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If investors are looking at the Government Mortgage - Intermediate fund category, Vanguard GNMA Admiral (VFIJX - Free Report) could be a potential option. VFIJX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify VFIJX in the Government Mortgage - Intermediate category, an area full of potential choices. Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds focus on the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market, which packages mortgages together and then sells off the pooled securities as a MBS. Honing in on MBS'that have at least three years to maturity but less than 10, this fund category presents a medium risk and yield profile.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VFIJX. Vanguard GNMA Admiral debuted in February of 2001. Since then, VFIJX has accumulated assets of about $10.01 billion, according to 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
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 -0.15%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -2.52%, 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, VFIJX's standard deviation comes in at 7.35%, compared to the category average of 10.41%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 5.85% compared to the category average of 10.4%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 1.01, this fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VFIJX has a negative alpha of -0.68, 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, VFIJX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.11% compared to the category average of 0.76%. So, VFIJX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $50,000; 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 GNMA Admiral ( VFIJX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard GNMA Admiral ( VFIJX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on VFIJXin the Government Mortgage - Intermediate 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 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 VFIJX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Government Mortgage - Intermediate fund category, Vanguard GNMA Admiral (VFIJX - Free Report) could be a potential option. VFIJX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify VFIJX in the Government Mortgage - Intermediate category, an area full of potential choices. Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds focus on the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market, which packages mortgages together and then sells off the pooled securities as a MBS. Honing in on MBS'that have at least three years to maturity but less than 10, this fund category presents a medium risk and yield profile.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VFIJX. Vanguard GNMA Admiral debuted in February of 2001. Since then, VFIJX has accumulated assets of about $10.01 billion, according to 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
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 -0.15%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -2.52%, 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, VFIJX's standard deviation comes in at 7.35%, compared to the category average of 10.41%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 5.85% compared to the category average of 10.4%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 1.01, this fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VFIJX has a negative alpha of -0.68, 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, VFIJX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.11% compared to the category average of 0.76%. So, VFIJX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $50,000; 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 GNMA Admiral ( VFIJX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard GNMA Admiral ( VFIJX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on VFIJXin the Government Mortgage - Intermediate 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 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.