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Founded by John C. Bogle in 1975, Vanguard is one of the world's largest investment management companies. It offers about 190 domestic funds and 230 funds for foreign markets. It also offers asset management and financial planning services to clients throughout the globe. As of Jan 31, 2020, the company had more than 30 million investors in 170 countries.
Vanguard stands out from other mutual fund companies because it is owned by the funds themselves. The company believes that this structure helps management to focus more on its shareholder interests. Among the notable advantages that Vanguard claims to offer are low-cost and no-load funds.
Vanguard’s Performance So Far This Year
By the end of the July, Vanguard had around $6.2 trillion of assets under management. The initial investment of the majority of mutual funds from the family ranges from $0 to $3,000. As of Jul 31, 2020, none of the Vanguard mutual funds carried any load.
Further, Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares (VWESX - Free Report) turned up as one of the best-performing mutual fund from the Vanguard family. The fund posted solid gains in the period between January and June. VWESX, which invests a bulk of its intermediate- and long-term investment-grade securities, returned 16.8% in the past year and has added 10.5% so far this year.
Vanguard invests in a variety of sectors that are sensitive, cyclical and defensive. From the sensitive sectors, most investments were made in the technology sector. In the cyclical sectors, the fund family has invested the maximum in the financial services sector, while in defensive sectors it has invested heavily in healthcare.
Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) has climbed 23.4% in the year-to-date period and 43.1% over the past year. The sector turned out the best-performing sector among the 11 S&P 500 sectors.
3 Best Funds to Buy Now
Given such bullish circumstances, we have highlighted three Vanguard mutual funds carrying a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and are poised to gain from such factors. Moreover, these funds have encouraging three and one-year returns. Additionally, the minimum initial investment is within $5000.
We expect these funds to outperform their peers in the future. Remember, the goal of the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is to guide investors to identify potential winners and losers. Unlike most of the fund-rating systems, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is not just focused on past performance, but also on the likely future success of the fund.
The question here is: why should investors consider mutual funds? Reduced transaction costs and diversification of portfolio without several commission charges that are associated with stock purchases are primarily why one should be parking money in mutual funds (read more: Mutual Funds: Advantages, Disadvantages, and How They Make Investors Money).
Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund (VWLTX - Free Report) aims for a high and sustainable level of current income that is exempted from federal personal income taxes. The fund invests the majority of its assets in municipal bonds in the top three credit-rating categories as determined by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the fund’s advisor.
This Sector – Muni-Bonds product has a history of positive total returns for over 10 years. Specifically, the fund's returns over the three and one-year benchmarks are 4.7% and 4.9%, respectively. To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other #1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.
VWLTX has an annual expense ratio of 0.17%, which is below the category average of 0.82%.
Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund Investor Shares (VFISX - Free Report) seeks current income with minimum price volatility. VFISX invests a large share of its assets in U.S. Treasury instruments such as bills, bonds and notes. VFISX seeks to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity between 1 and 4 years.
This Sector – Govt Bond-Short product has a history of positive total returns for over 10 years. Specifically, the fund's returns over the three and one-year benchmarks are 2.7% and 4.4%, respectively. To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other #1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.
VFISX has an annual expense ratio of 0.20%, which is below the category average of 0.72%.
Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares (VFSTX - Free Report) seeks income while maintaining a high degree of stability of principal. VFSTX invests in a variety of high-quality and, to a lesser extent, medium-quality fixed income securities. The fund also invests to a limited extent in non-investment-grade and fixed income securities, mainly short-term and intermediate-term corporate bonds.
This Sector – Inv Grade Bond-Short product has a history of positive total returns for over 10 years. Specifically, the fund's returns over the three and one-year benchmarks are 3.4% and 4.9%, respectively. To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other #1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.
VFSTX has an annual expense ratio of 0.20%, which is below the category average of 0.72%.
