Are you on the hunt for a Government Bond – Short fund? You should think about starting with Vanguard Short Term Inflation Protected Security Index Investor (VTIPX). The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

Bạn đang xem: Is VTIPX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

We note that VTIPX 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.

VTIPX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard Short Term Inflation Protected Security Index Investor debuted in October of 2012. Since then, VTIPX has accumulated assets of about $2.60 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Joshua Barrickman who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2012.

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VTIPX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.39% and is 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 2.16%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

Xem thêm : The 10 Biggest Fund Downgrades of 2024

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. Over the past three years, VTIPX’s standard deviation comes in at 3.11%, 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.

This fund has a beta of 0.19, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VTIPX has a positive alpha of 1.65, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VTIPX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Story Continues