Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail (BFTHX Quick QuoteBFTHX - Free Report) . BFTHX bears 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

Baron is responsible for BFTHX, and the company is based out of New York, NY. The Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail made its debut in May of 2004 and BFTHX has managed to accumulate roughly $170.50 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Alex Umansky who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2011.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 26.57%, and it sits 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 28.33%, 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, BFTHX's standard deviation comes in at 20.33%, compared to the category average of 16.89%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.85% compared to the category average of 13.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.97, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 8.46, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, BFTHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 1.02%. BFTHX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail ( BFTHX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail ( BFTHX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 BFTHX to its peers 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.