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28 important things you should know about Vanguard VFIAX mutual fund

Updated: Last Monday
100
Bull Case
  • High net assets
  • 3-year return above the benchmark
  • 5-year return above the benchmark
  • 10-year return above the benchmark
  • 15-year return above the benchmark
  • Low expense ratio
  • No sales load or distribution fees
Bear Case
  • No Bear case arguments for now!

Before we start: if you’re looking for VFIAX “stock” price, you can quickly find it out by visiting Finny and typing "VFIAX quote". If you’re looking for a quick scoop on VFIAX "stock" (price chart, key stats, buy or sell analysis and holdings), go to Finny and look for "VFIAX". You’ll get all this info in one place.

Are you looking to buy or sell VFIAX? Or perhaps you’re looking for VFIAX fact sheet, and learn about its alternatives? If so, you came to the right place.

In this VFIAX mutual fund review, we’ll address key questions our readers have been asking us about this fund, above and beyond what you can find in its prospectus, and on Morningstar or Yahoo Finance.

Here is what you’ll be able to find in this review:

  • Fact Sheet: VFIAX performance, returns, expense ratio, holdings and dividend yield;
  • Analysis: VFIAX buy or sell; the pros and cons of investing in VFIAX mutual fund;
  • Alternatives: other ETFs and mutual funds you should consider as alternatives to VFIAX.

And here is the list of questions we’ll answer:

  1. Describe Vanguard Index Funds: Vanguard 500 Index Fund; Admiral Shares (VFIAX).
  2. What are VFIAX holdings?
  3. What is VFIAX performance? What are VFIAX historical returns?
  4. How many up and down years did VFIAX have historically?
  5. What is VFIAX dividend yield?
  6. What is VFIAX minimum initial investment amount?
  7. What is VFIAX expense ratio?
  8. Does VFIAX have any sales loads or 12b-1 distribution expenses?
  9. What is VFIAX tax efficiency (tax-cost ratio)?
  10. What is VFIAX beta? How would you assess VFIAX risk?
  11. What is VFIAX Sharpe ratio?
  12. What is VFIAX Finny Score? VFIAX buy or sell?
  13. What are the pros of investing in VFIAX? What are VFIAX buy reasons?
  14. What are the cons of investing in VFIAX? What are VFIAX sell reasons?
  15. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VOO.
  16. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VTSAX.
  17. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VFINX.
  18. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs FXAIX.
  19. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VTI.
  20. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs SPY.
  21. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VIGAX.
  22. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs SWPPX.
  23. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VITSX.
  24. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VUG.
  25. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VTIAX.
  26. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VTSMX.
  27. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs IVV.

So let’s start. Scroll down to the question that interests you the most.

Fact Sheet

1. Describe Vanguard Index Funds: Vanguard 500 Index Fund; Admiral Shares (VFIAX).

The Fund seeks to track the performance of its benchmark index, the S&P 500. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach. The Fund attempts to replicate the target index by investing all of its assets in the stocks that make up the Index with the same approximate weightings as the Index.

2. What are VFIAX top holdings?

VFIAX has 509 stock holdings and 11 bond holdings.

The top 10 holdings represent 25.59% of total assets. Here are the top holdings:

Name Symbol % Assets
Microsoft Corp MSFT 5.50%
Apple Inc AAPL 5.22%
Amazon.com Inc AMZN 4.00%
Facebook Inc A FB 2.13%
Alphabet Inc A GOOGL 1.69%
Alphabet Inc Class C GOOG 1.68%
Johnson & Johnson JNJ 1.54%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B BRK.B 1.39%
Visa Inc Class A V 1.30%
Procter & Gamble Co PG 1.14%

3. What is VFIAX performance? What are VFIAX historical returns?

VFIAX has generated the following returns:

  • 1-month return is -3.29%;
  • 3-month return is 6.35%;
  • 1-year return is 11.73%;
  • 3-year return is 11.60%;
  • 5-year return is 13.01%;
  • 10-year return is 13.44%;
  • 15-year return is 9.11%.

4. How many up and down years did VFIAX have historically?

In the last 10 years, VFIAX had 9 up years and 1 down year.

