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Is Vanguard Value Index Investor (VIVAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Investors in search of a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund might want to consider looking at Vanguard Value Index Investor (VIVAX - 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 VIVAX. Vanguard Value Index Investor debuted in November of 1992. Since then, VIVAX has accumulated assets of about $157.43 million, according to the most recently available information. Gerard O'Reilly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2000.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.94%, and it sits 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 15.18%, 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. VIVAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.81% compared to the category average of 15.6%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.19% compared to the category average of 16.64%. 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. VIVAX has a 5-year beta of 0.9, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. VIVAX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -1.85, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 80.28% of its assets in stocks and it has 3.02% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Finance
Industrial Cyclical
Technology
Non-Durable
With turnover at about 5%, this fund is making 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, VIVAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.98%. From a cost perspective, VIVAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about VIVAX? 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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Is Vanguard Value Index Investor (VIVAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Investors in search of a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund might want to consider looking at Vanguard Value Index Investor (VIVAX - 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 VIVAX. Vanguard Value Index Investor debuted in November of 1992. Since then, VIVAX has accumulated assets of about $157.43 million, according to the most recently available information. Gerard O'Reilly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2000.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.94%, and it sits 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 15.18%, 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. VIVAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.81% compared to the category average of 15.6%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.19% compared to the category average of 16.64%. 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. VIVAX has a 5-year beta of 0.9, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. VIVAX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -1.85, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 80.28% of its assets in stocks and it has 3.02% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Finance
- Industrial Cyclical
- Technology
- Non-Durable
With turnover at about 5%, this fund is making 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, VIVAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.17% compared to the category average of 0.98%. From a cost perspective, VIVAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Want even more information about VIVAX? 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.