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Is Vanguard Health Care Investor (VGHCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Looking for a Sector - Health fund? You may want to consider Vanguard Health Care Investor (VGHCX - Free Report) as a possible option. VGHCX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Health funds is an area filled with options, such as VGHCX. Healthcare is one of the biggest sectors of the American economy, and Sector - Health mutual funds provide a great opportunity to invest in this industry. Here, funds can include everything from for-profit hospitals to pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VGHCX. Vanguard Health Care Investor debuted in May of 1984. Since then, VGHCX has accumulated assets of about $8.72 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Jean M. Hynes who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2008.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.86%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.34%, 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. VGHCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.28% compared to the category average of 17.16%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.44% compared to the category average of 14.91%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.75, 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. With a negative alpha of -1.16, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, VGHCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.32% compared to the category average of 1.32%. VGHCX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Health Care Investor ( VGHCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Health Care Investor ( VGHCX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on VGHCXin the Sector - Health 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. 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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Is Vanguard Health Care Investor (VGHCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Looking for a Sector - Health fund? You may want to consider Vanguard Health Care Investor (VGHCX - Free Report) as a possible option. VGHCX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Health funds is an area filled with options, such as VGHCX. Healthcare is one of the biggest sectors of the American economy, and Sector - Health mutual funds provide a great opportunity to invest in this industry. Here, funds can include everything from for-profit hospitals to pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VGHCX. Vanguard Health Care Investor debuted in May of 1984. Since then, VGHCX has accumulated assets of about $8.72 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Jean M. Hynes who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2008.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.86%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.34%, 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. VGHCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.28% compared to the category average of 17.16%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.44% compared to the category average of 14.91%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.75, 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. With a negative alpha of -1.16, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, VGHCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.32% compared to the category average of 1.32%. VGHCX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Health Care Investor ( VGHCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Health Care Investor ( VGHCX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on VGHCXin the Sector - Health 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.