Have you been searching for an Index fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Admiral (VIMAX Quick QuoteVIMAX - Free Report) . VIMAX 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

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VIMAX. The Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Admiral made its debut in November of 2001 and VIMAX has managed to accumulate roughly $63.67 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Donald Butler who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2001.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VIMAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 15.64% 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 16.19%, 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, VIMAX's standard deviation comes in at 21.67%, compared to the category average of 15.43%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 17.26% compared to the category average of 12.78%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.1, so investors should note that 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. VIMAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -3.37, 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.

Right now, 76.02% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $27.51 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Finance
3. Industrial Cyclical

Turnover is 20%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, VIMAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.05% compared to the category average of 0.79%. From a cost perspective, VIMAX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to 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 VIMAX to its peers as well 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.