Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Vanguard International Explorer Fund (VINEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Having trouble finding a Non US - Equity fund? Well, Vanguard International Explorer Fund (VINEX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. VINEX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

VINEX is classified in the Non US - Equity area by Zacks, and this segment is full of potential. Non US - Equity funds focus their investments on companies outside of the United States, which is an important distinction since global mutual funds tend to keep a sizable portion of their portfolio based in the United States. Most of these funds will allocate across emerging and developed markets, and can often extend across cap levels too.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is responsible for VINEX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard International Explorer Fund made its debut in November of 1996 and VINEX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.38 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.17%, and is in the top 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 6.8%, which places it in the bottom 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. Compared to the category average of 13.01%, the standard deviation of VINEX over the past three years is 14.27%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 12.99% compared to the category average of 12.96%. 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 VINEX's case, the fund lost 59.58% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 1.13%. This could mean that the fund is a worse choice than comparable funds during a bear market.

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VINEX has a 5-year beta of 0.89, which means it is likely to be less volatile than 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -4.85. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, VINEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.39% compared to the category average of 1.21%. So, VINEX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard International Explorer Fund ( VINEX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.

Don't stop here for your research on Non US - Equity 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 VINEX to its peers as well 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.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Vanguard International Explorer Inv (VINEX) - free report >>

Published in