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Is Vanguard Growth & Income Investor (VQNPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Blend fund could think about starting with Vanguard Growth & Income Investor (VQNPX - Free Report) . VQNPX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
VQNPX is classified in the Large Cap Blend segment by Zacks, which is an area full of potential. Targeting companies with market caps of more than $10 billion, Large Cap Blend mutual funds offer a stable investment choice; these funds are perfect for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Since blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, investors are exposed to both value and growth opportunities.
History of Fund/Manager
VQNPX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Growth & Income Investor made its debut in December of 1986 and VQNPX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.86 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. VQNPX has a 5-year annualized total return of 13.05% and it sits 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 12.28%, 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 VQNPX over the past three years is 10.12% compared to the category average of 9.64%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 9.58% 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. VQNPX lost 51.94% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 2.27%. This means that the fund could possibly be a better choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.98, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. VQNPX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.15, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 98.61% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $185.15 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Turnover is 178%, which means this fund makes more trades in a given year than the category average.
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, VQNPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.34% compared to the category average of 1%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VQNPX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Growth & Income 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 VQNPX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is Vanguard Growth & Income Investor (VQNPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Blend fund could think about starting with Vanguard Growth & Income Investor (VQNPX - Free Report) . VQNPX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
VQNPX is classified in the Large Cap Blend segment by Zacks, which is an area full of potential. Targeting companies with market caps of more than $10 billion, Large Cap Blend mutual funds offer a stable investment choice; these funds are perfect for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Since blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, investors are exposed to both value and growth opportunities.
History of Fund/Manager
VQNPX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Growth & Income Investor made its debut in December of 1986 and VQNPX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.86 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. VQNPX has a 5-year annualized total return of 13.05% and it sits 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 12.28%, 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 VQNPX over the past three years is 10.12% compared to the category average of 9.64%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 9.58% 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. VQNPX lost 51.94% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 2.27%. This means that the fund could possibly be a better choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.98, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. VQNPX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.15, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 98.61% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $185.15 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Turnover is 178%, which means this fund makes more trades in a given year than the category average.
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, VQNPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.34% compared to the category average of 1%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VQNPX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Growth & Income 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 VQNPX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.