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Is Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Administrative (VEMAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Non US - Equity fund seekers should consider taking a look at Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Administrative (VEMAX - Free Report) . VEMAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify VEMAX in the Non US - Equity category, which is an area rife with potential choices. Investing in companies outside the United States is how Non US - Equity funds set themselves apart, since global funds tend to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. Many of these funds like to allocate across emerging and developed markets, and will often focus on all cap levels.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VEMAX. Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Administrative debuted in June of 2006. Since then, VEMAX has accumulated assets of about $12.83 billion, according to the most recently available information. Michael Perre is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2008.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.65%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 9.31%, which places it in the bottom 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. Compared to the category average of 9.75%, the standard deviation of VEMAX over the past three years is 14.07%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.91% compared to the category average of 9.49%. This makes the fund more 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. In VEMAX's case, the fund lost 62.63% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 4.23%. This might suggest that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a bear market.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.97, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -7.72, which shows 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, VEMAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.14% compared to the category average of 1.28%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VEMAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Administrative ( VEMAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Administrative ( VEMAX ) 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 Non US - Equity, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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 Emerging Markets Stock Index Administrative (VEMAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Non US - Equity fund seekers should consider taking a look at Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Administrative (VEMAX - Free Report) . VEMAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify VEMAX in the Non US - Equity category, which is an area rife with potential choices. Investing in companies outside the United States is how Non US - Equity funds set themselves apart, since global funds tend to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. Many of these funds like to allocate across emerging and developed markets, and will often focus on all cap levels.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VEMAX. Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Administrative debuted in June of 2006. Since then, VEMAX has accumulated assets of about $12.83 billion, according to the most recently available information. Michael Perre is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2008.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.65%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 9.31%, which places it in the bottom 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. Compared to the category average of 9.75%, the standard deviation of VEMAX over the past three years is 14.07%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.91% compared to the category average of 9.49%. This makes the fund more 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. In VEMAX's case, the fund lost 62.63% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 4.23%. This might suggest that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a bear market.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.97, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -7.72, which shows 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, VEMAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.14% compared to the category average of 1.28%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VEMAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Administrative ( VEMAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Administrative ( VEMAX ) 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 Non US - Equity, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.