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Is Vanguard Growth & Income Investor (VQNPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Large Cap Blend category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard Growth & Income Investor (VQNPX - Free Report) . VQNPX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that VQNPX is a Large Cap Blend option, an area loaded with different options. More often than not, Large Cap Blend mutual funds invest in companies with a market cap of over $10 billion. Buying stakes in bigger companies offer these funds more stability, and are well-suited for investors with a 'buy and hold' mindset. Additionally, blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, giving investors exposure to value and growth opportunities.
History of Fund/Manager
VQNPX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Growth & Income Investor made its debut in December of 1986, VQNPX has garnered more than $3.70 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 has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 16.27%, and is in the top 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 17.35%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.26%, the standard deviation of VQNPX over the past three years is 15.23%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.17% compared to the category average of 14.81%. 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. VQNPX has a 5-year beta of 1, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. VQNPX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.44, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 79.12% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $395.51 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Turnover is 86%, which means, on average, the fund makes more trades in a given year than the average of comparable funds.
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, VQNPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.38% compared to the category average of 0.83%. VQNPX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Growth & Income Investor ( VQNPX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on VQNPX in the Large Cap Blend 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 Vanguard Growth & Income Investor (VQNPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Large Cap Blend category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard Growth & Income Investor (VQNPX - Free Report) . VQNPX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that VQNPX is a Large Cap Blend option, an area loaded with different options. More often than not, Large Cap Blend mutual funds invest in companies with a market cap of over $10 billion. Buying stakes in bigger companies offer these funds more stability, and are well-suited for investors with a 'buy and hold' mindset. Additionally, blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, giving investors exposure to value and growth opportunities.
History of Fund/Manager
VQNPX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Growth & Income Investor made its debut in December of 1986, VQNPX has garnered more than $3.70 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 has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 16.27%, and is in the top 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 17.35%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.26%, the standard deviation of VQNPX over the past three years is 15.23%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.17% compared to the category average of 14.81%. 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. VQNPX has a 5-year beta of 1, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. VQNPX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.44, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 79.12% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $395.51 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Turnover is 86%, which means, on average, the fund makes more trades in a given year than the average of comparable funds.
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, VQNPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.38% compared to the category average of 0.83%. VQNPX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Growth & Income Investor ( VQNPX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on VQNPX in the Large Cap Blend 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.