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Are you on the hunt for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You should think about starting with Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index Admiral (VBILX). VBILX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
VBILX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index Admiral made its debut in November of 2001 and VBILX has managed to accumulate roughly $16.29 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Joshua Barrickman who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2008.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VBILX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.47% 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 0.33%, 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. VBILX's standard deviation over the past three years is 5.27% compared to the category average of 12.36%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 4.58% compared to the category average of 11%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.15, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. VBILX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.29, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, VBILX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.07% compared to the category average of 0.78%. From a cost perspective, VBILX 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.