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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Admiral (VWEAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. VWEAX 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 responsible for VWEAX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Admiral made its debut in November of 2001, and since then, VWEAX has accumulated about $20.22 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Michael Chang who has been in charge of the fund since August of 2022.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VWEAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.39% and it sits in the top 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 1.32%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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, VWEAX's standard deviation comes in at 7.75%, compared to the category average of 11.08%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 8.68% compared to the category average of 12.08%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
VWEAX carries a beta of 0.43, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 2.76, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, VWEAX 's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 84%. This means that the fund has an average quality of BBB, and focuses on medium quality securities.
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, VWEAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.13% compared to the category average of 0.98%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VWEAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $50,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Admiral ( VWEAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Admiral ( VWEAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Bond 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 VWEAX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is VWEAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Admiral (VWEAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. VWEAX 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 responsible for VWEAX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Admiral made its debut in November of 2001, and since then, VWEAX has accumulated about $20.22 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Michael Chang who has been in charge of the fund since August of 2022.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VWEAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.39% and it sits in the top 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 1.32%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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, VWEAX's standard deviation comes in at 7.75%, compared to the category average of 11.08%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 8.68% compared to the category average of 12.08%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
VWEAX carries a beta of 0.43, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 2.76, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, VWEAX 's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 84%. This means that the fund has an average quality of BBB, and focuses on medium quality securities.
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, VWEAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.13% compared to the category average of 0.98%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VWEAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $50,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Admiral ( VWEAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Admiral ( VWEAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Bond 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 VWEAX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.