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Is Vanguard Growth Index Institutional (VIGIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you're looking for a Large Cap Growth fund category, then a possible option is Vanguard Growth Index Institutional (VIGIX - 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.

Objective

We classify VIGIX in the Large Cap Growth category, an area rife with potential choices. Large Cap Growth funds invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. To be considered large-cap, companies must have a market cap over $10 billion.

History of Fund/Manager

VIGIX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Growth Index Institutional made its debut in May of 1998 and VIGIX has managed to accumulate roughly $31.08 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Gerard O'Reilly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2000.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VIGIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 15.84% and it sits in the top 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 6.93%, which places it in the top 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 16.55%, the standard deviation of VIGIX over the past three years is 22.16%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 21.65% compared to the category average of 17.14%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.11, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. 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. VIGIX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 1.66, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 77.45% in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $620.63 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Retail Trade
Turnover is 5%, which means this fund makes 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, VIGIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.04% compared to the category average of 0.95%. So, VIGIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $5 million 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

Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Growth 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 VIGIX 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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