If you’ve been stuck searching for Large Cap Blend funds, consider Vanguard Growth & Income Investor (VQNPX) as a possibility. VQNPX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
VQNPX is part of the Large Cap Blend section, an area that boasts an array of many possible options. Large Cap Blend mutual funds most often invest in firms with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more. By investing in bigger companies, these funds offer more stability, and are often well-suited for investors with a ‘buy and hold’ mindset. Blended funds mix large, established companies into their holdings, which gives investors exposure to both value and growth at the same time.
VQNPX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Growth & Income Investor made its debut in December of 1986 and VQNPX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.51 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund’s current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VQNPX has a 5-year annualized total return of 15.31%, and it sits in the top 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 21.34%, 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 VQNPX over the past three years is 11.78% compared to the category average of 12.07%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 15.02% compared to the category average of 13.88%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.99, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. VQNPX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.32, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
As 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, VQNPX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 0.39%.
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.
This puts this fund from Vanguard Group in the top 20% of all mutual funds we have a rank on right now. As a result, this is likely an excellent choice for investors seeking an option in the Large Cap Blend category.
Don’t stop here for your research on Large Cap Blend funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VQNPX to its peers as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).