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Is Vanguard US Growth Admiral (VWUAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Growth fund could think about starting with Vanguard US Growth Admiral (VWUAX - Free Report) . VWUAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
VWUAX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VWUAX. Vanguard US Growth Admiral debuted in August of 2001. Since then, VWUAX has accumulated assets of about $40.14 billion, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VWUAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 24.48% and is 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 25.4%, 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. Over the past three years, VWUAX's standard deviation comes in at 22.65%, compared to the category average of 17.5%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 18.25% compared to the category average of 14.4%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.09, the fund is likely to be more 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 positive alpha of 5.6, 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, VWUAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.29% compared to the category average of 1.02%. VWUAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $50,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard US Growth Admiral ( VWUAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard US Growth Admiral ( VWUAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Large Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is Vanguard US Growth Admiral (VWUAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Growth fund could think about starting with Vanguard US Growth Admiral (VWUAX - Free Report) . VWUAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
VWUAX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VWUAX. Vanguard US Growth Admiral debuted in August of 2001. Since then, VWUAX has accumulated assets of about $40.14 billion, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VWUAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 24.48% and is 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 25.4%, 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. Over the past three years, VWUAX's standard deviation comes in at 22.65%, compared to the category average of 17.5%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 18.25% compared to the category average of 14.4%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.09, the fund is likely to be more 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 positive alpha of 5.6, 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, VWUAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.29% compared to the category average of 1.02%. VWUAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $50,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard US Growth Admiral ( VWUAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard US Growth Admiral ( VWUAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Large Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.