If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Vanguard Extended Market Index Admiral (VEXAX Quick QuoteVEXAX - Free Report) as a possibility. 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

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VEXAX. The Vanguard Extended Market Index Admiral made its debut in November of 2000 and VEXAX has managed to accumulate roughly $21.57 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Donald Butler who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2000.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VEXAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.4% and it sits 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 6.12%, 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, VEXAX's standard deviation comes in at 26.65%, compared to the category average of 18.36%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 23.31% compared to the category average of 16.14%. 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. VEXAX has a 5-year beta of 1.17, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. VEXAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.92, 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 85.85% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $9.94 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Finance
2. Technology
3. Industrial Cyclical

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, VEXAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.06% compared to the category average of 0.98%. From a cost perspective, VEXAX is actually cheaper than its peers.

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

Want even more information about VEXAX? 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. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.