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Is Vanguard PRIMECAP Core Investor (VPCCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Large Cap Growth fund? Vanguard PRIMECAP Core Investor (VPCCX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. VPCCX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

VPCCX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VPCCX. Vanguard PRIMECAP Core Investor debuted in December of 2004. Since then, VPCCX has accumulated assets of about $13.19 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.83%, 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 9.59%, which places it in the bottom 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, VPCCX's standard deviation comes in at 16.52%, compared to the category average of 17.39%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.12% compared to the category average of 18.47%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VPCCX has a 5-year beta of 0.95, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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 -0.36, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, VPCCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.46% compared to the category average of 0.76%. VPCCX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note, that according to our data, the fund does not have any minimum investment requirements.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard PRIMECAP Core Investor ( VPCCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard PRIMECAP Core Investor ( VPCCX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Large Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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