VFIAX up and down years

5. What is VFIAX dividend yield?

VFIAX yield is 1.87%.

6. What is VFIAX minimum initial investment amount?

VFIAX minimum initial investment amount is $10.00K.

7. What is VFIAX expense ratio?

VFIAX expense ratio is 0.04%. The expense ratio of a fund is the total percentage of fund assets used for administrative, management, and all other expenses.

VFIAX expenses

8. Does VFIAX have any sales loads or 12b-1 distribution expenses?

VFIAX 12b-1 distribution fee is 0. VFIAX front-end sales load is 0. VFIAX back-end sales load is 0.

9. What is VFIAX tax efficiency (tax-cost ratio)?

  • 1-year ax cost ratio is 0.46%;
  • 3-year ax cost ratio is 0.47%.
VFIAX tax costs

10. What is VFIAX beta? How would you assess VFIAX risk?

  • 3-year beta is 1.00;
  • 5-year beta is 1.00;
  • 10-year beta is 1.00;
  • 15-year beta is 1.00.
VFIAX Beta

11. What is VFIAX Sharpe ratio?

  • 3-year Sharpe ratio is 0.58;
  • 5-year Sharpe ratio is 0.68;
  • 10-year Sharpe ratio is 1.00;
  • 15-year Sharpe ratio is 0.60.
VFIAX Sharpe ratio

Analysis

12. What is Finny Score? buy or sell?

Finny Score is 100. Our quantitative analysis shows 7 reasons to buy and 0 reasons to sell it, resulting in the Finny Score of 100.

13. What are the pros of investing in VFIAX? What are VFIAX buy reasons?

The following are VFIAX strengths from our perspective:

  • <strong>VFIAX net assets</strong> are $319.62 billion. This fund is a popular choice with retail and institutional investors.
  • <strong>VFIAX 3-year return</strong> is 11.6%, which is in line with the 3-year return of the benchmark index (S&P 500 TR USD), 11.64%.
  • <strong>VFIAX 5-year return</strong> is 13.01%, which is in line with the 5-year return of the benchmark index (S&P 500 TR USD), 13.04%.
  • <strong>VFIAX 10-year return</strong> is 13.44%, which is in line with the 10-year return of the benchmark index (S&P 500 TR USD), 13.48%.
  • <strong>VFIAX 15-year return</strong> is 9.11%, which is in line with the 15-year return of the benchmark index (S&P 500 TR USD), 9.13%.
  • <strong>VFIAX expense ratio</strong> is 0.04%, which is considered low. Nice job picking a low-cost fund.
  • Good news: this fund does not have 12b1, front-end or back-end sales fees.

14. What are the cons of investing in VFIAX? What are VFIAX negatives?

There are no visible red flags.

Alternatives

15. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VOO.

VFIAX is a mutual fund, whereas VOO is an ETF. VFIAX has a lower 5-year return than VOO (13.01% vs 13.54%). VFIAX has a higher expense ratio than VOO (0.04% vs 0.03%). Below is the comparison between VFIAX and VOO.

VFIAX VOO
Segment U.S. Equity: Large Blend Equity: U.S. - Large Cap
Net Assets $319.62B $127.99B
Expense Ratio 0.04% 0.03%
Management Style passive (index-based) passive (index-based)
Underlying Index N/A S&P 500
YTD Return 2.94% 3.51%
1-Year Return 11.73% 12.57%
3-Year Return 11.6% 11.85%
5-Year Return 13.01% 13.54%
10-Year Return 13.44% 13.42%
Dividend Yield 1.87% 1.98%

VOO profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of its benchmark index, the S&P 500. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach. The Fund attempts to replicate the target index by investing all of its assets in the stocks that make up the Index with the same approximate weightings as the Index.

For further information, check out VFIAX vs VOO comparison details.

16. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VTSAX.

Both VFIAX and VTSAX are mutual funds. VFIAX has a higher 5-year return than VTSAX (13.01% vs 12.47%). VFIAX and VTSAX have the same expense ratio (0.04%). Below is the comparison between VFIAX and VTSAX.

