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Is Vanguard Windsor-II Admiral (VWNAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for Large Cap Value funds, a place to start could be Vanguard Windsor-II Admiral (VWNAX - Free Report) . VWNAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Large Cap Value mutual funds invest in stocks with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value; this value investing strategy often leads to low P/E ratios and high dividend yields, though growth levels are often curtailed. The high-growth opportunity of these funds are slowed even further, as large-cap securities are generally in stable industries with low to moderate growth prospects. Therefore, Large Cap Value funds are usually more appealing to investors who are interested in a stable income stream.
History of Fund/Manager
VWNAX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Windsor-II Admiral made its debut in May of 2001, and since then, VWNAX has accumulated about $48.71 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.69%, 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 7.85%, 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. VWNAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.81% compared to the category average of 15.44%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 18.61% compared to the category average of 17%. 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. VWNAX has a 5-year beta of 0.99, 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.99. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, VWNAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.26% compared to the category average of 0.93%. So, VWNAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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, Vanguard Windsor-II Admiral ( VWNAX ) 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.
Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Value 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 VWNAX to its peers as well 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 Windsor-II Admiral (VWNAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Large Cap Value funds, a place to start could be Vanguard Windsor-II Admiral (VWNAX - Free Report) . VWNAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Large Cap Value mutual funds invest in stocks with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value; this value investing strategy often leads to low P/E ratios and high dividend yields, though growth levels are often curtailed. The high-growth opportunity of these funds are slowed even further, as large-cap securities are generally in stable industries with low to moderate growth prospects. Therefore, Large Cap Value funds are usually more appealing to investors who are interested in a stable income stream.
History of Fund/Manager
VWNAX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Windsor-II Admiral made its debut in May of 2001, and since then, VWNAX has accumulated about $48.71 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.69%, 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 7.85%, 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. VWNAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.81% compared to the category average of 15.44%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 18.61% compared to the category average of 17%. 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. VWNAX has a 5-year beta of 0.99, 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.99. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, VWNAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.26% compared to the category average of 0.93%. So, VWNAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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, Vanguard Windsor-II Admiral ( VWNAX ) 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.
Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Value 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 VWNAX to its peers as well 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.