We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Having trouble finding a Government Mortgage - Intermediate fund? Vanguard GNMA Investor (VFIIX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. VFIIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds is an area filled with choices, such as VFIIX. A mortgage-backed security (MBS) is a type of asset-backed security that packages mortgages together and then sells off the pooled securities. Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds focus on this market; this fund category presents a medium risk and yield profile, and concentrates on MBS with at least three years to maturity but less than 10.
History of Fund/Manager
VFIIX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard GNMA Investor made its debut in June of 1980, VFIIX has garnered more than $7.28 billion in assets. Michael F. Garrett is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2010.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.38%, and is 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 3.2%, 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. Over the past three years, VFIIX's standard deviation comes in at 2.03%, compared to the category average of 6.03%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 2% compared to the category average of 6.21%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
VFIIX carries a beta of 0.59, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a negative alpha of -0.19, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, VFIIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.21% compared to the category average of 0.80%. VFIIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard GNMA Investor ( VFIIX ) 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 good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about VFIIX? 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Is VFIIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Government Mortgage - Intermediate fund? Vanguard GNMA Investor (VFIIX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. VFIIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds is an area filled with choices, such as VFIIX. A mortgage-backed security (MBS) is a type of asset-backed security that packages mortgages together and then sells off the pooled securities. Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds focus on this market; this fund category presents a medium risk and yield profile, and concentrates on MBS with at least three years to maturity but less than 10.
History of Fund/Manager
VFIIX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard GNMA Investor made its debut in June of 1980, VFIIX has garnered more than $7.28 billion in assets. Michael F. Garrett is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2010.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.38%, and is 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 3.2%, 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. Over the past three years, VFIIX's standard deviation comes in at 2.03%, compared to the category average of 6.03%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 2% compared to the category average of 6.21%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
VFIIX carries a beta of 0.59, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a negative alpha of -0.19, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, VFIIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.21% compared to the category average of 0.80%. VFIIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard GNMA Investor ( VFIIX ) 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 good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about VFIIX? 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.