There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund Investor . VPGDX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VPGDX. Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund Investor debuted in April of 2008. Since then, VPGDX has accumulated assets of about $1.20 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Fei Xu, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2020.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.69%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 1.93%, 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. Over the past three years, VPGDX's standard deviation comes in at 13.12%, compared to the category average of 13.28%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 11.12% compared to the category average of 11.73%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.58, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.21. 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, VPGDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.27% compared to the category average of 0.86%. From a cost perspective, VPGDX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $25,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund Investor ( VPGDX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 VPGDX to its peers as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund Investor (VPGDX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund Investor . VPGDX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VPGDX. Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund Investor debuted in April of 2008. Since then, VPGDX has accumulated assets of about $1.20 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Fei Xu, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2020.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.69%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 1.93%, 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. Over the past three years, VPGDX's standard deviation comes in at 13.12%, compared to the category average of 13.28%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 11.12% compared to the category average of 11.73%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.58, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.21. 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, VPGDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.27% compared to the category average of 0.86%. From a cost perspective, VPGDX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $25,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund Investor ( VPGDX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 VPGDX to its peers as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.