Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should consider taking a look at Janus Henderson Enterprise A (JDMAX Quick QuoteJDMAX - Free Report) . JDMAX holds 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

Janus Fund is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of JDMAX. Since Janus Henderson Enterprise A made its debut in October of 2004, JDMAX has garnered more than $358.56 million in assets. Brian Demain is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2009.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.63%, and is 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 7.31%, 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. Over the past three years, JDMAX's standard deviation comes in at 22.58%, compared to the category average of 17.71%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.76% compared to the category average of 15.55%. This makes the fund more 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. JDMAX has a 5-year beta of 1.02, which means it 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.6. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 82.62% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $21.02 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Other
3. Finance
4. Industrial Cyclical

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, JDMAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.12% compared to the category average of 1.14%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, JDMAX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

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

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.