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| Quarter | Letter Date | Fund Name | QTD | YTD | Tickers | Themes | Quick Take |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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"The fund slightly outperformed its benchmark in a volatile, down quarter, capitalizing on AI-infrastructure and energy-transition trends while actively repositioning its software exposure amid AI disruption fears."
The Parnassus Growth Equity Fund (Investor Shares) returned -9.63% (net of fees) for the first quarter of 2026, slightly outperforming the Russell 1000 Growth Index’s decline of -9.78%. The market environment was highly volatile, impacted by a joint military offensive against Iran starting at the end of February that pushed energy prices higher, alongside widespread fears of artificial intelligence (AI) disrupting traditional software-as-a-service (SaaS) business models, resulting in sector-wide valuation compression. During the quarter, relative outperformance was driven by holdings in Information Technology, Industrials, and Materials. Top contributors included Applied Materials, ASML Holding, GE Vernova, TSMC, and Linde, all of which benefited from robust secular trends in AI infrastructure and electrification. Conversely, holdings in Health Care, Financials, and Consumer Discretionary detracted, with Boston Scientific, AppFolio, Atlassian, Ares Management, and Salesforce acting as major performance drags. The fund executed six additions and six exits during the quarter to maintain a balanced approach between offense and defense. New positions were initiated in Meta Platforms, Edwards Lifesciences, Shopify, Medline, Oracle, and Viking Holdings, while positions in Workday, Datadog, Insulet, Atlassian, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Chipotle Mexican Grill were fully liquidated or trimmed. The managers maintain a constructive outlook on U.S. growth equities, noting that secular drivers like AI infrastructure investment will favor resilient, competitively advantaged businesses.
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Algorithmic conviction, macroeconomic posture, and risk appetite signals extracted from this quarterly letter with qualitative explanations.
Market Conviction
High-conviction positioning: The fund slightly outperformed its benchmark in a volatile, down quarter, capitalizing on AI-infrastructure and energy-transition trends while actively repositioning its software e...
Growth Outlook
Market outlook remains high conviction: The fund slightly outperformed its benchmark in a volatile, down quarter, capitalizing on AI-infrastructure and energy-transition trends while actively repositioning its software e...
Risk Appetite
Risk appetite posture is high conviction: The fund slightly outperformed its benchmark in a volatile, down quarter, capitalizing on AI-infrastructure and energy-transition trends while actively repositioning its software e...
Capital Deployment
Manager actively deployed capital into high-conviction opportunities. The fund slightly outperformed its benchmark in a volatile, down quarter, capitalizing on AI-infrastructure and energy-transition trends while actively repositioning its software e...
Forward Guidance
Forward guidance signal: The fund slightly outperformed its benchmark in a volatile, down quarter, capitalizing on AI-infrastructure and energy-transition trends while actively repositioning its software e...
Language Signal
Tone analysis indicates high conviction language: The fund slightly outperformed its benchmark in a volatile, down quarter, capitalizing on AI-infrastructure and energy-transition trends while actively repositioning its software e...
Perceived Risk
Perceived risk level is evaluated as moderate conviction. The fund slightly outperformed its benchmark in a volatile, down quarter, capitalizing on AI-infrastructure and energy-transition trends while actively repositioning its software e...
Opportunity Density
Opportunity density index indicates high conviction actionable entry points. The fund slightly outperformed its benchmark in a volatile, down quarter, capitalizing on AI-infrastructure and energy-transition trends while actively repositioning its software e...
Time Horizon
Investment time horizon reflects a high conviction orientation. The fund slightly outperformed its benchmark in a volatile, down quarter, capitalizing on AI-infrastructure and energy-transition trends while actively repositioning its software e...