Having trouble finding a Mid Cap Growth fund? Janus Henderson Enterprise D (JANEX Quick QuoteJANEX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. JANEX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that JANEX is a Mid Cap Growth fund, and this area is also loaded with many different options. Companies are usually considered growth stocks when they consistently report notable sales and/or earnings growth. Thus, Mid Cap Growth funds pick stocks--usually companies with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion--that demonstrate extensive growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers.

History of Fund/Manager

Janus Fund is responsible for JANEX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Since Janus Henderson Enterprise D made its debut in September of 1992, JANEX has garnered more than $2.51 billion in assets. Brian Demain is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2007.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 10.95%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.59%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

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 JANEX over the past three years is 18.22% compared to the category average of 15.23%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.06% compared to the category average of 16.05%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.03, 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 negative alpha over the past 5 years of -3.8, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, JANEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.79% compared to the category average of 0.96%. JANEX 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

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

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

Your research on the Mid Cap Growth 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.