Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Investor (VIMSX Quick QuoteVIMSX - Free Report) . The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

VIMSX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Investor made its debut in May of 1998 and VIMSX has managed to accumulate roughly $628.89 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Donald Butler, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2001.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VIMSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.86% and is 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 15.53%, 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, VIMSX's standard deviation comes in at 20.45%, compared to the category average of 16.31%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 18% compared to the category average of 14.43%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VIMSX has a 5-year beta of 1.09, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. VIMSX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -3.68, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 95.73% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $30.56 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Finance
3. Industrial Cyclical

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, VIMSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.78%. So, VIMSX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

This could just be the start of your research on VIMSXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.