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Is Vanguard Utilities Index Administrative (VUIAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Sector - Utilities fund? Vanguard Utilities Index Administrative (VUIAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. VUIAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
VUIAX is classified in the Sector - Utilities segment by Zacks, an area full of potential. Sector - Utilities mutual funds focus on companies that provide essential servicessuch as electric power, gas distribution, and water supplyto millions of people on a daily basis. Overall, the utility industry is known for its stability and reduced volatility.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VUIAX. Since Vanguard Utilities Index Administrative made its debut in January of 2004, VUIAX has garnered more than $792.96 million in assets. Michael A. Johnson is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2015.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VUIAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.32% and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 8.42%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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 VUIAX over the past three years is 12.91% compared to the category average of 11.32%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.55% compared to the category average of 11.53%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In the most recent bear market, VUIAX lost 38.05% and outperformed its peer group by 5.32%. This makes the fund a possibly better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.27, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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 6.22, 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 0.10% compared to the category average of 1.21%. From a cost perspective, VUIAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $100,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Utilities Index Administrative has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Utilities Index Administrative looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Sector - Utilities 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is Vanguard Utilities Index Administrative (VUIAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Sector - Utilities fund? Vanguard Utilities Index Administrative (VUIAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. VUIAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
VUIAX is classified in the Sector - Utilities segment by Zacks, an area full of potential. Sector - Utilities mutual funds focus on companies that provide essential servicessuch as electric power, gas distribution, and water supplyto millions of people on a daily basis. Overall, the utility industry is known for its stability and reduced volatility.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VUIAX. Since Vanguard Utilities Index Administrative made its debut in January of 2004, VUIAX has garnered more than $792.96 million in assets. Michael A. Johnson is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2015.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VUIAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.32% and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 8.42%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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 VUIAX over the past three years is 12.91% compared to the category average of 11.32%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.55% compared to the category average of 11.53%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In the most recent bear market, VUIAX lost 38.05% and outperformed its peer group by 5.32%. This makes the fund a possibly better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.27, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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 6.22, 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 0.10% compared to the category average of 1.21%. From a cost perspective, VUIAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $100,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Utilities Index Administrative has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Utilities Index Administrative looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Sector - Utilities 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.