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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond funds, a place to start could be Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Investor (VWAHX - Free Report) . VWAHX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
VWAHX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Investor made its debut in December of 1978 and VWAHX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.68 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Mathew Kiselak is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2010.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 1.32%, and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of -1.16%, 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. The standard deviation of VWAHX over the past three years is 8.45% compared to the category average of 12.54%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 6.79% compared to the category average of 10.72%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.93, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VWAHX has a positive alpha of 0.13, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, VWAHX has 24.97% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 52.8% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, VWAHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.79%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VWAHX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Investor ( VWAHX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Investor ( VWAHX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond 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 VWAHX 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 VWAHX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond funds, a place to start could be Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Investor (VWAHX - Free Report) . VWAHX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
VWAHX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Investor made its debut in December of 1978 and VWAHX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.68 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Mathew Kiselak is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2010.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 1.32%, and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of -1.16%, 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. The standard deviation of VWAHX over the past three years is 8.45% compared to the category average of 12.54%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 6.79% compared to the category average of 10.72%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.93, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VWAHX has a positive alpha of 0.13, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, VWAHX has 24.97% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 52.8% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, VWAHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.79%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VWAHX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Investor ( VWAHX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Investor ( VWAHX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond 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 VWAHX 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.