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Is VTIBX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Looking for an International Bond - Developed fund? You may want to consider Vanguard Total International Bond Index Investor (VTIBX - Free Report) as a possible option. 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

The world of International Bond - Developed funds is an area filled with different choices, like VTIBX. International Bond - Developed funds focus on fixed income securities from developed nations besides the United States. This usually results in countries like Japan, Germany, the UK, France, and Australia dominating the list of top holdings. Funds here offer geographic diversification, but they can also introduce currency risk into the picture as well.

History of Fund/Manager

VTIBX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Total International Bond Index Investor made its debut in May of 2013, and since then, VTIBX has accumulated about $20.71 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Joshua Barrickman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2013.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -0.05%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -2.14%, 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. VTIBX's standard deviation over the past three years is 6.1% compared to the category average of 11.53%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 5.37% compared to the category average of 12.07%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

VTIBX carries a beta of 0.74, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a negative alpha of -0.45, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, VTIBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.13% compared to the category average of 0.83%. VTIBX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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

Don't stop here for your research on International Bond - Developed funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VTIBX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


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