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Is Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Investor (VIMSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you've been stuck searching for Index funds, consider Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Investor (VIMSX - Free Report) as a possibility. VIMSX 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
VIMSX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Investor made its debut in May of 1998, and since then, VIMSX has accumulated about $835.92 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Donald Butler, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2001.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 14.45%, 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 14.51%, 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. VIMSX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.59% compared to the category average of 16.83%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.25% compared to the category average of 14.06%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.11, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than 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. VIMSX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.86, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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 91.91% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $24.64 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Turnover is 26%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.
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, VIMSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.80%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VIMSX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
For additional information on the Index area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into VIMSX too 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.
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Is Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Investor (VIMSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Index funds, consider Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Investor (VIMSX - Free Report) as a possibility. VIMSX 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
VIMSX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Investor made its debut in May of 1998, and since then, VIMSX has accumulated about $835.92 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Donald Butler, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2001.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 14.45%, 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 14.51%, 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. VIMSX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.59% compared to the category average of 16.83%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.25% compared to the category average of 14.06%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.11, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than 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. VIMSX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.86, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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 91.91% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $24.64 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
Turnover is 26%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.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, VIMSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.80%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VIMSX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
For additional information on the Index area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into VIMSX too 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.