Looking for an Investment Grade Bond - Short fund? You may want to consider Vanguard Short-Term Investment Grade Fund Investor (VFSTX) as a possible option. VFSTX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that VFSTX is an Investment Grade Bond - Short option, which is an area loaded with different options. Investment Grade Bond - Short funds focus on the short end of the curve, generally with bonds that mature in less than two years. Fixed income instruments with this maturity level usually have low duration risk, while they also pay out small yields, at least when compared to their longer-dated peers. Additionally, the focus on investment grade will make funds here safer, but yields will be lower than in the junk bond category.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VFSTX. Vanguard Short-Term Investment Grade Fund Investor made its debut in October of 1982, and since then, VFSTX has accumulated about $6.15 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Daniel Shaykevich is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2018.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.83%, 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 0.68%, 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. Over the past three years, VFSTX's standard deviation comes in at 3.62%, compared to the category average of 10.45%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 3.53% compared to the category average of 11.17%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.45, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VFSTX has a positive alpha of 0.54, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

Ratings

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, VFSTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.20% compared to the category average of 0.82%. So, VFSTX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vanguard Short-Term Investment Grade Fund Investor ( VFSTX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Investment Grade Bond - Short funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VFSTX to its peers as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.

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