If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a possible option is Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund (VISGX Quick QuoteVISGX - Free Report) . The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VISGX. Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund made its debut in May of 1998, and since then, VISGX has accumulated about $99.49 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Gerard O'Reilly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since September of 2011.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VISGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.62% and is in the middle 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 6.32%, 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. Over the past three years, VISGX's standard deviation comes in at 23.89%, compared to the category average of 17.79%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 21.28% compared to the category average of 15.89%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.15, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. 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. VISGX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -4.58, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 98.56% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $7.70 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Health
3. Industrial Cyclical
4. Other

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, VISGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.19% compared to the category average of 0.78%. From a cost perspective, VISGX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

This could just be the start of your research on VISGXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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.