Having trouble finding a Muni – Bonds fund? Vanguard PA Long-Term Tax-Exempt Investor (VPAIX) is a potential starting point. VPAIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
We classify VPAIX in the Muni – Bonds category, an area rife with potential choices. Muni – Bonds funds focus their investments on debt securities issued by state and local governments. These are typically used to pay for the construction of infrastructure, the operation of public schools, and other municipal functions. These securities can come in the form of revenue bonds, which are backed by taxes, as well as ” general obligation ” bonds that are not backed by a defined source. Investors are usually interested that come with most municipal bonds, which can be especially important for those in higher tax brackets.
VPAIX is a part of the Vanguard Group family of funds, a company based out of Malvern, PA. Since Vanguard PA Long-Term Tax-Exempt Investor made its debut in April of 1986, VPAIX has garnered more than $284.03 million in assets. James D’Arcy is the fund’s current manager and has held that role since November of 2011.
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VPAIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 0.63% and it sits 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 1.64%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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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 10.6%, the standard deviation of VPAIX over the past three years is 8.24%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund’s standard deviation is 7.02% compared to the category average of 9.99%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
VPAIX carries a beta of 0.83, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 0.43, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.