On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund Investor is one possibility. VPGDX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VPGDX. Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund Investor made its debut in April of 2008, and since then, VPGDX has accumulated about $1.13 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Fei Xu who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2020.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.4%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.47%, 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. VPGDX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.87% compared to the category average of 14.56%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 11.69% compared to the category average of 12.69%. 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 0.59, which means 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -2.83, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, VPGDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.27% compared to the category average of 0.86%. So, VPGDX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $25,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund Investor ( VPGDX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
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 VPGDX 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 Managed Allocation Fund Investor (VPGDX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund Investor is one possibility. VPGDX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VPGDX. Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund Investor made its debut in April of 2008, and since then, VPGDX has accumulated about $1.13 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Fei Xu who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2020.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.4%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.47%, 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. VPGDX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.87% compared to the category average of 14.56%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 11.69% compared to the category average of 12.69%. 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 0.59, which means 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -2.83, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, VPGDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.27% compared to the category average of 0.86%. So, VPGDX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $25,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund Investor ( VPGDX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
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 VPGDX 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.