Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund (VSEQX Quick QuoteVSEQX - Free Report) . VSEQX 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

Vanguard Group is responsible for VSEQX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund made its debut in August of 1995, VSEQX has garnered more than $7.23 billion in assets. Cesar Orosco is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2021.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VSEQX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.2% 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 11.27%, 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. VSEQX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23.92% compared to the category average of 21.79%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.48% compared to the category average of 19.69%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.16, the fund is likely to be more 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -4.27, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 92.22% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $12.50 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Finance
2. Technology
3. Industrial Cyclical

With turnover at about 60%, this fund makes more traders than comparable funds in a given year.

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, VSEQX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 1%. So, VSEQX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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 Strategic Equity Fund ( VSEQX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund ( VSEQX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

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