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3 Best Vanguard Mutual Funds to Grab in August
Founded by John C. Bogle in 1975, Vanguard is one of the world's largest investment management companies. It offers about 190 domestic funds and 230 funds for foreign markets. It also offers asset management and financial planning services to clients throughout the globe. As of Jan 31, 2020, the company had more than 30 million investors in 170 countries.
Vanguard stands out from other mutual fund companies because it is owned by the funds themselves. The company believes that this structure helps management to focus more on its shareholder interests. Among the notable advantages that Vanguard claims to offer are low-cost and no-load funds.
Vanguard’s Performance So Far This Year
By the end of the July, Vanguard had around $6.2 trillion of assets under management. The initial investment of the majority of mutual funds from the family ranges from $0 to $3,000. As of Jul 31, 2020, none of the Vanguard mutual funds carried any load.
Further, Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares (VWESX - Free Report) turned up as one of the best-performing mutual fund from the Vanguard family. The fund posted solid gains in the period between January and June. VWESX, which invests a bulk of its intermediate- and long-term investment-grade securities, returned 16.8% in the past year and has added 10.5% so far this year.
Vanguard invests in a variety of sectors that are sensitive, cyclical and defensive. From the sensitive sectors, most investments were made in the technology sector. In the cyclical sectors, the fund family has invested the maximum in the financial services sector, while in defensive sectors it has invested heavily in healthcare.
Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) has climbed 23.4% in the year-to-date period and 43.1% over the past year. The sector turned out the best-performing sector among the 11 S&P 500 sectors.
3 Best Funds to Buy Now
Given such bullish circumstances, we have highlighted three Vanguard mutual funds carrying a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and are poised to gain from such factors. Moreover, these funds have encouraging three and one-year returns. Additionally, the minimum initial investment is within $5000.
We expect these funds to outperform their peers in the future. Remember, the goal of the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is to guide investors to identify potential winners and losers. Unlike most of the fund-rating systems, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is not just focused on past performance, but also on the likely future success of the fund.
The question here is: why should investors consider mutual funds? Reduced transaction costs and diversification of portfolio without several commission charges that are associated with stock purchases are primarily why one should be parking money in mutual funds (read more: Mutual Funds: Advantages, Disadvantages, and How They Make Investors Money).
Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund (VWLTX - Free Report) aims for a high and sustainable level of current income that is exempted from federal personal income taxes. The fund invests the majority of its assets in municipal bonds in the top three credit-rating categories as determined by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the fund’s advisor.
This Sector – Muni-Bonds product has a history of positive total returns for over 10 years. Specifically, the fund's returns over the three and one-year benchmarks are 4.7% and 4.9%, respectively. To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other #1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.
VWLTX has an annual expense ratio of 0.17%, which is below the category average of 0.82%.
Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund Investor Shares (VFISX - Free Report) seeks current income with minimum price volatility. VFISX invests a large share of its assets in U.S. Treasury instruments such as bills, bonds and notes. VFISX seeks to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity between 1 and 4 years.
This Sector – Govt Bond-Short product has a history of positive total returns for over 10 years. Specifically, the fund's returns over the three and one-year benchmarks are 2.7% and 4.4%, respectively. To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other #1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.
VFISX has an annual expense ratio of 0.20%, which is below the category average of 0.72%.
Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares (VFSTX - Free Report) seeks income while maintaining a high degree of stability of principal. VFSTX invests in a variety of high-quality and, to a lesser extent, medium-quality fixed income securities. The fund also invests to a limited extent in non-investment-grade and fixed income securities, mainly short-term and intermediate-term corporate bonds.
This Sector – Inv Grade Bond-Short product has a history of positive total returns for over 10 years. Specifically, the fund's returns over the three and one-year benchmarks are 3.4% and 4.9%, respectively. To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other #1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.
VFSTX has an annual expense ratio of 0.20%, which is below the category average of 0.72%.
Want key mutual fund info delivered straight to your inbox?
Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing mutual funds, each week. Get it free >>