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Is VAIPX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Mutual Fund Bond fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Vanguard Inflation Pro Security Admiral (VAIPX - Free Report) . VAIPX 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

VAIPX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Inflation Pro Security Admiral made its debut in June of 2005, VAIPX has garnered more than $21.02 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by John Madziyire who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2021.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.56%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.36%, which places it in the middle 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 11.72%, the standard deviation of VAIPX over the past three years is 4.34%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 3.87% compared to the category average of 10.28%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

VAIPX carries a beta of 0.71, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 2.39, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, VAIPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 0.82%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VAIPX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $50,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard Inflation Pro Security Admiral ( VAIPX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


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