Is Lazard Global List Infrastructure Open (GLFOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

If you have been looking for Global - Equity funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Lazard Global List Infrastructure Open (GLFOX). GLFOX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

GLFOX is classified in the Global - Equity segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Even though Global - Equity mutual funds invest in bigger markets like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, these kinds of funds aren't limited by geography. Rather, they offer an investment strategy that utilizes the global economy to provide stable returns.

History of Fund/Manager

Lazard Funds is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of GLFOX. Lazard Global List Infrastructure Open made its debut in December of 2009, and since then, GLFOX has accumulated about $464.47 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.79%, and it sits in the top 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 10.38%, which places it in the middle 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. GLFOX's standard deviation over the past three years is 9.38% compared to the category average of 9.99%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 8.97% compared to the category average of 10.46%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment.

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. GLFOX has a 5-year beta of 0.38, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. GLFOX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 5.65, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, GLFOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.20% compared to the category average of 1.13%. So, GLFOX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Lazard Global List Infrastructure Open ( GLFOX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees compared to its peers.

For additional information on the Global - Equity 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 GLFOX too for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.

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