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Is Vanguard International Growth Admiral (VWILX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Non US - Equity category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard International Growth Admiral (VWILX - Free Report) . VWILX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify VWILX in the Non US - Equity category, which is an area rife with potential choices. Investing in companies outside the United States is how Non US - Equity funds set themselves apart, since global funds tend to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. Many of these funds like to allocate across emerging and developed markets, and will often focus on all cap levels.
History of Fund/Manager
VWILX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard International Growth Admiral made its debut in August of 2001, VWILX has garnered more than $28.43 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is 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 5.93%, and it sits 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 7.26%, 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. Compared to the category average of 11.77%, the standard deviation of VWILX over the past three years is 16.74%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.18% compared to the category average of 11.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In VWILX's case, the fund lost 56.87% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 2%. These results could imply that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.01, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.44. This means that 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, VWILX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.32% compared to the category average of 1.22%. VWILX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $50,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard International Growth Admiral ( VWILX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard International Growth Admiral ( VWILX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Non US - Equity, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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 Growth Admiral (VWILX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Non US - Equity category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard International Growth Admiral (VWILX - Free Report) . VWILX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify VWILX in the Non US - Equity category, which is an area rife with potential choices. Investing in companies outside the United States is how Non US - Equity funds set themselves apart, since global funds tend to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. Many of these funds like to allocate across emerging and developed markets, and will often focus on all cap levels.
History of Fund/Manager
VWILX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard International Growth Admiral made its debut in August of 2001, VWILX has garnered more than $28.43 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is 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 5.93%, and it sits 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 7.26%, 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. Compared to the category average of 11.77%, the standard deviation of VWILX over the past three years is 16.74%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.18% compared to the category average of 11.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In VWILX's case, the fund lost 56.87% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 2%. These results could imply that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.01, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.44. This means that 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, VWILX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.32% compared to the category average of 1.22%. VWILX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $50,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard International Growth Admiral ( VWILX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard International Growth Admiral ( VWILX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Non US - Equity, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.