Is Vanguard Extended Market Index Investor (VEXMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

If you've been stuck searching for Small Cap Blend funds, consider Vanguard Extended Market Index Investor (VEXMX) as a possibility. While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.ObjectiveWe classify VEXMX in the Small Cap Blend category, an area rife with potential choices. Small Cap Blend mutual funds usually target companies with a market capitalization of less than $2 billion. A small-cap blend mutual fund allows investors to diversify their funds among various types of small-cap stocks, which can help reduce the volatility inherent in lower market cap companies.History of Fund/ManagerVanguard Group is responsible for VEXMX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard Extended Market Index Investor made its debut in December of 1987, VEXMX has garnered more than $172.09 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.PerformanceInvestors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 11.29%, 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 19.52%, 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. Over the past three years, VEXMX's standard deviation comes in at 19.86%, compared to the category average of 12.86%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 21.23% compared to the category average of 13.3%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsInvestors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.18, so it is likely going to be 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -5.85. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesCosts 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, VEXMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.19% compared to the category average of 0.93%. So, VEXMX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineFor additional information on the Small Cap Blend area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into VEXMX too for additional information. Want to learn even more? 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