Is Vanguard Health Care Index Admiral (VHCIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

If you've been stuck searching for Sector - Health funds, consider Vanguard Health Care Index Admiral (VHCIX) 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.ObjectiveZacks categorizes VHCIX as Sector - Health, a segment packed with options. Sector - Health mutual funds offer investors a focus on the healthcare industry, one of the largest sectors in the American economy. These funds can include everything from pharmaceutical companies to medical device manufacturers and for-profit hospitals.History of Fund/ManagerVanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VHCIX. Since Vanguard Health Care Index Admiral made its debut in January of 2004, VHCIX has garnered more than $2.26 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Kenny Narzikul who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2025.PerformanceOf course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.66%, 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 4.78%, which places it in the bottom 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, VHCIX's standard deviation comes in at 13.78%, compared to the category average of 15.81%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 14.33% compared to the category average of 16.53%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsInvestors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VHCIX has a 5-year beta of 0.67, which means it is likely to be less 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. VHCIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -4.39, demonstrating 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, VHCIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 1.11%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VHCIX is actually cheaper than its peers.While the minimum initial investment for the product is $100,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $1.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineThis could just be the start of your research on VHCIX in the Sector - Health category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.One Big Gain, Every Trading DayTo help you take full advantage of this market, you’re invited to access every stock recommendation in all our private portfolios - for just $1.Zacks private portfolio services that closed 256 double and triple-digit winners in 2024 alone. That’s about one big gain every day the market was open. Of course, not all our picks are winners, but members have seen recent gains as high as +627% +1,340%, and +1,708%.Imagine how much you could profit with a steady stream of real-time picks from all our services that cover a number of strategies to suit a variety of investing and trading styles.See Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (VHCIX): Fund Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks