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Is Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Admiral (VFWAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You may want to consider Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Admiral (VFWAX - Free Report) as a possible option. The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VFWAX. The Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Admiral made its debut in September of 2011 and VFWAX has managed to accumulate roughly $7.75 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Christine Franquin, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2016.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.6%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 7.52%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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 VFWAX over the past three years is 17.5% compared to the category average of 15.77%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 17.85% compared to the category average of 16.26%. This makes the fund more 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. With a negative alpha of -6.12, 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, VFWAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.12% compared to the category average of 0.79%. VFWAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 VFWAX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Admiral (VFWAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You may want to consider Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Admiral (VFWAX - Free Report) as a possible option. The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VFWAX. The Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Admiral made its debut in September of 2011 and VFWAX has managed to accumulate roughly $7.75 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Christine Franquin, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2016.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.6%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 7.52%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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 VFWAX over the past three years is 17.5% compared to the category average of 15.77%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 17.85% compared to the category average of 16.26%. This makes the fund more 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. With a negative alpha of -6.12, 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, VFWAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.12% compared to the category average of 0.79%. VFWAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 VFWAX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.