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Is Vanguard Health Care Index Admiral (VHCIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Investors in search of a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund might want to consider looking at Vanguard Health Care Index Admiral (VHCIX - 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

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VHCIX. Since Vanguard Health Care Index Admiral made its debut in January of 2004, VHCIX has garnered more than $2.89 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Walter Nejman who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2015.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VHCIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.19% 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 14.05%, 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. The standard deviation of VHCIX over the past three years is 16.11% compared to the category average of 18.9%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.56% compared to the category average of 18.15%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.76, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. With a positive alpha of 2.14, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, VHCIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 1.30%. VHCIX 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 this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.


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