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Is Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Investor (VIMSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Have you been searching for an Index fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Investor (VIMSX - 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.
History of Fund/Manager
VIMSX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Investor made its debut in May of 1998 and VIMSX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.83 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Donald M. Butler who has been in charge of the fund since May of 1998.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VIMSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.52% and is in the top 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 13.65%, 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 VIMSX over the past three years is 9.65% compared to the category average of 8.81%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 9.95% compared to the category average of 8.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In the most recent bear market, VIMSX lost 53.58% and outperformed its peer group by 7.03%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.97, so investors should note that 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -1.76. This means that 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, VIMSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.85%. So, VIMSX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Don't stop here for your research on Index 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 VIMSX to its peers 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 Mid-Cap Index Investor (VIMSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Have you been searching for an Index fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Investor (VIMSX - 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.
History of Fund/Manager
VIMSX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Investor made its debut in May of 1998 and VIMSX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.83 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Donald M. Butler who has been in charge of the fund since May of 1998.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VIMSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.52% and is in the top 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 13.65%, 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 VIMSX over the past three years is 9.65% compared to the category average of 8.81%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 9.95% compared to the category average of 8.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In the most recent bear market, VIMSX lost 53.58% and outperformed its peer group by 7.03%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.97, so investors should note that 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -1.76. This means that 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, VIMSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.85%. So, VIMSX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Don't stop here for your research on Index 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 VIMSX to its peers 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.