Are you on the hunt for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You should think about starting with Vanguard Balanced Index Institutional (VBAIX). While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VBAIX. The Vanguard Balanced Index Institutional made its debut in December of 2000 and VBAIX has managed to accumulate roughly $8.88 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VBAIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.51% and is 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 5.61%, which places it in the middle 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 16.28%, the standard deviation of VBAIX over the past three years is 12.6%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 12.54% compared to the category average of 14.29%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.66, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -1.46, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, VBAIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.06% compared to the category average of 0.86%. From a cost perspective, VBAIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $5 million; 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 Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 VBAIX 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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