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Is Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral (VTCLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should consider taking a look at Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral (VTCLX - Free Report) . VTCLX carries 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 VTCLX. Since Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral made its debut in November of 2001, VTCLX has garnered more than $13.99 billion in assets. Awais Khan is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2021.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VTCLX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.12% 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 14.36%, 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. Over the past three years, VTCLX's standard deviation comes in at 18.41%, compared to the category average of 17.2%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.05% compared to the category average of 16.98%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.02, the fund is likely to be as volatile as 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. VTCLX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.41, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 98.4% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $220.34 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Finance
Turnover is about 2%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, VTCLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.09% compared to the category average of 0.99%. VTCLX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $10,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral ( VTCLX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral ( VTCLX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on VTCLXin 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. 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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