If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider AQR Large Cap Defensive Style I (AUEIX Quick QuoteAUEIX - Free Report) as a possibility. AUEIX carries 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

AQR Funds is responsible for AUEIX, and the company is based out of Denver, CO. AQR Large Cap Defensive Style I debuted in July of 2012. Since then, AUEIX has accumulated assets of about $3.51 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. AUEIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.44% and is 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 4.79%, which places it in the bottom 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. AUEIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.02% compared to the category average of 17.01%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.84% compared to the category average of 15.22%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.85, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 0.31. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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.

The mutual fund currently has 94.6% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $154.46 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Non-Durable
2. Finance
3. Technology
4. Industrial Cyclical

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, AUEIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.39% compared to the category average of 0.92%. So, AUEIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $5 million and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, AQR Large Cap Defensive Style I ( AUEIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, AQR Large Cap Defensive Style I ( AUEIX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on AUEIXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.