Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Bond fund could think about starting with Vanguard Core Bond Investor (VCORX). VCORX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VCORX. Since Vanguard Core Bond Investor made its debut in March of 2016, VCORX has garnered more than $219.79 million in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.59%, and it sits in the top 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 -4.97%, 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 VCORX over the past three years is 6.34% compared to the category average of 10.14%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 5.82% compared to the category average of 10.41%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.98, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VCORX has a positive alpha of 0.55, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, VCORX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.20% compared to the category average of 0.75%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VCORX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Vanguard Core Bond Investor ( VCORX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Core Bond Investor ( VCORX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on VCORXin the Mutual Fund Bond 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. 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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