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Is Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Investor (VBMFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Investors in search of a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund might want to consider looking at Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Investor (VBMFX - Free Report) . VBMFX 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
Vanguard Group is responsible for VBMFX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Investor made its debut in December of 1986 and VBMFX has managed to accumulate roughly $871.80 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Joshua Barrickman, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2013.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VBMFX has a 5-year annualized total return of -0.39% and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -3.42%, 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 VBMFX over the past three years is 5.47% compared to the category average of 13.6%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 4.81% compared to the category average of 12.06%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.01, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. With a negative alpha of -0.11, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, VBMFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.15% compared to the category average of 0.79%. VBMFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VBMFX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Investor (VBMFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Investors in search of a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund might want to consider looking at Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Investor (VBMFX - Free Report) . VBMFX 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
Vanguard Group is responsible for VBMFX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Investor made its debut in December of 1986 and VBMFX has managed to accumulate roughly $871.80 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Joshua Barrickman, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2013.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VBMFX has a 5-year annualized total return of -0.39% and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -3.42%, 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 VBMFX over the past three years is 5.47% compared to the category average of 13.6%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 4.81% compared to the category average of 12.06%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.01, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. With a negative alpha of -0.11, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, VBMFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.15% compared to the category average of 0.79%. VBMFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VBMFX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.