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Is Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Admiral (VSGAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Index category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Admiral (VSGAX - Free Report) . 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 VSGAX. Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Admiral made its debut in September of 2011, and since then, VSGAX has accumulated about $14.17 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Gerard O'Reilly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since September of 2011.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 8.32%, 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 -1.09%, 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. Compared to the category average of 16.79%, the standard deviation of VSGAX over the past three years is 22.05%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 23.27% compared to the category average of 18.06%. 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 1.13, 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -6.65. This means 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.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 84.47% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $8.12 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Industrial Cyclical
Health
Other
With turnover at about 19%, this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, VSGAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.07% compared to the category average of 1.03%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VSGAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 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
For additional information on the Index 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 VSGAX 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.
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Is Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Admiral (VSGAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Index category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Admiral (VSGAX - Free Report) . 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 VSGAX. Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Admiral made its debut in September of 2011, and since then, VSGAX has accumulated about $14.17 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Gerard O'Reilly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since September of 2011.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 8.32%, 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 -1.09%, 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. Compared to the category average of 16.79%, the standard deviation of VSGAX over the past three years is 22.05%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 23.27% compared to the category average of 18.06%. 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 1.13, 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -6.65. This means 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.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 84.47% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $8.12 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Industrial Cyclical
- Health
- Other
With turnover at about 19%, this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.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, VSGAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.07% compared to the category average of 1.03%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VSGAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 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
For additional information on the Index 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 VSGAX 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.