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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be Vanguard Health Care Investor (VGHCX). VGHCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is responsible for VGHCX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Health Care Investor made its debut in May of 1984, and since then, VGHCX has accumulated about $7.17 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Jean M. Hynes who has been in charge of the fund since May 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 8.26%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.66%, which places it in the top 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, VGHCX's standard deviation comes in at 15.03%, compared to the category average of 17.1%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.88% compared to the category average of 15.91%. 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 0.7, so it is likely going to be 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. VGHCX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.18, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, VGHCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.30% compared to the category average of 1.30%. So, VGHCX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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.