Looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You may want to consider Vanguard 500 Index Investor (VFINX Quick QuoteVFINX - Free Report) as a possible option. VFINX 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

VFINX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard 500 Index Investor debuted in August of 1976. Since then, VFINX has accumulated assets of about $3.24 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Donald Butler, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2016.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 12.04%, and is in the top 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 13.56%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

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. VFINX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.07% compared to the category average of 15.68%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.81% compared to the category average of 16.49%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. VFINX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.11, demonstrating 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 88.3% in stocks and it has 2.55% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Technology
• 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, VFINX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.14% compared to the category average of 0.80%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VFINX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

This could just be the start of your research on VFINXin 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.