Having trouble finding an Allocation Balanced fund? Vanguard Managed Payout Investor is a possible starting point. VPGDX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Zacks' Allocation Balanced funds is an area filled with options, such as VPGDX. These funds like to invest in a variety of asset types, finding a balance between stocks, bonds, cash, and sometimes even precious metals and commodities; they are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. For investors, Allocation Balanced funds can provide an entry point into diversified mutual funds, and present core holding options for a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VPGDX. Vanguard Managed Payout Investor debuted in April of 2008. Since then, VPGDX has accumulated assets of about $2.10 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, John Ameriks, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2014.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VPGDX has a 5-year annualized total return of 7.41% and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.62%, which places it in the middle 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. VPGDX's standard deviation over the past three years is 5.8% compared to the category average of 7.04%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 6.01% compared to the category average of 6.94%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VPGDX has a 5-year beta of 0.56, 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. VPGDX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.78, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, VPGDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.02% compared to the category average of 0.90%. VPGDX 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 $25,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Managed Payout Investor has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about VPGDX? 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.
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Is Vanguard Managed Payout Investor (VPGDX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding an Allocation Balanced fund? Vanguard Managed Payout Investor is a possible starting point. VPGDX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Zacks' Allocation Balanced funds is an area filled with options, such as VPGDX. These funds like to invest in a variety of asset types, finding a balance between stocks, bonds, cash, and sometimes even precious metals and commodities; they are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. For investors, Allocation Balanced funds can provide an entry point into diversified mutual funds, and present core holding options for a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VPGDX. Vanguard Managed Payout Investor debuted in April of 2008. Since then, VPGDX has accumulated assets of about $2.10 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, John Ameriks, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2014.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VPGDX has a 5-year annualized total return of 7.41% and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.62%, which places it in the middle 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. VPGDX's standard deviation over the past three years is 5.8% compared to the category average of 7.04%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 6.01% compared to the category average of 6.94%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VPGDX has a 5-year beta of 0.56, 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. VPGDX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.78, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, VPGDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.02% compared to the category average of 0.90%. VPGDX 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 $25,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Managed Payout Investor has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about VPGDX? 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.