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Is Vanguard International Explorer Fund (VINEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Non US - Equity fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Vanguard International Explorer Fund (VINEX - Free Report) at this time. VINEX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes VINEX as Non US - Equity, a segment stacked high with options. Non US - Equity mutual funds like to invest in companies outside of the United States, an important characteristic since global mutual funds are known to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. These kinds of funds can often extend across all cap levels, and will typically allocate their investments between emerging and developed markets.
History of Fund/Manager
VINEX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard International Explorer Fund made its debut in November of 1996, VINEX has garnered more than $3.19 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
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 3.04%, 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 4.9%, 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 12.75%, the standard deviation of VINEX over the past three years is 14.22%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 13.57% compared to the category average of 13.34%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In VINEX's case, the fund lost 59.58% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 1%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.89, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than 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. With a negative alpha of -6.23, 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, VINEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.38% compared to the category average of 1.20%. From a cost perspective, VINEX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard International Explorer Fund ( VINEX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard International Explorer Fund ( VINEX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Non US - Equity funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VINEX to its peers as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is Vanguard International Explorer Fund (VINEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Non US - Equity fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Vanguard International Explorer Fund (VINEX - Free Report) at this time. VINEX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes VINEX as Non US - Equity, a segment stacked high with options. Non US - Equity mutual funds like to invest in companies outside of the United States, an important characteristic since global mutual funds are known to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. These kinds of funds can often extend across all cap levels, and will typically allocate their investments between emerging and developed markets.
History of Fund/Manager
VINEX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard International Explorer Fund made its debut in November of 1996, VINEX has garnered more than $3.19 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
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 3.04%, 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 4.9%, 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 12.75%, the standard deviation of VINEX over the past three years is 14.22%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 13.57% compared to the category average of 13.34%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In VINEX's case, the fund lost 59.58% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 1%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.89, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than 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. With a negative alpha of -6.23, 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, VINEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.38% compared to the category average of 1.20%. From a cost perspective, VINEX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard International Explorer Fund ( VINEX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard International Explorer Fund ( VINEX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Non US - Equity funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VINEX to its peers as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.