VFIAX VTSAX
Segment U.S. Equity: Large Blend U.S. Equity: Large Blend
Net Assets $319.62B $252.53B
Expense Ratio 0.04% 0.04%
Management Style passive (index-based) passive (index-based)
Underlying Index N/A N/A
YTD Return 2.94% 3%
1-Year Return 11.73% 11.49%
3-Year Return 11.6% 11.13%
5-Year Return 13.01% 12.47%
10-Year Return 13.44% 13.26%
Dividend Yield 1.87% 1.76%

VTSAX profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of the overall stock market. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach to track the performance of the CRSP US Total Market Index. The Fund invests by holding a collection of securities that approximates the Index.

For further information, check out VFIAX vs VTSAX comparison details.

17. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VFINX.

Both VFIAX and VFINX are mutual funds. VFIAX has a higher 5-year return than VFINX (13.01% vs 12.89%). VFIAX has a lower expense ratio than VFINX (0.04% vs 0.14%). Below is the comparison between VFIAX and VFINX.

VFIAX VFINX
Segment U.S. Equity: Large Blend U.S. Equity: Large Blend
Net Assets $319.62B $4.72B
Expense Ratio 0.04% 0.14%
Management Style passive (index-based) passive (index-based)
Underlying Index N/A N/A
YTD Return 2.94% 2.87%
1-Year Return 11.73% 11.62%
3-Year Return 11.6% 11.49%
5-Year Return 13.01% 12.89%
10-Year Return 13.44% 13.32%
Dividend Yield 1.87% 1.77%

VFINX profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of its benchmark index, the S&P 500. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach. The Fund attempts to replicate the target index by investing all of its assets in the stocks that make up the Index with the same approximate weightings as the Index.

For further information, check out VFIAX vs VFINX comparison details.

18. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs FXAIX.

Both VFIAX and FXAIX are mutual funds. VFIAX has a lower 5-year return than FXAIX (13.01% vs 13.03%). VFIAX has a higher expense ratio than FXAIX (0.04% vs 0.02%). Below is the comparison between VFIAX and FXAIX.

VFIAX FXAIX
Segment U.S. Equity: Large Blend
Net Assets $319.62B $233.48B
Expense Ratio 0.04% 0.02%
Management Style passive (index-based) N/A
Underlying Index N/A N/A
YTD Return 2.94% 2.97%
1-Year Return 11.73% 11.76%
3-Year Return 11.6% 11.63%
5-Year Return 13.01% 13.03%
10-Year Return 13.44% 13.57%
Dividend Yield 1.87% 1.95%

FXAIX profile: The Fund seeks a total return which corresponds to that of the S&P 500 Index. The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in common stocks included in the Index. The Fund may lend securities to earn income and uses statistical sampling techniques in stock selection.

For further information, check out VFIAX vs FXAIX comparison details.

19. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VTI.

VFIAX is a mutual fund, whereas VTI is an ETF. VFIAX has a lower 5-year return than VTI (13.01% vs 13.02%). VFIAX has a higher expense ratio than VTI (0.04% vs 0.03%). Below is the comparison between VFIAX and VTI.

VFIAX VTI
Segment U.S. Equity: Large Blend Equity: U.S. - Total Market
Net Assets $319.62B $128.53B
Expense Ratio 0.04% 0.03%
Management Style passive (index-based) passive (index-based)
Underlying Index N/A CRSP US Total Market Index
YTD Return 2.94% 3.4%
1-Year Return 11.73% 12.15%
3-Year Return 11.6% 11.29%
5-Year Return 13.01% 13.02%
10-Year Return 13.44% 13.22%
Dividend Yield 1.87% 1.88%

VTI profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of the overall stock market. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach to track the performance of the CRSP US Total Market Index. The Fund invests by holding a collection of securities that approximates the Index.

For further information, check out VFIAX vs VTI comparison details.

20. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs SPY.

VFIAX is a mutual fund, whereas SPY is an ETF. VFIAX has a lower 5-year return than SPY (13.01% vs 13.48%). VFIAX has a lower expense ratio than SPY (0.04% vs 0.09%). Below is the comparison between VFIAX and SPY.

