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Is Vanguard International Growth Admiral (VWILX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Non US - Equity fund? Well, Vanguard International Growth Admiral (VWILX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. VWILX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes VWILX as Non US - Equity, a segment stacked high with options. Non US - Equity mutual funds like to invest in companies outside of the United States, an important characteristic since global mutual funds are known to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. These kinds of funds can often extend across all cap levels, and will typically allocate their investments between emerging and developed markets.
History of Fund/Manager
VWILX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard International Growth Admiral made its debut in August of 2001, VWILX has garnered more than $37.21 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VWILX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.71% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -7.21%, 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. Compared to the category average of 17.14%, the standard deviation of VWILX over the past three years is 22.78%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 23.09% compared to the category average of 17.41%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.07, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. VWILX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.36, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, VWILX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.31% compared to the category average of 0.95%. VWILX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $50,000, 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
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard International Growth Admiral ( VWILX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about VWILX? 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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Is Vanguard International Growth Admiral (VWILX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Non US - Equity fund? Well, Vanguard International Growth Admiral (VWILX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. VWILX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes VWILX as Non US - Equity, a segment stacked high with options. Non US - Equity mutual funds like to invest in companies outside of the United States, an important characteristic since global mutual funds are known to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. These kinds of funds can often extend across all cap levels, and will typically allocate their investments between emerging and developed markets.
History of Fund/Manager
VWILX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard International Growth Admiral made its debut in August of 2001, VWILX has garnered more than $37.21 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VWILX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.71% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -7.21%, 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. Compared to the category average of 17.14%, the standard deviation of VWILX over the past three years is 22.78%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 23.09% compared to the category average of 17.41%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.07, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. VWILX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.36, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, VWILX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.31% compared to the category average of 0.95%. VWILX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $50,000, 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
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard International Growth Admiral ( VWILX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about VWILX? 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.