We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Fund (VTWNX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Fund (VTWNX - Free Report) . 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 VTWNX. Since Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Fund made its debut in June of 2006, VTWNX has garnered more than $40.16 billion in assets. William Coleman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2013.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.22%, 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 1.33%, 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 11.68%, the standard deviation of VTWNX over the past three years is 11.53%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 9.98% compared to the category average of 9.96%. 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. VTWNX has a 5-year beta of 0.51, which means it is likely to be less 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. With a negative alpha of -2.42, 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, VTWNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.09% compared to the category average of 0.49%. From a cost perspective, VTWNX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about VTWNX? 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.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Is Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Fund (VTWNX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Fund (VTWNX - Free Report) . 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 VTWNX. Since Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Fund made its debut in June of 2006, VTWNX has garnered more than $40.16 billion in assets. William Coleman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2013.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.22%, 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 1.33%, 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 11.68%, the standard deviation of VTWNX over the past three years is 11.53%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 9.98% compared to the category average of 9.96%. 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. VTWNX has a 5-year beta of 0.51, which means it is likely to be less 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. With a negative alpha of -2.42, 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, VTWNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.09% compared to the category average of 0.49%. From a cost perspective, VTWNX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about VTWNX? 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.