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Is Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor (PARMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a potential option is Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor (PARMX - Free Report) . PARMX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Parnassus is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of PARMX. Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor debuted in April of 2005. Since then, PARMX has accumulated assets of about $1.73 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Matthew Gershuny, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2008.
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 4.43%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.17%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. The standard deviation of PARMX over the past three years is 17.84% compared to the category average of 16.85%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 18.8% compared to the category average of 18.41%. 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 0.95, which means it is hypothetically less 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -5.37. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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.
Right now, 82.63% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks and it has 6.82% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Industrial Cyclical
Retail Trade
Other
This fund's turnover is about 47.52%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, PARMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.96% compared to the category average of 1.15%. From a cost perspective, PARMX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor ( PARMX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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.
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Is Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor (PARMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a potential option is Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor (PARMX - Free Report) . PARMX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Parnassus is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of PARMX. Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor debuted in April of 2005. Since then, PARMX has accumulated assets of about $1.73 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Matthew Gershuny, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2008.
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 4.43%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.17%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. The standard deviation of PARMX over the past three years is 17.84% compared to the category average of 16.85%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 18.8% compared to the category average of 18.41%. 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 0.95, which means it is hypothetically less 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -5.37. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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.
Right now, 82.63% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks and it has 6.82% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Industrial Cyclical
- Retail Trade
- Other
This fund's turnover is about 47.52%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than its comparable peers.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, PARMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.96% compared to the category average of 1.15%. From a cost perspective, PARMX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor ( PARMX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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.