If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Vanguard Institutional Total Stock Market Plus (VITPX Quick QuoteVITPX - Free Report) as a possibility. While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VITPX. Vanguard Institutional Total Stock Market Plus made its debut in May of 2001, and since then, VITPX has accumulated about $28.41 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Walter Nejman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2016.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.73%, and it sits 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 8.18%, which places it in the middle 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. Over the past three years, VITPX's standard deviation comes in at 17.65%, compared to the category average of 16.21%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.66% compared to the category average of 17.06%. 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 1.03, so it is likely going to be as volatile as 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 -0.89, 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 80.3% in stocks and it has 2.38% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Technology
• Finance

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, VITPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.02% compared to the category average of 0.86%. VITPX 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 $100 million and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1

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

Bottom Line

Want even more information about VITPX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.