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Is VTABX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Any investors who are searching for International Bond - Developed funds should take a look at Vanguard Total International Bond Index Admiral (VTABX - Free Report) . VTABX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

VTABX is one of many International Bond - Developed funds to choose from. International Bond - Developed funds offer investors geographic diversification by focusing on fixed income securities from developed nations besides the United States. Top holdings include assets from countries like Japan, Germany, the UK, France, and Australia. While these is certainly an advantage, investors should be aware of currency risk.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is responsible for VTABX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Total International Bond Index Admiral made its debut in May of 2013 and VTABX has managed to accumulate roughly $29.40 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Joshua Barrickman, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2013.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.67%, 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 4.01%, 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, VTABX's standard deviation comes in at 3.4%, compared to the category average of 11.57%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 2.99% compared to the category average of 9.52%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

VTABX carries a beta of 0.76, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 0.28, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, VTABX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.11% compared to the category average of 0.92%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VTABX 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

Don't stop here for your research on International Bond - Developed funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VTABX to its peers 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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