Is Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Admiral (VBTLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Looking for a Index fund? You may want to consider Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Admiral (VBTLX) as a possible option. 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/ManagerVanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VBTLX. Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Admiral debuted in November of 2001. Since then, VBTLX has accumulated assets of about $100.63 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Joshua Barrickman who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2013.PerformanceInvestors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of -0.7%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 3.06%, 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. VBTLX's standard deviation over the past three years is 6.89% compared to the category average of 12.5%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 6.24% compared to the category average of 11.93%. 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. VBTLX has a 5-year beta of 1, which means it is likely to be as volatile as 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 -0.04, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesAs 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, VBTLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.04% compared to the category average of 0.85%. VBTLX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; 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 LineYour research on the Index segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.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. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power.Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.See Top Quantum 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 (VBTLX): 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