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Is Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor (PARMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Looking for a Mid Cap Growth fund? You may want to consider Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor (PARMX - Free Report) as a possible option. PARMX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PARMX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
Parnassus is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of PARMX. Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor made its debut in April of 2005, and since then, PARMX has accumulated about $1.12 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Lori A. Keith who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2008.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.01%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 11.83%, which places it in the middle 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. PARMX's standard deviation over the past three years is 15.67% compared to the category average of 13.76%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 16.8% compared to the category average of 15%. 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. PARMX has a 5-year beta of 1.02, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -8.31. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, PARMX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 0.96%.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
With a rank of 'hold' we aren't getting a good signal one way or another on PARMX. That is why it might be a good idea to consider other items, such as the fund's expense ratio of .96%, and how this compares to other potential options being considered for investment. If cheaper, it might make a decent choice, but a more expensive fund might be worth avoiding. Just make sure to pay attention to its rank in case it shifts in the near future.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Growth area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PARMX too 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.
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Is Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor (PARMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Looking for a Mid Cap Growth fund? You may want to consider Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor (PARMX - Free Report) as a possible option. PARMX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PARMX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
Parnassus is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of PARMX. Parnassus Mid-Cap Investor made its debut in April of 2005, and since then, PARMX has accumulated about $1.12 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Lori A. Keith who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2008.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.01%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 11.83%, which places it in the middle 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. PARMX's standard deviation over the past three years is 15.67% compared to the category average of 13.76%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 16.8% compared to the category average of 15%. 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. PARMX has a 5-year beta of 1.02, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -8.31. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, PARMX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 0.96%.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
With a rank of 'hold' we aren't getting a good signal one way or another on PARMX. That is why it might be a good idea to consider other items, such as the fund's expense ratio of .96%, and how this compares to other potential options being considered for investment. If cheaper, it might make a decent choice, but a more expensive fund might be worth avoiding. Just make sure to pay attention to its rank in case it shifts in the near future.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Growth area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PARMX too 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.