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Is Vanguard Institutional Index Plus (VIIIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Have you been searching for an Index fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Institutional Index Plus (VIIIX - 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
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VIIIX. Since Vanguard Institutional Index Plus made its debut in July of 1997, VIIIX has garnered more than $169.99 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Donald M. Butler who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2000.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 18.01%, and is in the top 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 18.07%, 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 18.54%, compared to the category average of 15.86%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.01% compared to the category average of 13.17%. 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. 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. With a positive alpha of 0, 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.
This fund is currently holding about 83.87% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $371.93 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Retail Trade
With turnover at about 4%, this fund is making fewer trades than its comparable peers.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key 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 0.79%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VIIIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $100 million, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Don't stop here for your research on Index funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VIIIX to its peers 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 Institutional Index Plus (VIIIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Have you been searching for an Index fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Institutional Index Plus (VIIIX - 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
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VIIIX. Since Vanguard Institutional Index Plus made its debut in July of 1997, VIIIX has garnered more than $169.99 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Donald M. Butler who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2000.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 18.01%, and is in the top 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 18.07%, 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 18.54%, compared to the category average of 15.86%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.01% compared to the category average of 13.17%. 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. 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. With a positive alpha of 0, 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.
This fund is currently holding about 83.87% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $371.93 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
- Retail Trade
With turnover at about 4%, this fund is making fewer trades than its comparable peers.Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key 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 0.79%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VIIIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $100 million, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Don't stop here for your research on Index funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VIIIX to its peers 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.