Any investors who are searching for Small Cap Value funds should take a look at Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Admiral (VSIAX Quick QuoteVSIAX - Free Report) . VSIAX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

The world of Small Cap Value mutual funds is an area filled with options, such as VSIAX. Small Cap Value funds invest in small companies with stock market valuation less than $2 billion. These funds offer more bang for an owner's buck, providing low P/E ratios, high dividend yields, and better-than-average P/S ratios.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is responsible for VSIAX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Admiral made its debut in September of 2011 and VSIAX has managed to accumulate roughly $18.54 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. William Coleman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2016.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VSIAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.7% and is in the middle 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 9.2%, which places it in the bottom 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, VSIAX's standard deviation comes in at 26.25%, compared to the category average of 15.57%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.2% compared to the category average of 12.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.26, the fund is likely to be more volatile than 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. VSIAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -8.38, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, VSIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.07% compared to the category average of 1.25%. VSIAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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

Want even more information about VSIAX? 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.