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Is Vanguard Target Retirement 2015 Fund (VTXVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Are you on the hunt for a Target Date fund? You should think about starting with Vanguard Target Retirement 2015 Fund . VTXVX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VTXVX. Since Vanguard Target Retirement 2015 Fund made its debut in October of 2003, VTXVX has garnered more than $13.99 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by William Coleman who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2013.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.76%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 8.44%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. Compared to the category average of 8.65%, the standard deviation of VTXVX over the past three years is 7.29%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 5.98% compared to the category average of 6.98%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.37, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. VTXVX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.49, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, VTXVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.12% compared to the category average of 0.51%. VTXVX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Want even more information about VTXVX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.

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