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Is Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund (VISGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a possible option is Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund (VISGX - 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
VISGX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund made its debut in May of 1998, VISGX has garnered more than $82.95 million in assets. Gerard O'Reilly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since September of 2011.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VISGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.73% and it sits in the middle 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 -3.66%, 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. VISGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.3% compared to the category average of 17.33%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 23.85% compared to the category average of 18.19%. 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. VISGX has a 5-year beta of 1.13, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -6.6, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 85.84% in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $7.07 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Industrial Cyclical
Health
Turnover is 18%, which means, on average, the fund makes 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, VISGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.19% compared to the category average of 1.03%. From a cost perspective, VISGX 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 VISGX? 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 Small-Cap Growth Index Fund (VISGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a possible option is Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund (VISGX - 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
VISGX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund made its debut in May of 1998, VISGX has garnered more than $82.95 million in assets. Gerard O'Reilly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since September of 2011.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VISGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.73% and it sits in the middle 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 -3.66%, 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. VISGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.3% compared to the category average of 17.33%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 23.85% compared to the category average of 18.19%. 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. VISGX has a 5-year beta of 1.13, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -6.6, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 85.84% in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $7.07 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Industrial Cyclical
- Health
Turnover is 18%, which means, on average, the fund makes 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, VISGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.19% compared to the category average of 1.03%. From a cost perspective, VISGX 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 VISGX? 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.