If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Institutional (VEMIX) as a possibility. 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
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VEMIX. The Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Institutional made its debut in June of 2000 and VEMIX has managed to accumulate roughly $6.51 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Michael Perre is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2008.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 3.13%, 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 2.07%, 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. Over the past three years, VEMIX's standard deviation comes in at 17.8%, compared to the category average of 16.11%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.67% compared to the category average of 14.45%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.73, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. With a negative alpha of -4.62, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, VEMIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 1.15%. So, VEMIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $5 million, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.