Is Vanguard Growth Index Institutional (VIGIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Yahoo

2 days ago

There are plenty of choices in the Large Cap Growth category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard Growth Index Institutional (VIGIX). The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
We classify VIGIX in the Large Cap Growth category, an area rife with potential choices. Large Cap Growth funds invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. To be considered large-cap, companies must have a market cap over $10 billion.
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VIGIX. The Vanguard Growth Index Institutional made its debut in May of 1998 and VIGIX has managed to accumulate roughly $36.41 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 16.7%, and it sits 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 15.48%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.72%, the standard deviation of VIGIX over the past three years is 20.09%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.26% compared to the category average of 15.67%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a 5-year beta of 1.17, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.62. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 76.09% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $687.85 billion. Turnover is 11%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, VIGIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.04% compared to the category average of 0.94%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VIGIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $5 million, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Growth 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 VIGIX to its peers as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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