Large Cap Blend fund seekers should consider taking a look at Vanguard Morgan Growth Investor . VMRGX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that VMRGX is a Large Cap Blend option, an area loaded with different options. More often than not, Large Cap Blend mutual funds invest in companies with a market cap of over $10 billion. Buying stakes in bigger companies offer these funds more stability, and are well-suited for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Additionally, blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, giving investors exposure to value and growth opportunities.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VMRGX. The Vanguard Morgan Growth Investor made its debut in December of 1968 and VMRGX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.38 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VMRGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 14.85% 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 13.29%, 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. VMRGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.37% compared to the category average of 9.64%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 10.72% compared to the category average of 9.41%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In the most recent bear market, VMRGX lost 50.32% and outperformed its peer group by 0.65%. This makes the fund a possibly better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VMRGX 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. VMRGX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 1.4, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 98.91% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $206.73 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
Turnover is 94%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, VMRGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.39% compared to the category average of 1%. VMRGX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Morgan Growth Investor has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Large Cap Blend 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 VMRGX too 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.
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Is Vanguard Morgan Growth Investor (VMRGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Large Cap Blend fund seekers should consider taking a look at Vanguard Morgan Growth Investor . VMRGX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that VMRGX is a Large Cap Blend option, an area loaded with different options. More often than not, Large Cap Blend mutual funds invest in companies with a market cap of over $10 billion. Buying stakes in bigger companies offer these funds more stability, and are well-suited for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Additionally, blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, giving investors exposure to value and growth opportunities.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VMRGX. The Vanguard Morgan Growth Investor made its debut in December of 1968 and VMRGX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.38 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VMRGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 14.85% 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 13.29%, 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. VMRGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.37% compared to the category average of 9.64%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 10.72% compared to the category average of 9.41%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In the most recent bear market, VMRGX lost 50.32% and outperformed its peer group by 0.65%. This makes the fund a possibly better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VMRGX 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. VMRGX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 1.4, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 98.91% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $206.73 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Turnover is 94%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, VMRGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.39% compared to the category average of 1%. VMRGX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Morgan Growth Investor has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Large Cap Blend 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 VMRGX too 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.