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Is Vanguard Global Mineral Volatility Investor (VMVFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Well, Vanguard Global Mineral Volatility Investor (VMVFX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. VMVFX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VMVFX. Vanguard Global Mineral Volatility Investor debuted in December of 2013. Since then, VMVFX has accumulated assets of about $289.91 million, according to the most recently available information. Antonio Picca is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2018.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.58%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.51%, which places it in the bottom 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. VMVFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 14.12% compared to the category average of 16.56%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 11.52% compared to the category average of 13.94%. This makes the fund less 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. VMVFX has a 5-year beta of 0.68, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -4.26, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, VMVFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.21% compared to the category average of 1.13%. From a cost perspective, VMVFX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard Global Mineral Volatility Investor ( VMVFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Global Mineral Volatility Investor ( VMVFX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


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