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Is Janus Henderson Enterprise Institutional (JAAGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mid Cap Growth funds, a place to start could be Janus Henderson Enterprise Institutional (JAAGX - Free Report) . JAAGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that JAAGX is a Mid Cap Growth fund, and this area is also loaded with many different options. Companies are usually considered growth stocks when they consistently report notable sales and/or earnings growth. Thus, Mid Cap Growth funds pick stocks--usually companies with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion--that demonstrate extensive growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers.

History of Fund/Manager

Janus Fund is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of JAAGX. Janus Henderson Enterprise Institutional debuted in September of 1993. Since then, JAAGX has accumulated assets of about $642.23 million, according to the most recently available information. Brian Demain is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2007.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. JAAGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.81% 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 3.55%, which places it in the top 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. JAAGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.14% compared to the category average of 21.94%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.17% compared to the category average of 22.58%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. JAAGX has a 5-year beta of 1.02, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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 -2.96. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, JAAGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 1.05%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, JAAGX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Janus Henderson Enterprise Institutional ( JAAGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mid Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare JAAGX to its peers as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


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