If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be Vanguard LifeStrategy Growth Fund (VASGX Quick QuoteVASGX - Free Report) . VASGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

VASGX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard LifeStrategy Growth Fund made its debut in September of 1994, and since then, VASGX has accumulated about $18.75 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, William A. Coleman, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2022.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.03%, and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 7.19%, 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 15.66%, the standard deviation of VASGX over the past three years is 15.35%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 13.63% compared to the category average of 14.02%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.77, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -2.93, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, VASGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.14% compared to the category average of 0.86%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VASGX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard LifeStrategy Growth Fund ( VASGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard LifeStrategy Growth Fund ( VASGX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

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