Sextant International Fund (SSIFX)

The following article will review one of the Best International Equity Mutual Funds. Sextant International has performed consistently for the past decade. This Saturna fund invests mainly in International companies.

Sextant International (MUTF: SSIFX)

The Sextant International fund objective is to provide long-term capital growth. This investment fund invests >65% of assets in companies with their headquarters and major assets and earnings outside the U.S. It diversifies its investments across industries, companies, and countries. This Sextant International fund typically invests in larger established companies, but it may invest in any size of companies (mid cap, small cap, and micro-cap).

SSFIX Fund Details

Sextant International fund details

• Fund Inception Date: September 28, 1995
• Ticker Symbol: SSIFX
• CUSIP: 804096501
• Beta (3yr): 0.54
• Rank in category (YTD): 82
• Category: Foreign Large Blend
• Yield: 0.37%
• Net Assets: $ 184.24 million
• Sales Load: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 1.03%
• Capital Gains: N/A
• Number of Years Up: 11 years
• Number of Years Down: 4 years

Updated on 9/9/2011

Since its inception in September 1995, Nicholas Kaiser has been the lead fund manager of this Saturna fund. As part of no load fund, this SSIFX fund doesn’t have a sales load, but there is 0.25% 12b1 fee. The fund’s annual expense ratio is 1.03%. This expense figure is a little bit lower than the average in the Foreign Large Blend category which is 1.35%.The fund also has a dividend yield of 0.37% per year. As of July 2011, the annual holdings turnover rate of this fund is 2.0% (the category average is 67.90%).

Morningstar has rated 5 stars for this top rated SSIFX fund. The US News also listed this fund as one of the best foreign large blend stock funds. The best 1-year total return was recorded in 2003 with 49.55% within the 11 years positive years. The worst performance occurred in 2008 with -27.02%. The fund’s performance is as follows:

• 1-Year: 21.02%
• 3-Year: 2.07%
• 5-Year: 6.87%
• 10-Year: 8.46%

Investor will need $1,000 minimum balance to invest in a regular brokerage account and only $100 to invest in tax deferred IRA account. The minimum subsequent investment of $25 is needed for either brokerage or IRA account.

There is no other class to invest in this foreign large blend fund. SSIFX fund can be bought from 40 brokerages include JP Morgan, Schwab Retail, Common Wealth NTF, Ameritas NTF N, Pershing Fund Center, Td Ameritrade Inc, etc. For details this best international stock fund, you can check with your local brokerage agent or brokerage account.

As of June 2011, the top ten holdings of this Sextant fund are Teck Resources (2.8%), Copa Holdings (2.2%), LAN Airlines ADS (2.0%), Potash Corp of Saskatchewan (2.0%), Novartis ADR (2.0%), Toronto-Dominion Bank (1.8%), Infosys  ADS (1.8%), Novo Nordisk ADS (1.7%), SAP ADS (1.6%) and Shire ADR (1.6%). The top sector allocation is Cash & Equivalents (27.5%), Cyclical (14.9%), Utilities (11.0%), Energy (10.0%) and Technology (9.8%).

According to fund prospectus, this International Fund involves risks such as market risks, foreign companies risk, currency exchange rates, liquidity risk, economic risk, political risk, social and government risk, and political standards risk.

Pros:

• No sales load
• Good track record and rated as the best fund

Cons:

• Not very popular among investors

Disclosure: No Position

Other Best International Equity Mutual Funds:

• MFS International Value A (MGIAX)
• Mutual Global Discovery (TEDIX)