If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, a potential starting could be T. Rowe Price Tax-Efficient Equity (PREFX Quick QuotePREFX - Free Report) . PREFX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

PREFX is a part of the T. Rowe Price family of funds, a company based out of Baltimore, MD. T. Rowe Price Tax-Efficient Equity debuted in December of 2000. Since then, PREFX has accumulated assets of about $264.42 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Donald J. Peters, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2000.

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 11.02%, 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 8.15%, 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. PREFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23.74% compared to the category average of 20.22%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 20.89% compared to the category average of 17.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.08, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a negative alpha of -0.34, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 99.68% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $278.09 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Retail Trade

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, PREFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.86% compared to the category average of 0.99%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PREFX 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 Tax-Efficient Equity ( PREFX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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.