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Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor (VWITX - Free Report) . VWITX 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
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VWITX. Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor debuted in September of 1977. Since then, VWITX has accumulated assets of about $3.45 billion, according to the most recently available information. James D'Arcy is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2013.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.92%, 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 4.69%, 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, VWITX's standard deviation comes in at 3.52%, compared to the category average of 9.64%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 3.08% compared to the category average of 8.21%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.54, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VWITX has a negative alpha of -0.09, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, VWITX has 66.97% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 31.41% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of AA, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, VWITX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.80%. From a cost perspective, VWITX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor ( VWITX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Bond, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is VWITX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor (VWITX - Free Report) . VWITX 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
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VWITX. Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor debuted in September of 1977. Since then, VWITX has accumulated assets of about $3.45 billion, according to the most recently available information. James D'Arcy is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2013.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.92%, 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 4.69%, 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, VWITX's standard deviation comes in at 3.52%, compared to the category average of 9.64%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 3.08% compared to the category average of 8.21%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.54, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VWITX has a negative alpha of -0.09, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, VWITX has 66.97% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 31.41% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of AA, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, VWITX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.80%. From a cost perspective, VWITX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor ( VWITX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Bond, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.