Having trouble finding a Mid Cap Blend fund? Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund (VSEQX) is a potential starting point. VSEQX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Mid Cap Blend mutual funds is an area filled with options, such as VSEQX. Mid Cap Blend funds expose investors to value picks, income opportunities, and exciting growth potential, but also give some stability; these funds usually seek a stock portfolio of various size and style, which allows for diversification when the focus is on companies with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion to $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
Vanguard Group is based in Malvern, PA, and is the manager of VSEQX. Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund made its debut in August of 1995, and since then, VSEQX has accumulated about $12.09 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Cesar Orosco who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2021.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 12.55%, and it sits 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 18.89%, 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. VSEQX’s standard deviation over the past three years is 16.54% compared to the category average of 15.53%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.61% compared to the category average of 17.47%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.05, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio’s performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. VSEQX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.24, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
