Vanguard Health Care Fund Investor Shares (VGHCX)

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The chart shows the growth of an initial investment of $10,000 in Vanguard Health Care Fund Investor Shares, comparing it to the performance of the S&P 500 index or another benchmark. All prices have been adjusted for splits and dividends.

Vanguard Health Care Fund Investor Shares (VGHCX) has returned -5.90% so far this year and 9.73% over the past 12 months. Over the last ten years, VGHCX has returned 9.25% per year, falling short of the S&P 500 Index benchmark, which averaged 12.16% annually.

Based on dividend-adjusted daily data since May 23, 1984, VGHCX's average daily return is +0.06%, while the average monthly return is +1.21%. At this rate, your investment would double in approximately 4.8 years.

Historically, 65% of months were positive and 35% were negative. The best month was Jan 1987 with a return of +15.2%, while the worst month was Oct 1987 at -25.6%. The longest winning streak lasted 18 consecutive months, and the longest losing streak was 6 months.

On a daily basis, VGHCX closed higher 54% of trading days. The best single day was Dec 20, 2024 with a return of +21.1%, while the worst single day was Oct 22, 1987 at -16.7%.

Vanguard Health Care Fund Investor Shares has an annualized alpha of 8.17%, beta of 0.65, and R² of 0.57 versus S&P 500 Index. Calculated based on daily prices since May 24, 1984.

• This fund participates in less of S&P 500 Index's moves in both directions, but captures a larger share of gains (87.76%) than losses (60.73%) — typical of diversified or defensive assets.
• This fund generated an annualized alpha of 8.17% versus S&P 500 Index — delivering returns beyond what market exposure alone would predict.
• Beta of 0.65 indicates this fund moves significantly less than S&P 500 Index — a genuinely defensive profile with reduced participation in both market rallies and downturns.

VGHCX has an expense ratio of 0.30%, placing it in the medium range.

VGHCX ranks 24 for risk / return — below 24% of mutual funds on our site. The returns aren't fully compensating for the risk involved. This isn't necessarily a dealbreaker, but factor it into your decision — especially if you're risk-averse.

The table below present risk-adjusted performance metrics for Vanguard Health Care Fund Investor Shares (VGHCX) and compare them to a chosen benchmark (S&P 500 Index).

Vanguard Health Care Fund Investor Shares provided a 7.02% dividend yield over the last twelve months, with an annual payout of $12.98 per share.

The table displays the monthly dividend distributions for Vanguard Health Care Fund Investor Shares. The dividends shown in the table have been adjusted to account for any splits that may have occurred.

The Drawdowns chart displays portfolio losses from any high point along the way. Drawdowns are calculated considering price movements and all distributions paid, if any.

The table below displays the maximum drawdowns of the Vanguard Health Care Fund Investor Shares. A maximum drawdown is a measure of risk, indicating the largest reduction in portfolio value due to a series of losing trades.

The maximum drawdown for the Vanguard Health Care Fund Investor Shares was 36.93%, occurring on Mar 5, 2009. Recovery took 451 trading sessions.

The current Vanguard Health Care Fund Investor Shares drawdown is 8.80%.

The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.