Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should consider taking a look at Janus Henderson Research D (JNRFX Quick QuoteJNRFX - Free Report) . JNRFX 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

Janus Fund is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of JNRFX. Janus Henderson Research D debuted in May of 1993. Since then, JNRFX has accumulated assets of about $15.69 billion, according to the most recently available information. Matthew Peron is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2020.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. JNRFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 21.8% and is 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 25.59%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of JNRFX over the past three years is 19.24% compared to the category average of 15.78%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.33% compared to the category average of 13.03%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.02, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 2.28, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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.

The mutual fund currently has 96.97% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $532.61 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Retail Trade

Turnover is about 30%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, JNRFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.66% compared to the category average of 1.02%. JNRFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Janus Henderson Research D ( JNRFX ) 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 great potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on JNRFXin 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. 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.