Investors in search of a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund might want to consider looking at Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Institutional (VSGIX Quick QuoteVSGIX - Free Report) . VSGIX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

VSGIX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Institutional made its debut in May of 2000 and VSGIX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.96 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Gerard O'Reilly, has been in charge of the fund since September of 2011.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VSGIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.05% 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 7.75%, which places it in the middle 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, VSGIX's standard deviation comes in at 23.6%, compared to the category average of 18.49%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 21.35% compared to the category average of 16.35%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.15, so investors should note that it is hypothetically 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -4.82. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 84.25% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $6.75 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

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

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, VSGIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.06% compared to the category average of 0.78%. VSGIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $5 million, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.

Bottom Line

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.