Have you been searching for an Index fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Institutional Index Plus (VIIIX Quick QuoteVIIIX - Free Report) . The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

VIIIX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Institutional Index Plus debuted in July of 1997. Since then, VIIIX has accumulated assets of about $143.41 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Donald M. Butler, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2000.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VIIIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 16.81% 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 14.13%, 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. Over the past three years, VIIIX's standard deviation comes in at 18.5%, compared to the category average of 15.87%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.07% compared to the category average of 13.31%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. VIIIX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 96.11% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $296.25 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Finance
3. Retail Trade

Turnover is 4%, 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, VIIIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.02% compared to the category average of 0.80%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VIIIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $100 million; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Want even more information about VIIIX? 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.