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Is Vanguard Extended Market Index Admiral (VEXAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Extended Market Index Admiral (VEXAX - 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

VEXAX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Extended Market Index Admiral made its debut in November of 2000 and VEXAX has managed to accumulate roughly $23.64 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Donald Butler, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2000.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.91%, and is in the bottom 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 1.21%, 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. VEXAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.27% compared to the category average of 15.67%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 24.34% compared to the category average of 16.56%. 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. VEXAX has a 5-year beta of 1.21, which means it is likely to be more 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. VEXAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.93, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 83.97% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $12.44 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Finance
  • Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is about 8%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than its comparable peers.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, VEXAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.06% compared to the category average of 0.96%. VEXAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should 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

Want even more information about VEXAX? 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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