Are you on the hunt for a Sector - Utilities fund? You should think about starting with Vanguard Utilities Index Admiral (VUIAX Quick QuoteVUIAX - Free Report) . VUIAX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

We classify VUIAX in the Sector - Utilities category, an area that is rife with possible choices. Sector - Utilities funds focus their investments on firms that provide essential daily services to millions of people like electric power, gas distribution, and water supply. All in all, the utility industry is a perfect fit for those investors looking for stability and low volatility.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VUIAX. Vanguard Utilities Index Admiral debuted in January of 2004. Since then, VUIAX has accumulated assets of about $1.38 billion, according to the most recently available information. Michael A. Johnson is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2015.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.25%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 9.64%, 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. VUIAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.91% compared to the category average of 8.97%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 12.36% compared to the category average of 10.35%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In the most recent bear market, VUIAX lost 38.05% and outperformed its peer group by 7%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market.

Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.36, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less 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. VUIAX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 6.57, demonstrating that 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, VUIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 1.26%. VUIAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Sector - Utilities, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.