Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Vanguard LifeStrategy Conservative Growth Fund (VSCGX Quick QuoteVSCGX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. VSCGX possesses 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

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VSCGX. Since Vanguard LifeStrategy Conservative Growth Fund made its debut in September of 1994, VSCGX has garnered more than $9.78 billion in assets. William A. Coleman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2022.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.26%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 0.07%, which places it in the bottom 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 VSCGX over the past three years is 9.96% compared to the category average of 10.93%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 8.42% compared to the category average of 9.27%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.43, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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. VSCGX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -3.03, demonstrating 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, VSCGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.12% compared to the category average of 0.92%. VSCGX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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

Bottom Line

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

This could just be the start of your research on VSCGXin 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.