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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Bond category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Investor (VUSTX - Free Report) . VUSTX 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
VUSTX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Investor made its debut in May of 1986 and VUSTX has managed to accumulate roughly $501.05 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by John Madziyire who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2021.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -3.23%, 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 -16.19%, 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 VUSTX over the past three years is 13.82% compared to the category average of 14.47%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 14.66% compared to the category average of 15.21%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 2.29, meaning that it is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VUSTX has a negative alpha of -0.17, 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, VUSTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.20% compared to the category average of 0.63%. So, VUSTX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; 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
Overall, Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Investor ( VUSTX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Investor ( VUSTX ) 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 VUSTX too 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 VUSTX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Bond category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Investor (VUSTX - Free Report) . VUSTX 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
VUSTX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Investor made its debut in May of 1986 and VUSTX has managed to accumulate roughly $501.05 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by John Madziyire who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2021.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -3.23%, 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 -16.19%, 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 VUSTX over the past three years is 13.82% compared to the category average of 14.47%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 14.66% compared to the category average of 15.21%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 2.29, meaning that it is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VUSTX has a negative alpha of -0.17, 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, VUSTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.20% compared to the category average of 0.63%. So, VUSTX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; 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
Overall, Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Investor ( VUSTX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Investor ( VUSTX ) 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 VUSTX too 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.