Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is VCOBX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Starting with Vanguard Core Bond Admiraliral (VCOBX - Free Report) is one possibility. VCOBX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), 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 VCOBX. Vanguard Core Bond Admiraliral debuted in March of 2016. Since then, VCOBX has accumulated assets of about $5.61 billion, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

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 1.73%, 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 1.28%, 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. Compared to the category average of 9.41%, the standard deviation of VCOBX over the past three years is 4.89%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 4.15% compared to the category average of 8.3%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

VCOBX carries a beta of 1.04, meaning that the fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 0.52, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, VCOBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 0.77%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VCOBX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $50,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard Core Bond Admiraliral ( VCOBX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Bond, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


VANGUARD CORE BOND FD (VCOBX) - free report >>

Published in