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Is Vanguard Selected Value Fund (VASVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Mid Cap Value fund? Well, Vanguard Selected Value Fund (VASVX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. VASVX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
VASVX is one of many Mid Cap Value mutual funds to choose from. Mid Cap Value funds usually invest in companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion; these medium-sized firms possess strong value and income opportunities for investors.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is responsible for VASVX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Selected Value Fund debuted in February of 1996. Since then, VASVX has accumulated assets of about $8.31 billion, according to 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. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.84%, and is in the middle 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 10.85%, which places it in the middle 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 13.18%, the standard deviation of VASVX over the past three years is 14.49%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.73% compared to the category average of 12.65%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. VASVX lost 48.06% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 3.39%. 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 1.1, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than 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. VASVX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.32, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 85.42% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $12.85 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Finance
Other
Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 31%, which means, on average, the fund makes more trades in a given year than the category average.
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, VASVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.36% compared to the category average of 1.15%. So, VASVX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Selected Value Fund ( VASVX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
Don't stop here for your research on Mid Cap Value 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 VASVX to its peers as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is Vanguard Selected Value Fund (VASVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mid Cap Value fund? Well, Vanguard Selected Value Fund (VASVX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. VASVX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
VASVX is one of many Mid Cap Value mutual funds to choose from. Mid Cap Value funds usually invest in companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion; these medium-sized firms possess strong value and income opportunities for investors.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is responsible for VASVX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Selected Value Fund debuted in February of 1996. Since then, VASVX has accumulated assets of about $8.31 billion, according to 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. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.84%, and is in the middle 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 10.85%, which places it in the middle 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 13.18%, the standard deviation of VASVX over the past three years is 14.49%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.73% compared to the category average of 12.65%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. VASVX lost 48.06% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 3.39%. 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 1.1, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than 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. VASVX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.32, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 85.42% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $12.85 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Finance
- Other
- Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 31%, which means, on average, the fund makes more trades in a given year than the category average.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, VASVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.36% compared to the category average of 1.15%. So, VASVX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Selected Value Fund ( VASVX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
Don't stop here for your research on Mid Cap Value 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 VASVX to its peers as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.