VFIAX SPY
Segment U.S. Equity: Large Blend Equity: U.S. - Large Cap
Net Assets $319.62B $252.39B
Expense Ratio 0.04% 0.09%
Management Style passive (index-based) passive (index-based)
Underlying Index N/A S&P 500
YTD Return 2.94% 3.63%
1-Year Return 11.73% 12.62%
3-Year Return 11.6% 11.83%
5-Year Return 13.01% 13.48%
10-Year Return 13.44% 13.34%
Dividend Yield 1.87% 1.99%

SPY profile: The Trust seeks investment results that, before expenses, generally correspond to the price and yield performance of the component common stocks of the S&P 500 Index.

For further information, check out VFIAX vs SPY comparison details.

21. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VIGAX.

Both VFIAX and VIGAX are mutual funds. VFIAX has a lower 5-year return than VIGAX (13.01% vs 17.56%). VFIAX has a lower expense ratio than VIGAX (0.04% vs 0.05%). Below is the comparison between VFIAX and VIGAX.

VFIAX VIGAX
Segment U.S. Equity: Large Blend U.S. Equity: Large Growth
Net Assets $319.62B $38.10B
Expense Ratio 0.04% 0.05%
Management Style passive (index-based) passive (index-based)
Underlying Index N/A N/A
YTD Return 2.94% 21.39%
1-Year Return 11.73% 32.33%
3-Year Return 11.6% 19.89%
5-Year Return 13.01% 17.56%
10-Year Return 13.44% 16.43%
Dividend Yield 1.87% 0.94%

VIGAX profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of large-capitalization growth stocks. The Fund employs a "passive management"--or indexing--investment approach designed to track the performance of the MSCI US Prime Market Growth Index.

For further information, check out VFIAX vs VIGAX comparison details.

22. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs SWPPX.

Both VFIAX and SWPPX are mutual funds. VFIAX has a higher 5-year return than SWPPX (13.01% vs 12.99%). VFIAX has a higher expense ratio than SWPPX (0.04% vs 0.02%). Below is the comparison between VFIAX and SWPPX.

VFIAX SWPPX
Segment U.S. Equity: Large Blend U.S. Equity: Large Blend
Net Assets $319.62B $43.45B
Expense Ratio 0.04% 0.02%
Management Style passive (index-based) passive (index-based)
Underlying Index N/A N/A
YTD Return 2.94% 2.96%
1-Year Return 11.73% 11.73%
3-Year Return 11.6% 11.6%
5-Year Return 13.01% 12.99%
10-Year Return 13.44% 13.4%
Dividend Yield 1.87% 1.77%

SWPPX profile: The Fund seeks to track the total return of the S&P 500 Index. The Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in these stocks; typically, the actual percentage is considerably higher. The Fund generally will seek to replicate the performance of the index by giving the same weight to a given stock as the index does.

For further information, check out VFIAX vs SWPPX comparison details.

23. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VITSX.

Both VFIAX and VITSX are mutual funds. VFIAX has a higher 5-year return than VITSX (13.01% vs 12.48%). VFIAX has a higher expense ratio than VITSX (0.04% vs 0.03%). Below is the comparison between VFIAX and VITSX.

VFIAX VITSX
Segment U.S. Equity: Large Blend U.S. Equity: Large Blend
Net Assets $319.62B $152.71B
Expense Ratio 0.04% 0.03%
Management Style passive (index-based) passive (index-based)
Underlying Index N/A N/A
YTD Return 2.94% 3.01%
1-Year Return 11.73% 11.48%
3-Year Return 11.6% 11.13%
5-Year Return 13.01% 12.48%
10-Year Return 13.44% 13.27%
Dividend Yield 1.87% 1.77%

VITSX profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of the overall stock market. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach to track the performance of the CRSP US Total Market Index. The Fund invests by holding a collection of securities that approximates the Index.

For further information, check out VFIAX vs VITSX comparison details.

24. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VUG.

VFIAX is a mutual fund, whereas VUG is an ETF. VFIAX has a lower 5-year return than VUG (13.01% vs 18.42%). VFIAX and VUG have the same expense ratio (0.04%). Below is the comparison between VFIAX and VUG.

