Is Vanguard Utilities Index Admiral (VUIAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Investors in search of a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund might want to consider looking at Vanguard Utilities Index Admiral (VUIAX). VUIAX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is responsible for VUIAX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Utilities Index Admiral debuted in January of 2004. Since then, VUIAX has accumulated assets of about $1.63 billion, according to the most recently available information. Awais Khan is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2017.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.83%, and is 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 8.62%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

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. VUIAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.38% compared to the category average of 15.71%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.2% compared to the category average of 13.61%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.45, the fund 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. With a positive alpha of 1.94, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, VUIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.10% compared to the category average of 1.21%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VUIAX 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.

Bottom Line

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.