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Is Vanguard REIT Index Institutional (VGSNX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Vanguard REIT Index Institutional (VGSNX - Free Report) as a possibility. The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
VGSNX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard REIT Index Institutional made its debut in December of 2003, VGSNX has garnered more than $9.55 billion in assets. The fund's current manager, Gerard O'Reilly, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2003.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VGSNX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.02% 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 -0.8%, 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. VGSNX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22.47% compared to the category average of 18.35%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.52% compared to the category average of 16.01%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.87, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a negative alpha of -4.29, 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, VGSNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 0.78%. VGSNX 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 $5 million and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
This could just be the start of your research on VGSNXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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 REIT Index Institutional (VGSNX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Vanguard REIT Index Institutional (VGSNX - Free Report) as a possibility. The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
VGSNX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard REIT Index Institutional made its debut in December of 2003, VGSNX has garnered more than $9.55 billion in assets. The fund's current manager, Gerard O'Reilly, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2003.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VGSNX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.02% 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 -0.8%, 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. VGSNX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22.47% compared to the category average of 18.35%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.52% compared to the category average of 16.01%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.87, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a negative alpha of -4.29, 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, VGSNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 0.78%. VGSNX 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 $5 million and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
This could just be the start of your research on VGSNXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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.