There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is T. Rowe Price New Horizons (PRNHX Quick QuotePRNHX - Free Report) . PRNHX 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

PRNHX finds itself in the T. Rowe Price family, based out of Baltimore, MD. T. Rowe Price New Horizons made its debut in June of 1960, and since then, PRNHX has accumulated about $24.30 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Joshua Spencer, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2019.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PRNHX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.44% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.3%, 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 PRNHX over the past three years is 24.16% compared to the category average of 19.42%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 21.27% compared to the category average of 17.39%. 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, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. PRNHX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.99, which means 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.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 79.41% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $20.49 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Industrial Cyclical
3. Services
4. Health

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, PRNHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 1.20%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRNHX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price New Horizons ( PRNHX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price New Horizons ( PRNHX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

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