Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Carillon Eagle Mid Cap Growth R6 (HRAUX Quick QuoteHRAUX - Free Report) . HRAUX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Eagle Funds is responsible for HRAUX, and the company is based out of St. Petersburg, FL. The Carillon Eagle Mid Cap Growth R6 made its debut in August of 2011 and HRAUX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.05 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 8.84%, and it sits in the middle 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 6.39%, 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. HRAUX's standard deviation over the past three years is 24.52% compared to the category average of 16.99%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 22.26% compared to the category average of 15.09%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.13, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a negative alpha of -0.75, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 82.51% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $28.55 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Industrial Cyclical
3. Retail Trade
4. Non-Durable

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, HRAUX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.64% compared to the category average of 1.14%. So, HRAUX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Carillon Eagle Mid Cap Growth R6 ( HRAUX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Carillon Eagle Mid Cap Growth R6 ( HRAUX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about HRAUX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.