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Is Vanguard LifeStrategy Income Fund (VASIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be Vanguard LifeStrategy Income Fund (VASIX - Free Report) . VASIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is responsible for VASIX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard LifeStrategy Income Fund debuted in September of 1994. Since then, VASIX has accumulated assets of about $4.01 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. VASIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.58% and is 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 -2.82%, which places it in the bottom 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 VASIX over the past three years is 7.51% compared to the category average of 6.89%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 6.75% compared to the category average of 6.95%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.29, so investors should note that it is hypothetically 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. VASIX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.96, which means 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, VASIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.11% compared to the category average of 0.85%. VASIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to 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
Overall, Vanguard LifeStrategy Income Fund ( VASIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard LifeStrategy Income Fund ( VASIX ) looks like a great 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is Vanguard LifeStrategy Income Fund (VASIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be Vanguard LifeStrategy Income Fund (VASIX - Free Report) . VASIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is responsible for VASIX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard LifeStrategy Income Fund debuted in September of 1994. Since then, VASIX has accumulated assets of about $4.01 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. VASIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.58% and is 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 -2.82%, which places it in the bottom 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 VASIX over the past three years is 7.51% compared to the category average of 6.89%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 6.75% compared to the category average of 6.95%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.29, so investors should note that it is hypothetically 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. VASIX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.96, which means 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, VASIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.11% compared to the category average of 0.85%. VASIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to 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
Overall, Vanguard LifeStrategy Income Fund ( VASIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard LifeStrategy Income Fund ( VASIX ) looks like a great 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.