Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Vanguard Materials Index Admiral (VMIAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Have you been searching for a Mid Cap Blend fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Materials Index Admiral (VMIAX - Free Report) . While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

VMIAX is classified in the Mid Cap Blend category by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Mid Cap Blend mutual funds usually feature a portfolio with stocks of various styles and sizes, allowing for diversification within a strategy that focuses on companies in the $2 billion to $10 billion market cap range. A mid-cap blend fund provides exposure to exciting growth potential, income opportunities, and value picks, while also attempting some level of stability through diversification.

History of Fund/Manager

VMIAX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Materials Index Admiral made its debut in January of 2004 and VMIAX has managed to accumulate roughly $722.22 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by William Coleman who has been in charge of the fund since August of 2015.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.86%, and it sits 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 6.84%, 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, VMIAX's standard deviation comes in at 22.63%, compared to the category average of 16.77%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.48% compared to the category average of 14.34%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.15, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -3.45, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, VMIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 0.98%. VMIAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $100,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Want even more information about VMIAX? 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:


VANGUARD MATERIALS INDEX FD (VMIAX) - free report >>

Published in