Any investors who are searching for Sector - Utilities funds should take a look at Vanguard Utilities Index Admiral (VUIAX Quick QuoteVUIAX - Free Report) . While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

We classify VUIAX in the Sector - Utilities category, an area that is rife with possible choices. Sector - Utilities funds focus their investments on firms that provide essential daily services to millions of people like electric power, gas distribution, and water supply. All in all, the utility industry is a perfect fit for those investors looking for stability and low volatility.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is responsible for VUIAX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Utilities Index Admiral debuted in January of 2004. Since then, VUIAX has accumulated assets of about $2.16 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Jena Stenger, 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. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.38%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 16.72%, 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 13.84%, the standard deviation of VUIAX over the past three years is 14.9%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.73% compared to the category average of 15.61%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.68, the fund is likely to be less volatile than 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. With a positive alpha of 3.09, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, VUIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.09% compared to the category average of 1.00%. VUIAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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

Don't stop here for your research on Sector - Utilities 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 VUIAX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.