Looking for an Index fund? You may want to consider Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Index Admiral (VMGMX) as a possible option. VMGMX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VMGMX. Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Index Admiral debuted in September of 2011. Since then, VMGMX has accumulated assets of about $14.17 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Aaron Choi, has been in charge of the fund since August of 2023.

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VMGMX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.21% and is 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 18.38%, 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 17.65%, the standard deviation of VMGMX over the past three years is 19.86%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.14% compared to the category average of 17.26%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.13, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than 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 -4.93, 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, VMGMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.07% compared to the category average of 1%. VMGMX 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

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

For additional information on the Index 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 VMGMX too 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.

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

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