According to Lipper’s latest fund flow report, stock funds investing globally registered strong inflows in 2018. At the same time, global equity funds reported inflows of $0.13 billion for the week ending Jan 23. Despite the global economic downturn and persistent trade war issues, a few economies still present decent growth opportunities.
Global mutual funds are excellent options for investors looking to widen exposure across countries. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced on Jan 25 that it was planning to release approximately $37 billion in additional cash to banks in a bid to counter an economic slowdown. The motive behind such a move is certain changes in the targeted reserve requirement ratio reductions for banks in China.
In this environment, these countries provide lucrative investment propositions. Thus, a portfolio having exposure to both domestic and foreign securities will help in reducing risk and enhancing returns. Global mutual funds are excellent options for investors looking to widen exposure across countries. If selected carefully, global mutual funds have the potential to offer secure and attractive investment opportunities.
Below we share with you four top-rated global mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of global funds.
Northern Global Sustainability Index NSRIX invests almost all its assets in equity securities of companies on the MSCI World ESG Index. The MSCI World ESG Index generally includes large-and mid-cap companies from developed markets like the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Northern Global Sustainability has three-year annualized returns of 10.8%.
Thomas O'Brien is the fund manager of NSRIX since 2008.
Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock FMCSX invests the lion’s share of its assets in common stocks of companies with market capitalization within the range of either the Russell Midcap Index or the S&P MidCap 400 Index. FMCSX uses a “blend” strategy to invest in securities issued worldwide. The Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock fund has three-year annualized returns of 13.9%.
VHGEXhas an expense ratio of 0.61% compared with the category average of 1.20%.
VY Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Global Franchise S IVGTX seeks long-term growth of capital. IVGTX primarily focuses on acquiring equity securities of companies that are believed to be undervalued and have a strong growth potential. IVGTX invests in securities of companies located throughout the globe including domestic firms and those that are located in both developed and emerging countries. The Hartford Global Growth HLS IA fund has three-year annualized returns of 10.8%.
As of December 2018, IVGTX held 31 issues, with 8.45% of its assets invested in Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC.
To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all global mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of global funds.
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Zacks Investment Research