Is Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral (VTCLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Growth fund could think about starting with Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral (VTCLX). VTCLX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

VTCLX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VTCLX. Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral debuted in November of 2001. Since then, VTCLX has accumulated assets of about $18.75 billion, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.38%, and is 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 11.76%, 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. VTCLX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.62% compared to the category average of 15.09%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.53% compared to the category average of 14.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.02, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. With a negative alpha of -0.4, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, VTCLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.09% compared to the category average of 0.83%. VTCLX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $10,000, and each subsequent investment should 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

Overall, Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral ( VTCLX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Tax-Managed Cap Appreciation Admiral ( VTCLX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about VTCLX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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