Best Mutual Funds Now

Vanguard California Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund (VCTXX)

Douglas — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:14:40 +0000

This is an examination of the Vanguard California Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund (VCTXX). This is a fund that is intended for have as its shareholders as residents of the state of California. The income made by this fund is both federal and state exempt on taxes when it is applied to your personal income taxes. The income is from the interest that is earned from investments made on high quality short term municipality securities from the state of California.

The minimum amount need to invest in this fund is $3000 and the fund has an expense ratio of 0.17%. There are a total of 285 different securities I this fund that have an average maturity term of just 31 days. There is a total of $5.2 billion in this fund of which all of it is invested.

This is an extremely low risk, but low return investment. Since its inception in June of 1987, this fund has had an average annual return of 3.01% with a 3 year return of 1.76%.

The funds manager since 2003 has been Kathryn Allen and under her leadership this fund has always had a positive return.

This is one of the Vanguard funds that is a solid investment that can be relatively looked at like a money market account except that it is tax exempt. If you will need your investment dollars within the next 3 to five years and just need a safe place to stash it, the Vanguard California Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund (VCTXX) is the right place for you.

Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Index Fund Review

Douglas — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:43:04 +0000

This Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Index Fund Review will explore many of the different aspects of this fund. This fund is for large volume investors that need to place the minimum amount of $5 million to be a part of this fund family. This family consists of three different funds. There is the Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Index Institutional Shares VMCTX, the Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Growth Index Institutional Shares VMGAX, and the Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Value Index Institutional Shares VMVLX.

Each of these funds have expenses of 0.11% and follow a passive managed full replication approach to the index they are attempting to mirror, along with being a domestic fund. This differences lie in which index they follow. The VMGAX follows the MSCI US Large Cap Growth Index, the VMCTX follows the MSCI US Large Cap Index, and the VMVLX follows the MSCI US Large Cap Value Index. Each of these funds closely mirror the performance of their indexes and produced annul returns for the year of over 50% as of the end of February 2010.

Each of these Vanguard funds are staying true to their stated portfolios and matching the performance of their indexes for a solid return on investment so far. None of them can be properly rated or evaluated because they are all less than 3 years old. But this will change next year and if their managers keep with their current level of performances along with the low expenses, these will be solid long-term investments that will bring positive results to those that have made the large investment in them. But like all investments, there are risks and this Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Index Fund Review is positive but hesitant.

Vanguard REIT Index VIPERS (VNQ)

Douglas — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:25:54 +0000

The Vanguard REIT Index VIPERS (VNQ) is a domestic stock type fund that makes investments in the sector of real estate only. This fund cannot be purchased by individuals, but can be obtained thru a broker. This is considered a middle size value blend type of fund that has long term high returns with moderate risks and has earned a 3 star rating from Morningstar.
Since its inception in 2004 this fund has achieved a return of 3.73% and the return as of the end of 2009 was at 30.17%.
The total assets of this fund are over $10.9 billion that is invested in 98 different stocks. The annual turnover rate of these stocks is at 10.3%. The investment manager of this fund since its inception has been Gerard c. O’Reilly. His investment style is best for those looking for high level dividend income for a long term growth of capital. If investing in this fund, it is recommended that the funds be left in it for a minimum of 5 years before any decision is made about reshuffling your investment.
The volatility factors associated with this fund for the last three years are a beta at 1.63 and an R squared at 67 with a standard deviation of 39.67.
This is one of the Vanguard funds that has shown to bring back higher than average returns while keep the risk level moderately low as compared to other investments. The Vanguard REIT Index VIPERS (VNQ) is a safe way for an investor to get exposure to the real estate market with minimal risk.

Vanguard STAR Fund (VGSTX)

Douglas — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:42:25 +0000

The Vanguard STAR Fund (VGSTX) is a diversified fund that has shown to be a solid long term investment as a large blend type of investment. The investment strategy of this fund is to have a balanced allocation of investments with 60% to 70% of the fund being in stocks, 20% to 30% being in bonds, and 10% to 20% being in short term investments.

