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Is Vanguard Institutional Total Stock Market Plus (VITPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you've been stuck searching for Large Cap Blend funds, consider Vanguard Institutional Total Stock Market Plus (VITPX - Free Report) as a possibility. VITPX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
Objective
VITPX is part of the Large Cap Blend section, an area that boasts an array of many possible options. Large Cap Blend mutual funds most often invest in firms with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more. By investing in bigger companies, these funds offer more stability, and are often well-suited for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Blended funds mix large, established companies into their holdings, which gives investors exposure to both value and growth at the same time.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VITPX. Since Vanguard Institutional Total Stock Market Plus made its debut in May of 2001, VITPX has garnered more than $27.30 billion in assets. Walter Nejman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2016.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.84%, and is 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 7.9%, 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 15.7%, the standard deviation of VITPX over the past three years is 17.68%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.83% compared to the category average of 16.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VITPX has a 5-year beta of 1.03, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. VITPX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.85, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, VITPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.02% compared to the category average of 0.85%. So, VITPX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $100 million; 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
Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Blend 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 VITPX to its peers as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is Vanguard Institutional Total Stock Market Plus (VITPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Large Cap Blend funds, consider Vanguard Institutional Total Stock Market Plus (VITPX - Free Report) as a possibility. VITPX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
Objective
VITPX is part of the Large Cap Blend section, an area that boasts an array of many possible options. Large Cap Blend mutual funds most often invest in firms with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more. By investing in bigger companies, these funds offer more stability, and are often well-suited for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Blended funds mix large, established companies into their holdings, which gives investors exposure to both value and growth at the same time.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VITPX. Since Vanguard Institutional Total Stock Market Plus made its debut in May of 2001, VITPX has garnered more than $27.30 billion in assets. Walter Nejman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2016.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.84%, and is 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 7.9%, 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 15.7%, the standard deviation of VITPX over the past three years is 17.68%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.83% compared to the category average of 16.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VITPX has a 5-year beta of 1.03, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. VITPX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.85, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, VITPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.02% compared to the category average of 0.85%. So, VITPX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $100 million; 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
Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Blend 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 VITPX to its peers as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.