VFIAX VUG
Segment U.S. Equity: Large Blend Equity: U.S. - Large Cap Growth
Net Assets $319.62B $48.63B
Expense Ratio 0.04% 0.04%
Management Style passive (index-based) passive (index-based)
Underlying Index N/A CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index
YTD Return 2.94% 23.03%
1-Year Return 11.73% 34.32%
3-Year Return 11.6% 20.64%
5-Year Return 13.01% 18.42%
10-Year Return 13.44% 16.42%
Dividend Yield 1.87% 0.94%

VUG profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of large-capitalization growth stocks. The Fund employs a "passive management"--or indexing--investment approach designed to track the performance of the MSCI US Prime Market Growth Index.

For further information, check out VFIAX vs VUG comparison details.

25. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VTIAX.

Both VFIAX and VTIAX are mutual funds. VFIAX has a higher 5-year return than VTIAX (13.01% vs 5.71%). VFIAX has a lower expense ratio than VTIAX (0.04% vs 0.11%). Below is the comparison between VFIAX and VTIAX.

VFIAX VTIAX
Segment U.S. Equity: Large Blend International Equity: Foreign Large Blend
Net Assets $319.62B $79.87B
Expense Ratio 0.04% 0.11%
Management Style passive (index-based) passive (index-based)
Underlying Index N/A N/A
YTD Return 2.94% -4.97%
1-Year Return 11.73% 2.51%
3-Year Return 11.6% 1.16%
5-Year Return 13.01% 5.71%
10-Year Return 13.44% N/A
Dividend Yield 1.87% 3.04%

VTIAX profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of stocks issued by companies located in developed and emerging markets, excluding the United States. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index.

For further information, check out VFIAX vs VTIAX comparison details.

26. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs VTSMX.

Both VFIAX and VTSMX are mutual funds. VFIAX has a higher 5-year return than VTSMX (13.01% vs 12.36%). VFIAX has a lower expense ratio than VTSMX (0.04% vs 0.14%). Below is the comparison between VFIAX and VTSMX.

VFIAX VTSMX
Segment U.S. Equity: Large Blend U.S. Equity: Large Blend
Net Assets $319.62B $139.68B
Expense Ratio 0.04% 0.14%
Management Style passive (index-based) passive (index-based)
Underlying Index N/A N/A
YTD Return 2.94% 2.93%
1-Year Return 11.73% 11.37%
3-Year Return 11.6% 11.01%
5-Year Return 13.01% 12.36%
10-Year Return 13.44% 13.14%
Dividend Yield 1.87% 1.67%

VTSMX profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of the overall stock market. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach to track the performance of the CRSP US Total Market Index. The Fund invests by holding a collection of securities that approximates the Index.

For further information, check out VFIAX vs VTSMX comparison details.

27. Compare and contrast: VFIAX vs IVV.

VFIAX is a mutual fund, whereas IVV is an ETF. VFIAX has a lower 5-year return than IVV (13.01% vs 13.54%). VFIAX and IVV have the same expense ratio (0.04%). Below is the comparison between VFIAX and IVV.

VFIAX IVV
Segment U.S. Equity: Large Blend Equity: U.S. - Large Cap
Net Assets $319.62B $175.29B
Expense Ratio 0.04% 0.04%
Management Style passive (index-based) passive (index-based)
Underlying Index N/A S&P 500
YTD Return 2.94% 3.59%
1-Year Return 11.73% 12.63%
3-Year Return 11.6% 11.87%
5-Year Return 13.01% 13.54%
10-Year Return 13.44% 13.4%
Dividend Yield 1.87% 2.34%

IVV profile: The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P 500 Index. Uses a replication strategy to try to track the Index, which includes approximately 77% of the market capitalization of all publicly traded US equity securities.

For further information, check out VFIAX vs IVV comparison details.

In the VFIAX review, we covered VFIAX key stats (return, performance, yield, expense ratio, and holdings), buy and sell analysis, and alternative investments. If this review was helpful to you, feel free to check out other mutual fund and ETF reviews.
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