Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with MSIF Growth Portfolio I (MSEQX Quick QuoteMSEQX - Free Report) . MSEQX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

MorgStanley is responsible for MSEQX, and the company is based out of New York, NY. Since MSIF Growth Portfolio I made its debut in April of 1991, MSEQX has garnered more than $6.23 billion in assets. 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. MSEQX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.72% and it sits in the middle 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 1.83%, 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. Over the past three years, MSEQX's standard deviation comes in at 34.97%, compared to the category average of 16.15%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 29.11% compared to the category average of 14.21%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.22, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. MSEQX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -4.04, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 84.91% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $52.47 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Retail Trade

Turnover is about 59%, so those in charge of the fund make more trades in a given year than the average of comparable funds.

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, MSEQX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.56% compared to the category average of 0.99%. MSEQX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1 million, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, MSIF Growth Portfolio I ( MSEQX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential 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. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.