Parnassus - Costs of Investing

The Costs of Investing

Before investing in a mutual fund, an investor should ask how much it costs, just like you would with any other good or service. All the Parnassus Funds are no-load funds, meaning there's no up-front sales charge on our funds. Mutual funds charge ongoing expenses, also known as an expense ratio, to pay for their operating expenses, such as investment advisory services, recordkeeping, and even small things like postage.

At Parnassus, we try to keep each fund's expense ratio below the industry average for its respective category.

Parnassus Funds Expense Ratios


Fund Name	Gross Expense Ratio	Net Expense Ratio¹	Category Average²
Parnassus Fund	1.00%	0.99%	1.48%
Equity Income Fund Investor Shares	1.04%	1.00%	1.36%
Equity Income Fund Institutional Shares	0.83%	0.79%	1.36%
Mid-Cap Fund	2.05%	1.41%	1.42%
Small-Cap Fund	2.08%	1.42%	1.46%
Workplace Fund	2.65%	1.21%	1.48%
Fixed Income Fund	0.88%	0.76%	1.11%

Parnassus Funds Performance


Fund Name	Year to Date as of 5/12/08	Annualized Returns as of 4/30/08
Fund Name	Year to Date as of 5/12/08	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years	Since Inception*
Parnassus Fund	1.47%	(2.44)%	8.51%	6.41%	4.68%	9.91%
Equity Income Fund Investor Shares	(0.22)%	4.47%	11.11%	9.92%	9.37%	11.08%
Equity Income Fund Institutional Shares	(0.14)%	4.67%	NA	NA	NA	10.16%
Mid-Cap Fund	0.12%	(5.55)%	6.16%	NA	NA	6.15%
Small-Cap Fund	2.54%	(8.80)%	6.38%	NA	NA	6.37%
Workplace Fund	2.27%	0.96%	7.90%	NA	NA	7.89%
Fixed Income Fund	1.93%	5.83%	5.74%	4.26%	5.27%	6.10%

Performance data quoted represent past performance and are no guarantee of future returns. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Investment return and principal will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.
Prior to May 1, 2004, the Parnassus Fund charged a sales load of a maximum of 3.5%, which is not reflected in the total return figures.
Prior to March 31, 1998, the Parnassus Equity Income Fund was a balanced fund.
Capital gains from capital appreciation of tax-exempt bonds are not exempt from federal income tax and also may be subject to state and local taxes.

¹ As described in Fund's current prospectus dated May 1, 2008, Parnassus Investments has contractually agreed to limit the total operating expenses to 0.99%, 1.20%, 1.40%, 1.40%, 0.99%, 0.78% and 0.87% of net assets, exclusive of acquired fund fees, through April 30, 2009 for Parnassus Fund, Workplace Fund, Small-Cap Fund, Mid-Cap Fund, Equity Income Fund Investors Shares, Equity Income Fund Institutional Shares and Fixed Income Fund respectively. During 2007, the Adviser voluntarily agreed to waive an additional 0.12% for the Fixed-Income Fund. Total net operating expenses paid in 2007 after contractual and voluntary waivers were 0.76% for the Fixed-Income Fund.
² The fund category benchmarks shown are the mean total expense ratios of each fund's peer group as classified by Lipper as of April 30, 2008. Lipper's data and analyses are for informational purposes only, and do not constitute investment advice or an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security of any entity in any jurisdiction.
^* Parnassus Fund's commencement date is December 31, 1984. The Equity Income Fund's and Fixed-Income Fund's commencement date is August 31, 1992. The Workplace Fund's, Small-Cap Fund's, and Mid-Cap Fund's commencement date is April 29, 2005. The Equity Income Fund's Institutional Shares' commencement date is April 28, 2006.