Vanguard Balanced Index Fund Investor Shares

VBINX Summary

Fund FamilyNA
CategoryNA
StructureNA
Inception DateNA
Expense RatioNA
YieldNA
Net AssetsNA
Avg. VolumeNA

Report Card

C
Protect
VBINX provides average risk protection. It generates 0.9% returns above inflation with 8.6% downside volatility and 8.8% Ulcer Index. These downside risk measures rank in the middle 20% of all funds that generate real returns.

B-
Perform
VBINX provides good risk-adjusted returns. It has generated 4.9% annual returns over the last three years which ranks better than 60% of all funds. It has a 0.3 Sortino ratio and 0.3 UPI, ranking in the top 40% of all competing funds for risk-adjusted returns.

D-
Participate
VBINX has failed to provided any S&P 500 diversification advantage over the last three years. A 60% SPY/40% VBINX portfolio reduces downside risk by 5.3% but also reduces annual returns by 19.8%. Diversifying with VBINX reduces the risk-adjusted performance of the S&P 500 by 22.0% to a 0.6 UPI.

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Key Performance Metrics

Protect

We measure a funds ability to protect on against stock market declines by comparing various downside specific risk measures. Max drawdown is the largest decline for the security while the Ulcer Index quantifies both the depth and breath of all drawdowns. We also look at downside volatility and beta, both of which are measured relative to the S&P 500.
Statistic1 Year3 Years5 Years
Max Drawdown-8.27%-21.61%-22.78%
Recovery TimeOngoingOngoing152 days
Ulcer Index2.99%10.18%8.41%
Downside Volatility6.83%8.73%8.48%
Downside Beta0.570.740.69

Perform

We measure a securities ability to Perform by comparing net annual returns relative to our benchmarks. To measure absolute performance, we use the well-known Sharpe and Sortino ratios but prefer a risk-adjusted ratio such as Jenson's Alpha. Ultimately, performance is the most critical variable in fund selection so we take a much deeper dive into this measure.
Statistic1 Year3 Years5 Years
Annual Returns4.55%2.87%6.08%
UPI0.090.270.44
Sortino Ratio0.040.320.44
Sharpe Ratio0.020.220.30
Jensen's Alpha-3.99%-4.30%-1.98%

Participate

Participate measures the ability of a security to improve the effecient frontier of a stock portfolio. If the letter grade for this fund is an F, the fund does not provide any diversification or participation benefit. The Statistics presented are calculated using an either an optimal mix of VBINX or, if no participation benefit exists, a 60% S&P 500 and 40% VBINX.
Statistic1 Year3 Years5 Years
Ulcer Index3.28%10.19%8.89%
Downside Volatility7.94%10.30%10.68%
Annual Returns7.81%7.35%9.05%
UPI1.070.710.75
Sortino Ratio0.440.710.63

Comparison

Returns
Ulcer impact
StatisticVBINXAOM MAPSA
Value Per 10K$10,885$10,003$11,938
Total Returns8.85%0.03%19.38%
Annual Returns2.87%0.01%6.08%
Standard Deviation 12.64%9.89%10.91%
Downside Deviation 8.73%7.05%6.08%
Max Drawdown -21.61%-19.96%-17.66%
Recovery Time OngoingOngoingOngoing
Ulcer Index 10.18%9.17%9.82%
Sharpe Ratio 0.22-0.010.55
Sortino Ratio 0.32-0.010.99
Ulcer Perf. Index 0.27-0.010.61
Beta 0.700.520.31
Downside Beta 0.740.540.27
Treynor Ratio 0.040.000.20
Jensen's Alpha -4.30%-5.33%2.91%
Mac's Alpha -4.71%-5.54%3.26%

Free Risk Profile Assessment

Risk management is a critical factor in creating long-term financial security, especially for those in retirement. Too often bear markets can sabotage a lifetime of savings. And quantifying risk using yesterday’s data is too often insufficient.

For an extensive, forward-looking risk assessment profile for your investment account, fill out the form and we’ll contact you soon. Our report will answer the following:

  • Does my portfolio match my level of risk aversion?
  • Do my investments properly account for sequence of return risk?
  • What is my interest rate risk exposure?
  • What is my downside risk if the S&P 500 falls 50%?
  • Is my portfolio adequately hedged for inflation?
  • What is the upside expectation for my portfolio when the S&P 500 appreciates?
  • How will my portfolio react in various economic climates?
  • Are there more effective ways to hedge risk than my current approach?