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Is Vanguard Capital Opportunity Fund (VHCOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should consider taking a look at Vanguard Capital Opportunity Fund (VHCOX - Free Report) . VHCOX 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 VHCOX. Vanguard Capital Opportunity Fund debuted in August of 1995. Since then, VHCOX has accumulated assets of about $1.26 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VHCOX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.6% and is in the bottom third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of 10.3%, 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. Over the past three years, VHCOX's standard deviation comes in at 17.62%, compared to the category average of 17.56%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.55% compared to the category average of 18.35%. 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 0.98, so it is likely going to be as volatile as 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 negative alpha of -0.89. This means that 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, VHCOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.43% compared to the category average of 0.98%. From a cost perspective, VHCOX 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, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Capital Opportunity Fund ( VHCOX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about VHCOX? 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 want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


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