Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Parnassus Endeavor Fund (PARWX Quick QuotePARWX - Free Report) . PARWX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Parnassus is responsible for PARWX, and the company is based out of San Francisco, CA. Parnassus Endeavor Fund made its debut in April of 2005, and since then, PARWX has accumulated about $3.77 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Billy Hwan, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2018.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 17.32%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 24.26%, which places it in the top 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. Over the past three years, PARWX's standard deviation comes in at 22.11%, compared to the category average of 16.95%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.59% compared to the category average of 14.71%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.19, so investors should note that it is hypothetically 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -1.62, which shows that 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 89.91% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $201.61 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Finance

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, PARWX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 0.99%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PARWX 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.

Bottom Line

Overall, Parnassus Endeavor Fund ( PARWX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PARWX too for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.