Is Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Investor (VMVIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a possible option is Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Investor (VMVIX). The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
VMVIX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Investor made its debut in August of 2006 and VMVIX has managed to accumulate roughly $51.07 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Donald Butler, has been in charge of the fund since September of 2011.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VMVIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.57% 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 14.29%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
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 VMVIX over the past three years is 21.22% compared to the category average of 19.16%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 18.87% compared to the category average of 16.74%. 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 1.05, so it is likely going to be more 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. VMVIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -3.52, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 96.14% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $26.53 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Finance
Industrial Cyclical
Utilities
Turnover is 17%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, VMVIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.19% compared to the category average of 1.09%. From a cost perspective, VMVIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
This could just be the start of your research on VMVIXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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