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Is Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Index Admiral (VMGMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors who are searching for Index funds should take a look at Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Index Admiral (VMGMX - Free Report) . VMGMX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VMGMX. Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Index Admiral debuted in September of 2011. Since then, VMGMX has accumulated assets of about $11.59 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Aurelie Denis, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2023.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VMGMX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.72% and is 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 -0.29%, 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 18.18%, the standard deviation of VMGMX over the past three years is 21.57%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 21.72% compared to the category average of 18.89%. 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 1.12, which means it is hypothetically 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. VMGMX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.57, 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, VMGMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.07% compared to the category average of 1%. VMGMX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; each subsequent investment needs to 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

Don't stop here for your research on Index 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 VMGMX 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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