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Is Vanguard Equity Income Admiral (VEIRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Vanguard Equity Income Admiral (VEIRX - Free Report) . VEIRX holds 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

VEIRX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Equity Income Admiral made its debut in August of 2001 and VEIRX has managed to accumulate roughly $50.52 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Sharon Hill, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2021.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VEIRX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.7% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.76%, 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 VEIRX over the past three years is 19.27% compared to the category average of 19.45%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.89% compared to the category average of 17.08%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.84, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 0.5. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 92.59% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $130.31 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Finance
  • Health
  • Non-Durable
Turnover is 40%, which means, on average, the fund makes 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, VEIRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.19% compared to the category average of 0.98%. So, VEIRX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $50,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard Equity Income Admiral ( VEIRX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Equity Income Admiral ( VEIRX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about VEIRX? 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.


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