If you have been looking for Large Cap Blend funds, a place to start could be Vanguard Diversified Equity Investor (VDEQX). VDEQX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

VDEQX is part of the Large Cap Blend section, an area that boasts an array of many possible options. Large Cap Blend mutual funds most often invest in firms with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more. By investing in bigger companies, these funds offer more stability, and are often well-suited for investors with a 'buy and hold' mindset. Blended funds mix large, established companies into their holdings, which gives investors exposure to both value and growth at the same time.

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VDEQX. Vanguard Diversified Equity Investor debuted in June of 2005. Since then, VDEQX has accumulated assets of about $2.87 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.65%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.51%, which places it in the bottom 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. VDEQX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.32% compared to the category average of 19.92%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 17.5% compared to the category average of 20.13%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.06, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. VDEQX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.49, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, VDEQX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.34% compared to the category average of 0.93%. VDEQX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Overall, Vanguard Diversified Equity Investor ( VDEQX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Vanguard Diversified Equity Investor ( VDEQX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Large Cap Blend, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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