Templeton Foreign Smaller Companies A (FINEX)
Expense Ratio: 1.55%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $43,609.00
The Templeton Foreign Smaller Companies A fund (FINEX) is a Foreign Small/Mid Value fund started on 09/20/1991 and has $138.70 million in assets under management. The current manager has been running Templeton Foreign Smaller Companies A since 03/16/2011. The fund is rated by Morningstar. In addition to trading fees and broker commissions, this fund has 12b-1 fees of 0.25%
iShares MSCI EAFE Small Cap Index (SCZ)
Expense Ratio: 0.40%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $12,680.81
The iShares MSCI EAFE Small Cap Index (SCZ) is an Exchange Traded Fund. It is a "basket" of securities that index the Foreign Small/Mid Value investment strategy and is an alternative to a Foreign Small/Mid Value mutual fund. Fees are very low compared to a comparable mutual fund like Templeton Foreign Smaller Companies A because computers automatically manage the stocks.
| Mutual Fund Name | Ticker Symbol | Turnover | Assets (M) | Annual Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFA International Small Cap Value I | DISVX | 16.0% | 7,300 | 0.70% |
| DFA International Vector Equity Instl | DFVQX | 10.0% | 474 | 0.54% |
| Goldman Sachs Structured Intl Small Cp A | GICAX | 79.0% | 268 | 1.30% |
| Goldman Sachs Structured Intl Small Cp I | GICIX | 79.0% | 268 | 0.90% |
| ING International SmallCap I | NAPIX | 37.0% | 230 | 1.25% |
| ING International SmallCap W | ISCWX | 37.0% | 230 | 1.35% |
| Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Small Cap I | MSISX | 64.0% | 203 | 1.15% |
| Putnam International Capital Opp A | PNVAX | 23.0% | 823 | 1.47% |
| Putnam International Capital Opp Y | PIVYX | 23.0% | 823 | 1.22% |
| RBB Free Market International Equity Fund Institutional Class | FMNEX | 4.0% | 552 | 1.18% |
| Templeton Foreign Smaller Companies Adv | FTFAX | 50.0% | 139 | 1.30% |
| Templeton Instl Foreign Smaller Co Ser A | TFSCX | 10.4% | 404 | 0.95% |
| Templeton Instl Foreign Smaller Co Ser A | TFSTZ | 10.4% | 404 | 0.95% |
| Third Avenue International Value Instl | TAVIX | 24.0% | 1,100 | 1.40% |
Turnover
Turnover represents how much of a mutual fund's holdings are changed over the course of a year through buying and selling. Active mutual funds have an average turnover rate of about 85%,
meaning that funds are turning over nearly all of their holdings every year. A high turnover means you could make lower returns because: 1) buying and selling stocks costs money through
commissions and spreads and 2) the fund will distribute yearly capital gains which increases your taxes. Look for funds with turnover rates below 50%. For comparison, ETF turnover rates
average around 10% or lower.
Assets
Generally, smaller funds do better than larger ones. The more assets in a mutual fund, the lower the chance that it will beat its index. Managers outperform an index by choosing stocks
that are undervalued. In order to find these undervalued stocks, the manager has to know more than his competitors to develop an "edge." There are only a finite number of stocks a mutual
fund manager can reasonably analyze and actively track to gain such a competitive edge. When the fund has more assets, the manager must analyze large companies because he needs to take
larger positions. Large companies are more efficiently priced in the market and it becomes increasingly difficult to get an edge.
