The Janus Overseas Class T Fund (MUTF: JAOSX) is a fund primarily made up of stocks and bonds from companies based outside of the United States. It’s an aggressive fund with an eye towards investment in companies posed for above average growth overseas, and thus not a typical core holding for conservative investors. However, if you’re looking for emerging market opportunities to spice up your returns than consider this mutual fund.
Janus Overseas seeks diversity by investing in companies that are based in different countries, so you’re not just playing China or Brazil or some other narrow market. The diversity in holdings, from bonds to foreign small-caps to domestic blue chips with overseas clout makes it a broad-based international investment.
Here are the specifics for the Janus Overseas Class T Fund for today’s mutual fund spotlight:
Investing Strategy: If you’re looking to add some foreign holdings to your retirement portfolio and are willing to invest in emerging markets then the Janus Overseas Class T Fund may be the mutual fund for you. The fund is aggressive allocating nearly 98% of its assets in the common stock of companies based outside of the United States and may have significant exposure in emerging markets. Most of the remainder is invested in derivatives and less than 1% is held in cash.
Expense Ratio: With a 0.98% expense ratio and no transaction fee, the fund is cheap compared with its category peers and enjoys a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars.
Top 5 Holdings: The top stocks in the Janus Overseas Class T Fund include Hong Kong based consumer products exporter Li & Fung Ltd. at 5.46%, India-based oil and gas refiner Reliance Industries Ltd. at 5.22%, domestic blue chip Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) at 4.23%, Spain-based financial group Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, (NYSE: BBVA) at 3.90%, and auto manufacturer and financier Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) at 3.81%. You may be surprised to see big-name U.S. companies in this list, but that’s because of the significant overseas operations that Ford and BofA command.
Returns: The fund’s one-year return of 16.7% underperformed the broader market’s return of 22% during the same period (as of 5/27/11). Its 5-year return of 28% far exceeded the S&P 500’s near 4% return and is nearly three times better than the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 5-year return of 10.3%.
Other Fund Statistics
- Total Assets: $14.8 billion
- Minimum Investment: $2,500
- Fund manager: Brent A. Lynn
- Manager’s Tenure: Since January 2001
