Having trouble finding a Muni – Bonds fund? Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Admiral (VWALX) is a potential starting point. VWALX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Zacks categorizes VWALX as Muni – Bonds, which is a segment packed with options. Muni – Bonds funds invest in debt securities issued by states or local municipalities. These are generally used to finance construction of infrastructure, pay for schools, or other government functions. Some are backed by taxes (revenue bonds), while others are ” general obligation ” and may not be backed by a defined source. Investors usually appreciate the tax benefits that come with many municipal bonds, which are especially impressive for those in high tax brackets.
VWALX finds itself in the Vanguard Group family, based out of Malvern, PA. Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Admiral debuted in November of 2001. Since then, VWALX has accumulated assets of about $13.91 billion, according to the most recently available information. Mathew Kiselak is the fund’s current manager and has held that role since July of 2010.
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VWALX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.69% 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 2.08%, 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 10.99%, the standard deviation of VWALX over the past three years is 8.61%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 7.51% compared to the category average of 10.4%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
VWALX carries a beta of 0.85, 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 1.66, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Investors should also consider a bond’s rating, which is a grade ( ‘AAA’ to ‘D’ ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, VWALX has 23.78% in high quality bonds rated at least ‘AA’ or higher, while 52.22% are of medium quality, with ratings of ‘A’ to ‘BBB’. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high quality securities.