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Is Vanguard Industrials Index Admiral (VINAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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

Objective

We note that VINAX is a Large Cap Blend option, an area loaded with different options. More often than not, Large Cap Blend mutual funds invest in companies with a market cap of over $10 billion. Buying stakes in bigger companies offer these funds more stability, and are well-suited for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Additionally, blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, giving investors exposure to value and growth opportunities.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VINAX. Vanguard Industrials Index Admiral debuted in September of 2004. Since then, VINAX has accumulated assets of about $213.70 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Walter Nejman, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2015.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.64%, and it sits in the middle 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 13.26%, 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 VINAX over the past three years is 15.47% compared to the category average of 11.21%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 14.73% compared to the category average of 11.63%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In VINAX's case, the fund lost 58.26% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 8.89%. This could mean that the fund is a worse choice than comparable funds during a bear market.

Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.2, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than 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 -3.43, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 87.52% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $55.68 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Industrial Cyclical
  2. Technology
With turnover at about 8%, this fund is making fewer trades than its comparable peers.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, VINAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 0.96%. VINAX 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 $100,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard Industrials Index Admiral ( VINAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.

Your research on the Large Cap Blend segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


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