Is Vanguard International Growth Admiral (VWILX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

There are plenty of choices in the Non US - Equity category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Vanguard International Growth Admiral (VWILX). VWILX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveVWILX is classified in the Non US - Equity area by Zacks, and this segment is full of potential. Non US - Equity funds focus their investments on companies outside of the United States, which is an important distinction since global mutual funds tend to keep a sizable portion of their portfolio based in the United States. Most of these funds will allocate across emerging and developed markets, and can often extend across cap levels too.History of Fund/ManagerVanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VWILX. The Vanguard International Growth Admiral made its debut in August of 2001 and VWILX has managed to accumulate roughly $38.08 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.PerformanceInvestors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 3.9%, and is in the middle 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 13.6%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of VWILX over the past three years is 20.42% compared to the category average of 16.5%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 20.52% compared to the category average of 15.78%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsWith a 5-year beta of 1.06, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. With a negative alpha of -9.42, 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, VWILX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.26% compared to the category average of 0.94%. VWILX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $50,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $1.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, Vanguard International Growth Admiral ( VWILX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard International Growth Admiral ( VWILX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.This could just be the start of your research on VWILX in the Non US - Equity 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge GainsQuantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. 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Click to get this free report Get Your Free (VWILX): 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