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Is Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Institutional (VEMIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You may want to consider Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Institutional (VEMIX - Free Report) as a possible option. 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 responsible for VEMIX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Institutional made its debut in June of 2000, VEMIX has garnered more than $6.42 billion in assets. The fund's current manager, Michael Perre, has been in charge of the fund since August of 2008.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -0.31%, and it sits 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 -1.46%, 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. The standard deviation of VEMIX over the past three years is 20.07% compared to the category average of 18.28%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.3% compared to the category average of 16.03%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.69, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less 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 -6.26. 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, VEMIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 1.15%. VEMIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $5 million, and each subsequent investment should be at least $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. 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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