Parnassus Investments, an investment management company, released the “Parnassus Mid Cap Fund” fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter is available to download here. The Q4 2025 marked the fund’s consecutive quarter of outperformance, returning 1.17% (net of fees) in the quarter, surpassing 0.16% return for the Russell Midcap Index. The performance was supported by investments in the Information Technology sector, as well as holdings in Utilities. During the quarter, the market started to grow beyond artificial intelligence. YTD, the Fund returned 12.85% (net of fees) compared to 10.60% return for the index. Looking ahead to 2026, the Fund is optimistic, as mid-cap stocks may drive the market upward if economic growth continues to expand beyond AI. In the event of a market decline, the Fund believes that its portfolio of leading companies with solid financial positions will provide downside protection. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Parnassus Mid Cap Fund highlighted stocks like Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL). Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) is a leading distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment, related leisure, irrigation, and landscape maintenance products. On March 30, 2026, Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) stock closed at $200.49 per share. One-month return of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) was -15.95%, and its shares fell 37.52% over the past 52 weeks. Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion.
Parnassus Mid Cap Fund stated the following regarding Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:
“We moved on from Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL), the leading pool supplies distributor, as the stock’s valuation continues to be higher than other distributors’ despite the prolonged downturn in the pool market. We exited Pool Corp. as we felt its valuation was too high for its growth profile due to sluggish end-market demand for new pools.”
Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 45 hedge fund portfolios held Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 41 in the previous quarter. In Q4 2025, Pool Corporation’s (NASDAQ:POOL) total sales amounted to $982 million, just 1% below last year’s level. While we acknowledge the potential of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
