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Is VNYTX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider Vanguard NY Long-Term Tax-Exempt Investor (VNYTX - Free Report) as a possibility. VNYTX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is responsible for VNYTX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard NY Long-Term Tax-Exempt Investor made its debut in April of 1986, and since then, VNYTX has accumulated about $540.87 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Adam Ferguson is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2013.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VNYTX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.54% 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 5.81%, 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 VNYTX over the past three years is 4.61% compared to the category average of 10.14%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 4.38% compared to the category average of 8.58%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.71, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VNYTX has a negative alpha of -0.12, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, VNYTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.80%. VNYTX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard NY Long-Term Tax-Exempt Investor ( VNYTX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard NY Long-Term Tax-Exempt Investor ( VNYTX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on VNYTXin the Mutual Fund Bond 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. 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.


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