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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond funds, a place to start could be Vanguard Short-Term Investment Grade Fund Investor (VFSTX - Free Report) . VFSTX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (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 VFSTX. Vanguard Short-Term Investment Grade Fund Investor debuted in October of 1982. Since then, VFSTX has accumulated assets of about $6.37 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Daniel Shaykevich who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2018.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.53%, and it sits 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 -0.98%, 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. VFSTX's standard deviation over the past three years is 3.16% compared to the category average of 10.56%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 3.29% compared to the category average of 11.21%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.46, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VFSTX has a positive alpha of 0.32, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, VFSTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.20% compared to the category average of 0.66%. So, VFSTX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Short-Term Investment Grade Fund Investor ( VFSTX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Short-Term Investment Grade Fund Investor ( VFSTX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VFSTX to its peers 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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Is VFSTX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond funds, a place to start could be Vanguard Short-Term Investment Grade Fund Investor (VFSTX - Free Report) . VFSTX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (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 VFSTX. Vanguard Short-Term Investment Grade Fund Investor debuted in October of 1982. Since then, VFSTX has accumulated assets of about $6.37 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Daniel Shaykevich who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2018.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.53%, and it sits 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 -0.98%, 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. VFSTX's standard deviation over the past three years is 3.16% compared to the category average of 10.56%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 3.29% compared to the category average of 11.21%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.46, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VFSTX has a positive alpha of 0.32, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, VFSTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.20% compared to the category average of 0.66%. So, VFSTX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Short-Term Investment Grade Fund Investor ( VFSTX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Short-Term Investment Grade Fund Investor ( VFSTX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VFSTX to its peers 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.