Investors in search of a Government Bond - Short fund might want to consider looking at Vanguard Short Term Inflation Protected Security Index Investor (VTIPX Quick QuoteVTIPX - Free Report) . While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

VTIPX is one of many Government Bond - Short funds to choose from. Often seen as risk-free assets and described as extremely low-risk from a default perspective, Government Bond - Short funds hold securities issued by the federal government of the United States. Focusing on the short end of the curve, this category can result in n 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 VTIPX. Vanguard Short Term Inflation Protected Security Index Investor debuted in October of 2012. Since then, VTIPX has accumulated assets of about $2.94 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Joshua Barrickman, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2012.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.69%, 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 3.18%, 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. Compared to the category average of 11.46%, the standard deviation of VTIPX over the past three years is 3.13%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 2.78% compared to the category average of 11.16%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.24, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VTIPX has a positive alpha of 2, 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, VTIPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.14% compared to the category average of 0.82%. From a cost perspective, VTIPX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

This could just be the start of your research on VTIPXin the Government Bond - Short category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.