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Is Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral (VTCLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Large Cap Growth funds, a place to start could be Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral (VTCLX - Free Report) . VTCLX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify VTCLX in the Large Cap Growth category, an area rife with potential choices. Large Cap Growth funds invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. To be considered large-cap, companies must have a market cap over $10 billion.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VTCLX. Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral debuted in November of 2001. Since then, VTCLX has accumulated assets of about $8.40 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, William A. Coleman, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2016.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VTCLX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.18% and is 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 11.42%, 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. The standard deviation of VTCLX over the past three years is 9.69% compared to the category average of 10.29%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 10.22% compared to the category average of 9.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. In VTCLX's case, the fund lost 50.74% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 1.76%. These results could imply that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.01, which means it is hypothetically 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -0.24, which shows 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 85.34% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $188.98 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Finance
Turnover is about 10%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

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, VTCLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.09% compared to the category average of 1.10%. VTCLX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral ( VTCLX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on VTCLXin the Large Cap Growth category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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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