Have you been searching for a Large Cap Growth fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Consumer Discret Index Admiral (VCDAX Quick QuoteVCDAX - Free Report) . VCDAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify VCDAX in the Large Cap Growth category, an area rife with potential choices. Large Cap Growth funds invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. To be considered large-cap, companies must have a market cap over $10 billion.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is responsible for VCDAX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Consumer Discret Index Admiral made its debut in January of 2004 and VCDAX has managed to accumulate roughly $658.81 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Chris Nieves is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2025.

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 12.33%, 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 12.21%, 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. The standard deviation of VCDAX over the past three years is 22.02% compared to the category average of 22.99%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 23.44% compared to the category average of 22.06%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.28, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -5.31, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 90.49% in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $247.31 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Retail Trade
• Non-Durable

Turnover is 6%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

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, VCDAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.10% compared to the category average of 1.04%. From a cost perspective, VCDAX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $100,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, even with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Vanguard Consumer Discret Index Admiral ( VCDAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Large Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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.