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Is VCORX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Starting with Vanguard Core Bond Investor (VCORX - Free Report) is one possibility. VCORX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

VCORX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Core Bond Investor debuted in March of 2016. Since then, VCORX has accumulated assets of about $215.67 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 0.11%, and it sits in the top 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 -2.56%, 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. Compared to the category average of 11.01%, the standard deviation of VCORX over the past three years is 5.79%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 5.01% compared to the category average of 9.63%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 1.03, this fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VCORX has a positive alpha of 0.45, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

Expenses

Costs 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, VCORX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.20% compared to the category average of 0.78%. VCORX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard Core Bond Investor ( VCORX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Mutual Fund Bond 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 VCORX too for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


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