large portion of its assets in non-US securities. Management considers the size of the market in each country and region relative to the size of the world market as a whole. FOSFX invests primarily in common stocks. The fund offers dividends and capital gains annually in December. The Fidelity Overseas fund has returned 4.9% and 8.6% over the year-to-date and 1-year periods. The 3- and 5-year annualized returns are 16.7% and 16.3%. FOSFX, managed by Fidelity, carries an expense ratio of 1.04% as compared to a category average of 1.17%. FOSFX carries no sales load. Original Post Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News