Having trouble finding a Global - Equity fund? Vanguard Global Mineral Volatility Admiralr (VMNVX) is a potential starting point. VMNVX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes VMNVX as Global - Equity, which is a segment packed with options. Global - Equity mutual funds invest in large markets like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and operate with very few geographical limitations. They also provide an investment technique that leverages the diverse nature of the global economy in the hopes of providing a stable return.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VMNVX. Vanguard Global Mineral Volatility Admiralr debuted in December of 2013. Since then, VMNVX has accumulated assets of about $2.61 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Antonio Picca who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2018.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VMNVX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.32% 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 7.34%, 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. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 7.19% compared to the category average of 1.16%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of.
Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 0.58, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 2.98. This means that 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, VMNVX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 0.17%.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $50,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.
Bottom Line
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 Global - Equity category.
For additional information on the Global - Equity 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 VMNVX too 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.
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