Investing With A Conscience

Few fund operators have combined principles and performance with as much success as Parnassus.

- Anne Kates Smith

THE SWEEPING VIEW FROM the offices of Parnassus Investments, in the heart of San Francisco’s bustling financial district, could easily grace the pages of a coffee-table book. The San Francisco Bay panorama encompasses the historic Ferry Building terminal, with its imposing clock tower, and the stately suspension towers of the Bay Bridge, stretching across steel-blue water to Yerba Buena Island and on to Oakland.

The dazzling view is fitting for a mutual fund company that has dazzled investors with its returns while investing with a social conscience. Few fund operators have combined principles and performance with as much success as Parnassus, and its brand is resonating with investors. Assets have soared to $23.5 billion, up from just $1.5 billion in 2008. But continued success depends on delivering solid returns, even as a management transition looms.

The bar is high. Parnassus Core Equity (symbol PRBLX), with the lion’s share of assets at more than $15 billion, beat its peers in nine of 10 calendar years through 2016 and did so with less volatility. Through April 30, Parnassus Endeavor (PARWX), which focuses on, among other things, corporate workplace policies, was the third-best large-company mutual fund over the past 10 years, number five over five years and number 11 over three years. Parnassus Mid-Cap (PARMX) is a member of the Kiplinger 25, the list of our favorite no-load funds.