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Is Vanguard Total International Stock Index AD (VTIAX) 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 Total International Stock Index AD (VTIAX - Free Report) . VTIAX 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
VTIAX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Total International Stock Index AD made its debut in November of 2010 and VTIAX has managed to accumulate roughly $76.41 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Michael Perre who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2010.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VTIAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.74% and is in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of 1.7%, which places it in the bottom 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 0%, the standard deviation of VTIAX over the past three years is 16.88%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.79% compared to the category average of 10%. 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 0.86, which means it is hypothetically less 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. VTIAX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.55, 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, VTIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.11% compared to the category average of 10%. From a cost perspective, VTIAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that 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
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Index, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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 Total International Stock Index AD (VTIAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors who are searching for Index funds should take a look at Vanguard Total International Stock Index AD (VTIAX - Free Report) . VTIAX 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
VTIAX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Total International Stock Index AD made its debut in November of 2010 and VTIAX has managed to accumulate roughly $76.41 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Michael Perre who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2010.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VTIAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.74% and is in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of 1.7%, which places it in the bottom 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 0%, the standard deviation of VTIAX over the past three years is 16.88%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.79% compared to the category average of 10%. 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 0.86, which means it is hypothetically less 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. VTIAX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.55, 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, VTIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.11% compared to the category average of 10%. From a cost perspective, VTIAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that 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
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Index, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.