Is Vanguard Small-Cap Index Admiral (VSMAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Have you been searching for a Index fund? You might want to begin with Vanguard Small-Cap Index Admiral (VSMAX). While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.History of Fund/ManagerVSMAX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Small-Cap Index Admiral made its debut in November of 2000 and VSMAX has managed to accumulate roughly $55.68 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.PerformanceOf course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.38%, and it sits 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 11.76%, 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. The standard deviation of VSMAX over the past three years is 20.18% compared to the category average of 15.83%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.98% compared to the category average of 15.17%. This makes the fund more 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. VSMAX has a 5-year beta of 1.1, which means it is likely to be more 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. With a negative alpha of -3.44, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.HoldingsInvestigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is principally on equities that are traded in the United States.Currently, this mutual fund is holding 83.87% in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $8.46 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:FinanceTechnologyIndustrial CyclicalWith turnover at about 16%, this fund is making fewer trades than comparable funds.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, VSMAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.05% compared to the category average of 0.96%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VSMAX is actually cheaper than its peers.This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, 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 LineFor additional information on the Index 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 VSMAX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! 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Click to get this free report Get Your Free (VSMAX): 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