The Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX ) is the largest issuer of mutual funds and the second-largest issuer of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
– Over the last decade, Vanguard’s popular Total Stock Market Index Fund matches or lags the S&P 500. It offers both mutual fund and exchange-traded fund share classes.– VTSAX, the Admiral Shares mutual fund, was previously exclusively available through Vanguard. However, there are benefits to holding the mutual fund rather than the ETF, VTI.
Investors prefer funds that have a good track record. VTSAX is in the top third of its category, with a 5-year annualized total return of 16.08% and a 3-year total return of 19.85%.
The fund’s 5-year beta of 1.03 indicates that it will be as volatile as the market average. Because alpha measures a portfolio’s risk-adjusted performance against a benchmark, in this case, the S&P 500, it’s crucial to pay attention to this indicator.
Examining a mutual fund’s equity holdings is also a worthwhile task, and it can show us the techniques fund managers use and if their approaches have any inherent biases. The concentration of VTSAX is primarily on equities trading in the United States.
Costs are becoming more relevant in mutual fund investing, especially as the market becomes more competitive. And, all other things being equal, a lower-cost product has a competitive advantage.
Vanguard Group, based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, manages VTSAX. Since its inception in November of 2000, VTSAX has accumulated around $321.58 billion in assets, according to the most recent available data.