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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond funds, a place to start could be Vanguard GNMA Investor (VFIIX - Free Report) . VFIIX 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
VFIIX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard GNMA Investor debuted in June of 1980. Since then, VFIIX has accumulated assets of about $5 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Josh Saltman, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2019.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -0.18%, and it sits in the middle 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 -3.65%, 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 9.86%, the standard deviation of VFIIX over the past three years is 5.94%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 4.92% compared to the category average of 10.05%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.96, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VFIIX has a negative alpha of -0.89, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, VFIIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.21% compared to the category average of 0.77%. VFIIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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 GNMA Investor ( VFIIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on VFIIXin the Mutual Fund Bond 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 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 VFIIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond funds, a place to start could be Vanguard GNMA Investor (VFIIX - Free Report) . VFIIX 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
VFIIX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard GNMA Investor debuted in June of 1980. Since then, VFIIX has accumulated assets of about $5 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Josh Saltman, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2019.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -0.18%, and it sits in the middle 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 -3.65%, 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 9.86%, the standard deviation of VFIIX over the past three years is 5.94%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 4.92% compared to the category average of 10.05%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.96, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VFIIX has a negative alpha of -0.89, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, VFIIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.21% compared to the category average of 0.77%. VFIIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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 GNMA Investor ( VFIIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on VFIIXin the Mutual Fund Bond 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 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.