Any investors who are searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds should take a look at Vanguard Information Technology Index Admiral (VITAX Quick QuoteVITAX - Free Report) . VITAX 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 VITAX. The Vanguard Information Technology Index Admiral made its debut in January of 2004 and VITAX has managed to accumulate roughly $5.58 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Walter Nejman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 2015.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VITAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 15.33% 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 10.2%, 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. VITAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 25.36% compared to the category average of 27.15%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 22.8% compared to the category average of 24.5%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.15, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 4.88, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 96.85% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $491.20 billion. With turnover at about 6%, this fund is making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, VITAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 1.30%. VITAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $100,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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.