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Is Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Admiral (VIMAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Have you been searching for an Index fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Admiral (VIMAX - Free Report) . VIMAX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is responsible for VIMAX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Admiral debuted in November of 2001. Since then, VIMAX has accumulated assets of about $43.16 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Donald M. Butler who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2001.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VIMAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.38% and it sits in the top 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 6.74%, 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. VIMAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 14.06% compared to the category average of 8.74%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.18% compared to the category average of 9.25%. 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 VIMAX's case, the fund lost 53.51% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 10%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.03, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. VIMAX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -2.76, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 80.93% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $17.09 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Turnover is 26%, which means this fund makes 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, VIMAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.05% compared to the category average of 0.85%. So, VIMAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about VIMAX? 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. 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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Is Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Admiral (VIMAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Have you been searching for an Index fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Admiral (VIMAX - Free Report) . VIMAX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is responsible for VIMAX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Admiral debuted in November of 2001. Since then, VIMAX has accumulated assets of about $43.16 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Donald M. Butler who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2001.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VIMAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.38% and it sits in the top 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 6.74%, 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. VIMAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 14.06% compared to the category average of 8.74%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.18% compared to the category average of 9.25%. 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 VIMAX's case, the fund lost 53.51% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 10%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.03, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. VIMAX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -2.76, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 80.93% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $17.09 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
Turnover is 26%, which means this fund makes 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, VIMAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.05% compared to the category average of 0.85%. So, VIMAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about VIMAX? 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. 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.