We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Government Mortgage - Intermediate fund seekers should consider taking a look at Vanguard GNMA Investor (VFIIX - Free Report) . VFIIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
VFIIX is one of many Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds to choose from. Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds focus on the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market. This market takes mortgages, packages them together, and sells off the pooled securities to investors. This particular category focuses on MBS that usually have at least three years to maturity, but less than 10, giving a medium risk and yield profile to funds here.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VFIIX. The Vanguard GNMA Investor made its debut in June of 1980 and VFIIX has managed to accumulate roughly $5.05 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Josh Saltman who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2019.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -0.21%, and is in the middle 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 -3.03%, 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. The standard deviation of VFIIX over the past three years is 7.33% compared to the category average of 10.42%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 5.87% compared to the category average of 10.38%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
VFIIX carries a beta of 0.98, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a negative alpha of -0.93, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, VFIIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.21% compared to the category average of 0.76%. So, VFIIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VFIIX to its peers as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Is VFIIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Government Mortgage - Intermediate fund seekers should consider taking a look at Vanguard GNMA Investor (VFIIX - Free Report) . VFIIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
VFIIX is one of many Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds to choose from. Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds focus on the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market. This market takes mortgages, packages them together, and sells off the pooled securities to investors. This particular category focuses on MBS that usually have at least three years to maturity, but less than 10, giving a medium risk and yield profile to funds here.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VFIIX. The Vanguard GNMA Investor made its debut in June of 1980 and VFIIX has managed to accumulate roughly $5.05 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Josh Saltman who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2019.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -0.21%, and is in the middle 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 -3.03%, 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. The standard deviation of VFIIX over the past three years is 7.33% compared to the category average of 10.42%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 5.87% compared to the category average of 10.38%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
VFIIX carries a beta of 0.98, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a negative alpha of -0.93, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, VFIIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.21% compared to the category average of 0.76%. So, VFIIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VFIIX to its peers as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.