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Is Vanguard Information Technology Index Admiral (VITAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors who are searching for Sector - Tech funds should take a look at Vanguard Information Technology Index Admiral (VITAX - 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.
Objective
The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and VITAX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.
History of Fund/Manager
VITAX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Information Technology Index Admiral debuted in January of 2004. Since then, VITAX has accumulated assets of about $2.37 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Walter Nejman who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2015.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 18.45%, and is in the top 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 26.87%, which places it in the top 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. VITAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.11% compared to the category average of 17.04%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16% compared to the category average of 16.85%. This makes the fund less 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 the most recent bear market, VITAX lost 50.65% and outperformed its peer group by 2%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VITAX has a 5-year beta of 1.17, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. VITAX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 5.79, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, VITAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 1.30%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VITAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $100,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about VITAX? 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 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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Is Vanguard Information Technology Index Admiral (VITAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors who are searching for Sector - Tech funds should take a look at Vanguard Information Technology Index Admiral (VITAX - 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.
Objective
The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and VITAX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.
History of Fund/Manager
VITAX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Information Technology Index Admiral debuted in January of 2004. Since then, VITAX has accumulated assets of about $2.37 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Walter Nejman who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2015.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 18.45%, and is in the top 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 26.87%, which places it in the top 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. VITAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.11% compared to the category average of 17.04%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16% compared to the category average of 16.85%. This makes the fund less 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 the most recent bear market, VITAX lost 50.65% and outperformed its peer group by 2%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VITAX has a 5-year beta of 1.17, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. VITAX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 5.79, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, VITAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 1.30%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VITAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $100,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about VITAX? 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 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.