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Is Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Investor (VISVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Small Cap Value category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Investor (VISVX - Free Report) . The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
Objective
VISVX is one of many Small Cap Value funds to choose from. Small Cap Value mutual funds typically invest in companies with market caps under $2 billion. These funds represent value because they offer more bang for an owner's buck, often demonstrated by lower P/E Ratios, high dividend yields, and better-than-average price-to-sales ratios.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is responsible for VISVX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Investor made its debut in April of 1998, VISVX has garnered more than $97.96 million in assets. Gerard O'Reilly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2016.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VISVX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.85% and is in the top 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 7.06%, 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. Over the past three years, VISVX's standard deviation comes in at 20.15%, compared to the category average of 16.26%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 23.76% compared to the category average of 18.42%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.15, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a negative alpha of -5.9, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 96.25% in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $6.37 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Finance
Industrial Cyclical
With turnover at about 14%, this fund is making 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, VISVX 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, VISVX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; 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
Your research on the Small Cap Value 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. 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 Value Index Investor (VISVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Small Cap Value category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Investor (VISVX - Free Report) . The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
Objective
VISVX is one of many Small Cap Value funds to choose from. Small Cap Value mutual funds typically invest in companies with market caps under $2 billion. These funds represent value because they offer more bang for an owner's buck, often demonstrated by lower P/E Ratios, high dividend yields, and better-than-average price-to-sales ratios.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is responsible for VISVX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Investor made its debut in April of 1998, VISVX has garnered more than $97.96 million in assets. Gerard O'Reilly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2016.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VISVX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.85% and is in the top 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 7.06%, 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. Over the past three years, VISVX's standard deviation comes in at 20.15%, compared to the category average of 16.26%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 23.76% compared to the category average of 18.42%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.15, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a negative alpha of -5.9, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 96.25% in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $6.37 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Finance
- Industrial Cyclical
With turnover at about 14%, this fund is making 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, VISVX 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, VISVX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; 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
Your research on the Small Cap Value 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. 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.