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Is Vanguard International Growth Investor (VWIGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Non US - Equity category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard International Growth Investor (VWIGX - Free Report) . VWIGX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes VWIGX as Non US - Equity, a segment stacked high with options. Non US - Equity mutual funds like to invest in companies outside of the United States, an important characteristic since global mutual funds are known to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. These kinds of funds can often extend across all cap levels, and will typically allocate their investments between emerging and developed markets.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VWIGX. Vanguard International Growth Investor made its debut in September of 1981, and since then, VWIGX has accumulated about $11.18 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 23.51%, 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 23.2%, 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. The standard deviation of VWIGX over the past three years is 21.19% compared to the category average of 16.32%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.83% compared to the category average of 13.66%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VWIGX has a 5-year beta of 0.96, which means it 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. VWIGX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 6.06, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, VWIGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.43% compared to the category average of 1.18%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VWIGX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard International Growth Investor ( VWIGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard International Growth Investor ( VWIGX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on VWIGXin the Non US - Equity category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.


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