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Is Vanguard Financials Index Admiral (VFAIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a possible option is Vanguard Financials Index Admiral (VFAIX - Free Report) . VFAIX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VFAIX. The Vanguard Financials Index Admiral made its debut in January of 2004 and VFAIX has managed to accumulate roughly $740.50 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. William Coleman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 2015.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.8%, 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 7.78%, 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. Over the past three years, VFAIX's standard deviation comes in at 24.94%, compared to the category average of 26.69%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 22.05% compared to the category average of 23.26%. 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 1.12, so it is likely going to be more 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -4.93. This means 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, VFAIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 1.46%. VFAIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $100,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into VFAIX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is Vanguard Financials Index Admiral (VFAIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a possible option is Vanguard Financials Index Admiral (VFAIX - Free Report) . VFAIX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VFAIX. The Vanguard Financials Index Admiral made its debut in January of 2004 and VFAIX has managed to accumulate roughly $740.50 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. William Coleman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 2015.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.8%, 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 7.78%, 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. Over the past three years, VFAIX's standard deviation comes in at 24.94%, compared to the category average of 26.69%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 22.05% compared to the category average of 23.26%. 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 1.12, so it is likely going to be more 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -4.93. This means 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, VFAIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 1.46%. VFAIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $100,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into VFAIX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.