Parnassus Investments announces the launch of a new international equity strategy focusing on the Pacific-Asia region on May 1, 2013. The Parnassus Asia Fund (PAFSX) aims to provide investors with unique responsible investment options for capital appreciation through stocks of companies located in Asia. This includes Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Jerome Dodson, President of Parnassus Investments and Portfolio Manager of the Asia Fund, believes that Asian economies are among the most prosperous and innovative, and the Parnassus Asia Fund will offer its shareholders an opportunity to invest in that part of the world.
The Parnassus Asia Fund is a no-load fund. The fund will be benchmarked versus the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index. This fund will be the seventh fund in the Parnassus Funds line-up, which includes: Parnassus Equity Income Fund, Parnassus Mid-Cap Fund, Parnassus Small-Cap Fund, Parnassus Fund, Parnassus Workplace Fund and Parnassus Fixed-Income Fund.
Since the firm’s inception, Parnassus Investments has sought to invest in good businesses that have increasingly relevant products or services, sustainable competitive advantages, quality management teams and ethical business practices. The responsible investment component of the strategy, which is applied to all of the Parnassus Funds and includes consideration of a company\’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, will make the Parnassus Asia Fund the first U.S.-based Asia fund to apply a responsible investment strategy.
The Fund Strategy
The Parnassus Asia Fund is a diversified, fundamental multi-cap equity fund focusing on Asian companies. The Fund principally invests in stocks of Asian companies of all-capitalizations. The Fund seeks to invest in good businesses with attractive valuations. The Fund also takes environmental, social and governance factors into account in making investment decisions.
The Fund Risks
The Fund\’s share price may change daily based on the value of its security holdings. Stock markets can be volatile, and stock values fluctuate in response to the asset levels of individual companies and in response to general U.S. and international market and economic conditions. In addition to large-cap companies, the Fund may invest in small- and/or mid-cap companies, which can be more volatile than large-cap firms. The Fund invests primarily in non-U.S. securities. Foreign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market due to increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments and can perform differently from the U.S. market. Security holdings in the fund can vary significantly from broad market indexes.
Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Mutual fund investing involves risk, and loss of principal is possible.
The Parnassus Asia Fund invests primarily in non-U.S. securities. Foreign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market due to increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments and can perform differently from the U.S. market.
Before investing, an investor should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of a fund and should carefully read
the prospectus or summary prospectus, which contain this and other information. The prospectus or summary prospectus can be found at www.parnassus.com or by calling (800) 999-3505. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original principal cost and you could lose money.
The Parnassus Funds are distributed by Parnassus Funds Distributor, an affiliate of Parnassus Investments and a FINRA member.
For more information contact:
Vidya Nathu, Parnassus Investments (www.parnassus.com )
Email: vidya.nathu@parnassus.com
Phone: (415) 778-2634
