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Looking for an Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate fund? You may want to consider Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Investor (VFICX - Free Report) as a possible option. VFICX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
VFICX is one of many Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds to pick from. Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds focus on the middle part of the curve, generally with bonds that usually mature in more than three years but less than 15 years. Fixed income instruments with this maturity level usually have medium duration risk, but they also compensate investors with a modest yield, at least when compared to their short maturity counterparts. Additionally, the focus on investment grade will make funds here safer, but yields will be lower than in the junk bond category.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VFICX. Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Investor made its debut in November of 1993, and since then, VFICX has accumulated about $1.59 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Daniel Shaykevich is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2018.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.53%, 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 -1.52%, 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. Compared to the category average of 11.4%, the standard deviation of VFICX over the past three years is 8.6%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 7.52% compared to the category average of 11.91%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
VFICX carries a beta of 1.04, meaning that the fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 1.54, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, VFICX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.20% compared to the category average of 0.77%. From a cost perspective, VFICX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that 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 Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Investor ( VFICX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Investor ( VFICX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate 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 VFICX too 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 VFICX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Looking for an Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate fund? You may want to consider Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Investor (VFICX - Free Report) as a possible option. VFICX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
VFICX is one of many Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds to pick from. Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds focus on the middle part of the curve, generally with bonds that usually mature in more than three years but less than 15 years. Fixed income instruments with this maturity level usually have medium duration risk, but they also compensate investors with a modest yield, at least when compared to their short maturity counterparts. Additionally, the focus on investment grade will make funds here safer, but yields will be lower than in the junk bond category.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VFICX. Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Investor made its debut in November of 1993, and since then, VFICX has accumulated about $1.59 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Daniel Shaykevich is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2018.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.53%, 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 -1.52%, 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. Compared to the category average of 11.4%, the standard deviation of VFICX over the past three years is 8.6%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 7.52% compared to the category average of 11.91%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
VFICX carries a beta of 1.04, meaning that the fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 1.54, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, VFICX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.20% compared to the category average of 0.77%. From a cost perspective, VFICX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that 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 Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Investor ( VFICX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Investor ( VFICX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate 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 VFICX too 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.