Any investors who are searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds should take a look at Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund (VISGX Quick QuoteVISGX - Free Report) . VISGX 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 based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VISGX. Since Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund made its debut in May of 1998, VISGX has garnered more than $81 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Gerard O'Reilly, has been in charge of the fund since September of 2011.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VISGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.47% and is in the bottom third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 4.54%, which places it in the bottom 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 19.95%, the standard deviation of VISGX over the past three years is 25.57%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 22.86% compared to the category average of 17.67%. 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 1.12, so it is likely going to be more 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. VISGX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -3.91, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 98.59% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $5.47 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Health
3. Industrial Cyclical
4. Other
5. Finance

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, VISGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.19% compared to the category average of 0.78%. VISGX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

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 VISGX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.