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Is Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral (VTCLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral (VTCLX - Free Report) . VTCLX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), 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 VTCLX. Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral made its debut in November of 2001, and since then, VTCLX has accumulated about $12.04 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by William Coleman who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2016.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 10.27%, 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 10.14%, 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. Over the past three years, VTCLX's standard deviation comes in at 21.23%, compared to the category average of 18.41%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.73% compared to the category average of 16.35%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VTCLX has a 5-year beta of 1.02, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. VTCLX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -0.24, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 99.6% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $285.45 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Finance
This fund's turnover is about 2%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, VTCLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.09% compared to the category average of 1%. So, VTCLX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral ( VTCLX ) 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.

Want even more information about VTCLX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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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