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Is Vanguard 500 Index Admiral (VFIAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a possible option is Vanguard 500 Index Admiral (VFIAX - Free Report) . VFIAX 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
VFIAX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard 500 Index Admiral made its debut in November of 2000, and since then, VFIAX has accumulated about $439.19 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Donald Butler, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2016.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.16%, 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 13.67%, which places it in the top 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. Compared to the category average of 15.68%, the standard deviation of VFIAX over the past three years is 18.03%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.79% compared to the category average of 16.49%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1, so it is likely going to be as volatile as the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 0. This means 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.
Right now, 88.26% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks and it has 2.55% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Turnover is 2%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, VFIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.04% compared to the category average of 0.80%. So, VFIAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to 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
This could just be the start of your research on VFIAXin 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. 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 500 Index Admiral (VFIAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a possible option is Vanguard 500 Index Admiral (VFIAX - Free Report) . VFIAX 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
VFIAX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard 500 Index Admiral made its debut in November of 2000, and since then, VFIAX has accumulated about $439.19 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Donald Butler, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2016.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.16%, 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 13.67%, which places it in the top 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. Compared to the category average of 15.68%, the standard deviation of VFIAX over the past three years is 18.03%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.79% compared to the category average of 16.49%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1, so it is likely going to be as volatile as the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 0. This means 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.
Right now, 88.26% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks and it has 2.55% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
Turnover is 2%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.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, VFIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.04% compared to the category average of 0.80%. So, VFIAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to 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
This could just be the start of your research on VFIAXin 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. 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.