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Is Vanguard Growth Index Admiral (VIGAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for a Large Cap Growth fund category, then a possible option is Vanguard Growth Index Admiral (VIGAX - 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.
Objective
VIGAX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VIGAX. Vanguard Growth Index Admiral made its debut in November of 2000, and since then, VIGAX has accumulated about $61.40 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Gerard O'Reilly who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2000.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 23.04%, 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 25.3%, 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. The standard deviation of VIGAX over the past three years is 20.03% compared to the category average of 15.56%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.29% compared to the category average of 12.93%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VIGAX has a 5-year beta of 1.03, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 4.27, which shows that 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 84.23% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $439.95 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Retail Trade
Turnover is 6%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, VIGAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.05% compared to the category average of 1.02%. So, VIGAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
This could just be the start of your research on VIGAXin the Large Cap Growth category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.
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Is Vanguard Growth Index Admiral (VIGAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Large Cap Growth fund category, then a possible option is Vanguard Growth Index Admiral (VIGAX - 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.
Objective
VIGAX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VIGAX. Vanguard Growth Index Admiral made its debut in November of 2000, and since then, VIGAX has accumulated about $61.40 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Gerard O'Reilly who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2000.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 23.04%, 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 25.3%, 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. The standard deviation of VIGAX over the past three years is 20.03% compared to the category average of 15.56%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.29% compared to the category average of 12.93%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VIGAX has a 5-year beta of 1.03, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 4.27, which shows that 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 84.23% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $439.95 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Retail Trade
Turnover is 6%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.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, VIGAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.05% compared to the category average of 1.02%. So, VIGAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
This could just be the start of your research on VIGAXin the Large Cap Growth category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.