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Is Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral (VTCLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Large Cap Growth fund category, Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral (VTCLX - Free Report) could be a potential option. VTCLX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

VTCLX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.

History of Fund/Manager

VTCLX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral made its debut in November of 2001, and since then, VTCLX has accumulated about $17.11 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Awais Khan, has been in charge of the fund since July of 2021.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VTCLX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.96% 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 7.08%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.75%, the standard deviation of VTCLX over the past three years is 17.77%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.89% compared to the category average of 16.85%. 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. VTCLX has a 5-year beta of 1.02, which means it is likely to be as volatile as 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. With a negative alpha of -0.35, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, VTCLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.09% compared to the category average of 0.86%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VTCLX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral ( VTCLX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on VTCLXin the Large Cap Growth category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


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