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Is Vanguard Equity Income Admiral (VEIRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard Equity Income Admiral (VEIRX - Free Report) . VEIRX has 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

VEIRX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Equity Income Admiral debuted in August of 2001. Since then, VEIRX has accumulated assets of about $50.36 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Sharon Hill who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2021.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.35%, 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 14.96%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of VEIRX over the past three years is 16.15% compared to the category average of 16.07%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 17.16% compared to the category average of 17.34%. 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 0.83, so it is likely going to be less volatile than 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -0.92, which shows 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 82.02% of its holdings in stocks and it has 11.9% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Finance
  • Non-Durable
  • Health
Turnover is about 40%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

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, VEIRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.18% compared to the category average of 0.98%. So, VEIRX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $50,000, 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 Equity Income Admiral ( VEIRX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Equity Income Admiral ( VEIRX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about VEIRX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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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