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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond fund category, a potential starting could be Vanguard Inflation Pro Security Fund (VIPSX - Free Report) . VIPSX holds 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
VIPSX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Inflation Pro Security Fund made its debut in June of 2000 and VIPSX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.99 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Gemma Wright Casparius is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2011.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.99%, 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 8.28%, 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. Compared to the category average of 11.55%, the standard deviation of VIPSX over the past three years is 3.69%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 3.44% compared to the category average of 9.65%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.85, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VIPSX has a positive alpha of 1.53, 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, VIPSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.20% compared to the category average of 0.84%. From a cost perspective, VIPSX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Inflation Pro Security Fund ( VIPSX ) 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 Fund ( VIPSX ) 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 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 VIPSX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond fund category, a potential starting could be Vanguard Inflation Pro Security Fund (VIPSX - Free Report) . VIPSX holds 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
VIPSX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Inflation Pro Security Fund made its debut in June of 2000 and VIPSX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.99 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Gemma Wright Casparius is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2011.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.99%, 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 8.28%, 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. Compared to the category average of 11.55%, the standard deviation of VIPSX over the past three years is 3.69%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 3.44% compared to the category average of 9.65%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.85, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VIPSX has a positive alpha of 1.53, 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, VIPSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.20% compared to the category average of 0.84%. From a cost perspective, VIPSX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Inflation Pro Security Fund ( VIPSX ) 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 Fund ( VIPSX ) 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 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.