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Is Vanguard Global Capital Cycles Fund Investor Shares (VGPMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Vanguard Global Capital Cycles Fund Investor Shares (VGPMX - Free Report) . VGPMX carries 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

VGPMX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Global Capital Cycles Fund Investor Shares made its debut in May of 1984, and since then, VGPMX has accumulated about $1.36 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Keith White who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2018.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.54%, 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 14.02%, 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 18.96%, the standard deviation of VGPMX over the past three years is 20.15%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.45% compared to the category average of 16.92%. This makes the fund more 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. VGPMX has a 5-year beta of 0.8, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. VGPMX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -6.51, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, VGPMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.36% compared to the category average of 1.34%. From a cost perspective, VGPMX 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 Capital Cycles Fund Investor Shares ( VGPMX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into VGPMX too 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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