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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Bond fund could think about starting with Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Investor (VWEHX - Free Report) . VWEHX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (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 VWEHX. Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Investor debuted in December of 1978. Since then, VWEHX has accumulated assets of about $3.15 billion, according to the most recently available information. Michael L. Hong is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2008.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VWEHX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.87% and is in the middle 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 1.82%, 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. The standard deviation of VWEHX over the past three years is 9.64% compared to the category average of 12.68%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 8.05% compared to the category average of 10.98%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.59, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VWEHX has a positive alpha of 1.84, 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, VWEHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.23% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, VWEHX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Investor ( VWEHX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Investor ( VWEHX ) 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. 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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Is VWEHX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Bond fund could think about starting with Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Investor (VWEHX - Free Report) . VWEHX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (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 VWEHX. Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Investor debuted in December of 1978. Since then, VWEHX has accumulated assets of about $3.15 billion, according to the most recently available information. Michael L. Hong is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2008.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VWEHX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.87% and is in the middle 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 1.82%, 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. The standard deviation of VWEHX over the past three years is 9.64% compared to the category average of 12.68%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 8.05% compared to the category average of 10.98%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.59, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VWEHX has a positive alpha of 1.84, 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, VWEHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.23% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, VWEHX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Investor ( VWEHX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Investor ( VWEHX ) 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. 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.