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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor (VWITX - Free Report) as a possibility. VWITX 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
VWITX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor made its debut in September of 1977, VWITX has garnered more than $2.22 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by James D'Arcy who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2013.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VWITX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.24% 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 -1.9%, 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. Over the past three years, VWITX's standard deviation comes in at 5.43%, compared to the category average of 10.05%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 5.01% compared to the category average of 10.24%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
VWITX carries a beta of 0.76, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 0.1, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, VWITX has 59.38% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 35.81% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of AA, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, VWITX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.80%. VWITX 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 Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor ( VWITX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor ( VWITX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Bond, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is VWITX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor (VWITX - Free Report) as a possibility. VWITX 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
VWITX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor made its debut in September of 1977, VWITX has garnered more than $2.22 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by James D'Arcy who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2013.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VWITX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.24% 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 -1.9%, 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. Over the past three years, VWITX's standard deviation comes in at 5.43%, compared to the category average of 10.05%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 5.01% compared to the category average of 10.24%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
VWITX carries a beta of 0.76, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 0.1, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, VWITX has 59.38% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 35.81% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of AA, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, VWITX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.80%. VWITX 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 Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor ( VWITX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Investor ( VWITX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Bond, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.