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Is Vanguard Health Care Investor (VGHCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Sector - Health fund category, Vanguard Health Care Investor (VGHCX - Free Report) could be a potential option. VGHCX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Health funds is an area filled with options, such as VGHCX. Healthcare is one of the biggest sectors of the American economy, and Sector - Health mutual funds provide a great opportunity to invest in this industry. Here, funds can include everything from for-profit hospitals to pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is responsible for VGHCX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Health Care Investor made its debut in May of 1984, VGHCX has garnered more than $7.46 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Jean M. Hynes who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2008.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.39%, 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 6.08%, 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. The standard deviation of VGHCX over the past three years is 13.7% compared to the category average of 15.84%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.09% compared to the category average of 16.53%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.62, the fund is likely to be less volatile than 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 positive alpha of 1.24. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, VGHCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.35% compared to the category average of 1.04%. VGHCX 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
Overall, Vanguard Health Care Investor ( VGHCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Health Care Investor ( VGHCX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on VGHCXin the Sector - Health 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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Is Vanguard Health Care Investor (VGHCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Sector - Health fund category, Vanguard Health Care Investor (VGHCX - Free Report) could be a potential option. VGHCX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Health funds is an area filled with options, such as VGHCX. Healthcare is one of the biggest sectors of the American economy, and Sector - Health mutual funds provide a great opportunity to invest in this industry. Here, funds can include everything from for-profit hospitals to pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is responsible for VGHCX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Health Care Investor made its debut in May of 1984, VGHCX has garnered more than $7.46 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Jean M. Hynes who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2008.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.39%, 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 6.08%, 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. The standard deviation of VGHCX over the past three years is 13.7% compared to the category average of 15.84%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.09% compared to the category average of 16.53%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.62, the fund is likely to be less volatile than 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 positive alpha of 1.24. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, VGHCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.35% compared to the category average of 1.04%. VGHCX 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
Overall, Vanguard Health Care Investor ( VGHCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Health Care Investor ( VGHCX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on VGHCXin the Sector - Health 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.