If you're looking for a Government Bond - Short fund category, then a possible option is Vanguard Short Term Inflation Protected Security Index Advisor (VTAPX Quick QuoteVTAPX - Free Report) . The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

We note that VTAPX is a Government Bond - Short option, an area packed with various choices. Have securities issued by the United States' federal government in their portfolios. Generally, these are seen as extremely low risk from a default perspective and often regarded as risk-free. Government Bond - Short funds focus on the short end of the curve, which results in lower yields, but less sensitivity to interest rate fluctuations.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VTAPX. Vanguard Short Term Inflation Protected Security Index Advisor made its debut in October of 2012, and since then, VTAPX has accumulated about $21.47 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Joshua Barrickman, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2012.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 3.47%, and it sits 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 2.24%, 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 VTAPX over the past three years is 3.12% compared to the category average of 11.99%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 2.87% compared to the category average of 12.44%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

VTAPX carries a beta of 0.19, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 1.73, 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, VTAPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.06% compared to the category average of 0.82%. So, VTAPX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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 considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

For additional information on the Government Bond - Short 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 VTAPX too 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.