There are plenty of choices in the Large Cap Growth category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Institutional (VTCIX Quick QuoteVTCIX - Free Report) . VTCIX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify VTCIX 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 VTCIX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Institutional made its debut in February of 1999, VTCIX has garnered more than $4.56 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Jena Stenger who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2025.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VTCIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 17.06%, 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 22.14%, 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. VTCIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 13.22% compared to the category average of 12.82%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.05% compared to the category average of 14.55%. 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. VTCIX has a 5-year beta of 1.02, 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.64. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 85.11% in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $527.42 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Technology
• Finance
• Retail Trade

With turnover at about 6%, 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, VTCIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.06% compared to the category average of 0.83%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VTCIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $5.00 million 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 Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Institutional ( VTCIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar 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 VTCIX in the Large Cap Growth 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.