Have you been searching for a Sector - Finance fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Financials Index Admiral (VFAIX Quick QuoteVFAIX - Free Report) . VFAIX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

VFAIX is classified in the Sector - Finance segment by Zacks, and this area is full of possibilities. The financial space is notoriously large, complex, and heavily-regulated, and Sector - Finance mutual funds give investors a stable, diversified approach to investing in this industry. These funds can include everything from banks and investment giants to exchanges and insurance companies, though investors should note that interest rates could have a big impact.

History of Fund/Manager

VFAIX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Financials Index Admiral made its debut in January of 2004, VFAIX has garnered more than $1.26 billion in assets. Kenny Narzikul is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2023.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.35%, and it sits 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 19.62%, which places it in the bottom 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 18.86%, the standard deviation of VFAIX over the past three years is 15.27%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.41% compared to the category average of 20.77%. 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 0.9, which means it is hypothetically less 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. With a negative alpha of -0.04, 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, VFAIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.09% compared to the category average of 1.13%. VFAIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $100,000, and each subsequent investment should 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

For additional information on the Sector - Finance area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into VFAIX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.