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Is VAIPX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Looking for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? You may want to consider Vanguard Inflation Pro Security Admiral (VAIPX - Free Report) as a possible option. VAIPX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

VAIPX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Inflation Pro Security Admiral made its debut in June of 2005, VAIPX has garnered more than $22.40 billion in assets. The fund's current manager, Gemma Wright Casparius, has been in charge of the fund since August of 2011.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VAIPX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.09% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 8.39%, 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, VAIPX's standard deviation comes in at 3.66%, compared to the category average of 11.55%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 3.43% 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 0.85, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VAIPX has a positive alpha of 1.62, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, VAIPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 0.84%. So, VAIPX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $50,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard Inflation Pro Security Admiral ( VAIPX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Inflation Pro Security Admiral ( VAIPX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mutual Fund Bond segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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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