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Is Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund Investor (VPMCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund Investor (VPMCX - Free Report) . VPMCX 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
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VPMCX. Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund Investor debuted in November of 1984. Since then, VPMCX has accumulated assets of about $5.04 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.67%, and it sits in the middle 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 14.7%, which places it in the top 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. VPMCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 17.68% compared to the category average of 16.28%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.67% compared to the category average of 17.11%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.96, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -0.89, which shows 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.
The mutual fund currently has 79.31% of its holdings in stocks and it has 15.42% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Health
Industrial Cyclical
This fund's turnover is about 6%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than its comparable peers.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, VPMCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.38% compared to the category average of 0.99%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VPMCX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note, that according to our data, the fund does not have any minimum investment requirements.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund Investor ( VPMCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund Investor ( VPMCX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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 PRIMECAP Fund Investor (VPMCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund Investor (VPMCX - Free Report) . VPMCX 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
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VPMCX. Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund Investor debuted in November of 1984. Since then, VPMCX has accumulated assets of about $5.04 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.67%, and it sits in the middle 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 14.7%, which places it in the top 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. VPMCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 17.68% compared to the category average of 16.28%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.67% compared to the category average of 17.11%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.96, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -0.89, which shows 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.
The mutual fund currently has 79.31% of its holdings in stocks and it has 15.42% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Health
- Industrial Cyclical
This fund's turnover is about 6%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than its comparable peers.Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, VPMCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.38% compared to the category average of 0.99%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VPMCX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note, that according to our data, the fund does not have any minimum investment requirements.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund Investor ( VPMCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund Investor ( VPMCX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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.