Vanguard Large Cap IndexVLACX

Morningstar Rating

Fund Research and Analysis

by Harry Milling

Vanguard Large Cap Index has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that give it merit.

The fund, started in 2004, may have large cap in its name, but it will give you mid-cap exposure, too, thanks to the unique construction of the index it tracks. The MSCI U. Read more

Kudos

Low costs.

Broad diversification.

Indexing's low turnover helps boost tax efficiency and lower transaction costs.

Fewer funds track this index than the S&P 500, so fewer managers try to front-run changes to the index, a practice that can increase transaction costs for index funds. Read more

Risks

Mid-cap stake may make it behave differently than other large-cap funds from time to time.

Doesn't screen out unprofitable companies, so a smattering of higher-risk stocks are present. Read more

Strategy

This index fund tracks the MSCI U.S. Prime Market 750 Index, which gives investors exposure to the 750 largest U.S. stocks. Unlike the S&P 500 Index, the ubiquitous large-cap bogy, its methodology is purely quantitative and transparent. Read more

Management

Ryan Ludt, who has been with Vanguard since 1997, has handled the day-to-day operations of this fund since its 2004 inception. Vanguard's highly respected quantitative index group, which helped create the index fund phenomenon to begin with, has a supervisory role. Read more

Inside Scoop

This fund tracks the MSCI U.S. Prime Market 750 Index. While 300 stocks are defined within the index as large caps, 450 of the stocks are considered mid-cap. While the large- cap bucket soaks up about 80% of the fund's assets, the fund still offers more diversification than its name implies. Read more

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Zip Code

Create Password

Verify Password

(6-15 characters; case sensitive)

What is your occupation or job title?

Select...

Your registration indicates agreement to the terms of use.

Bogle: This Bear Market's the Worst I've Seen
Watch more