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Is VTAPX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider Vanguard Short Term Inflation Protected Security Index Advisor (VTAPX - Free Report) as a possibility. VTAPX 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 VTAPX. The Vanguard Short Term Inflation Protected Security Index Advisor made its debut in October of 2012 and VTAPX has managed to accumulate roughly $14.37 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Joshua Barrickman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 2012.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.12%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.92%, which places it in the middle 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 VTAPX over the past three years is 1.81% compared to the category average of 11.55%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 1.68% compared to the category average of 9.65%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.17, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VTAPX has a positive alpha of 1.53, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, VTAPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.06% compared to the category average of 0.65%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VTAPX 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

Want even more information about VTAPX? 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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