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Is Vanguard Global Minimum Volatility Fund Admiral (VMNVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Vanguard Global Minimum Volatility Fund Admiral (VMNVX - Free Report) at this time. VMNVX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

VMNVX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Global Minimum Volatility Fund Admiral debuted in December of 2013. Since then, VMNVX has accumulated assets of about $2.29 billion, according to the most recently available information. Antonio Picca is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2018.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VMNVX has a 5-year annualized total return of 7.57% and it sits in the bottom 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 6.45%, which places it in the bottom 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 16.02%, the standard deviation of VMNVX over the past three years is 13.8%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 11.87% compared to the category average of 14.01%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.68, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. VMNVX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -3.7, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, VMNVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.14% compared to the category average of 1.11%. So, VMNVX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $50,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard Global Minimum Volatility Fund Admiral ( VMNVX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Global Minimum Volatility Fund Admiral ( VMNVX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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