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Is Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 Fund (VFFVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Investors in search of a Target Date fund might want to consider looking at Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 Fund (VFFVX - Free Report) . VFFVX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
VFFVX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 Fund made its debut in August of 2010, VFFVX has garnered more than $59.25 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 12.24%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.59%, 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. VFFVX's standard deviation over the past three years is 14.09% compared to the category average of 15.35%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.33% compared to the category average of 14.77%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.85, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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. VFFVX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.05, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, VFFVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.08% compared to the category average of 0.41%. From a cost perspective, VFFVX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about VFFVX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 Fund (VFFVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Investors in search of a Target Date fund might want to consider looking at Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 Fund (VFFVX - Free Report) . VFFVX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
VFFVX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 Fund made its debut in August of 2010, VFFVX has garnered more than $59.25 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 12.24%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.59%, 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. VFFVX's standard deviation over the past three years is 14.09% compared to the category average of 15.35%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.33% compared to the category average of 14.77%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.85, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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. VFFVX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.05, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, VFFVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.08% compared to the category average of 0.41%. From a cost perspective, VFFVX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about VFFVX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.