As of January 31, 2010, this funds make up was 61.62% stocks, 25.62% bonds, and 12.76% in short term reserves, with an annual turnover ratio of 21% that has $12.7 billion in total assets. As part of its diversity, 16.0% of the fund is invested in foreign stocks. The sectors this fund has investments in are in the Financial with 15.6%, Healthcare with 12.9%, Industrial Materials with 12.8%, Hardware with 11.6%, and Energy with 10.1%.
This fund invests 100% in other Vanguard funds and performance is regulated their returns. The funds that are invested in are the Vanguard Windsor II Fund, the Vanguard Long Term Investment Grade Fund, the Vanguard GNMA Fund, the Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade Fund, Vanguard Windsor Fund, Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund, Vanguard Growth Fund, Vanguard International Growth Fund, Vanguard international Value Fund, and the Vanguard Explorer Fund.
Since this funds inception in March of 1985, it has yielded a return of 9.70% with a one year return of 24.85%. This is an average risk fund with above average returns and has received a 4 star rating form Morningstar.
For that last three years, this funds volatility measurements have been a standard deviation of 14.44 with an R squared of 99 and a Beta of 1.08.
The minimum investment amount is $1000 with 0.00 expenses. The Vanguard STAR Fund (VGSTX) is a safe long term investment that will grow with moderate returns for your investment dollars.

Vanguard GNMA Fund Investor Shares (VFIIX)

Douglas — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:23:56 +0000

The Vanguard GNMA Fund Investor Shares (VFIIX) is an intermediate term bond fund to help provide a moderate level of income. This is mainly a government national mortgage association securities that are backed by the US government to help ensure on time payments of the principals and interest.
This fund has total net assets of $36.2 billion in 31 bonds. The average maturities of these bonds are 3.5 years with the average duration being 3.9 years. This mutual fund has a below average risk with a below average return. As compared to the benchmark of Barclays Capital US GNMA Bond Index for the past 3 years, this fund has had a Beta of 1.02 and an R squared of 0.99.
As of January 31, 2010, this fund has had an annualized return after taxes for the past year of 5.29%. For the past 10 years the annualized return was 6.23%, and since its inception in 1980, the annualized return has been 9.34%. The expense ratio of this mutual fund was at 0.23% on May 29, 2009. To invest in this fund, a minimum deposit of $3,000 is required.
The manager of this Vanguard fund is from the Wellington Management Company, LLP who has been advising Vanguard since 1980. The portfolio manager they assigned to this fund is Thomas L. Pappas. He was advising on this fund since 1994 and is a Senior Vice President and Partner at Wellington.
This is a conservative to moderate fund as classified by the Vanguard group that are only exposed to low to moderate share price fluctuations. The Vanguard GNMA Fund Investor Shares (VFIIX) is the right investment for those looking to have an income over a 4 to 6 year period without a great deal of growth. This is a low risk and low return investment that is relatively safe of all the Vanguard funds.

Best Mutual Funds 2010

Douglas — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:07:25 +0000

The Best Mutual Funds 2010 will be determined at the end of the year. What needs to be evaluated is which ones have the best prospects of having the greatest returns and which one will be consistent.
The stocks and the funds that have shown the best performances since emerging from the bear market are the large growth large cap sector. This is what a great deal of the professional investment consolers are suggesting, but the mid and small cap and emerging market funds are prime for steady performance as well. By always following the trend with that of the majority of the investors, your rise and fall is predictable. The greater the risks, the better chance of having your portfolio performance exceed your expectations. While Vanguard and Fidelity have the largest selection of funds, they are not the only good investment firms available today.
There is a mid-cap fund that has shown good performance and has been consistent for a number of years now. This is the Westport Fund WPFRX. This fund has had a solid performance for the past decade with a return of 6.82% and outperformed the S&P by 7.34% in that same time period. This might not seem like much but the last year’s return was 40.50%. This fund has been rated by Morningstar as a low risk with high returns and has received a 5 rating for most of its existence. The expense ratio is relatively high at 1.37% and the minimum investment is only $2500.
The Fairholme Fund FAIRX is another often overlooked mutual fund that has had a decade of solid performance of 14.35% return and outperformed the S&P 500 by 14.87%. With this performance along with an annualized return last year of 58.85%, Morning star still has this fund as a high risk and high return performer. This is a large cap value blend fund that has earned a 5 star rating from Morningstar in its entire existence. An expense ratio of 1.01% and a minimum investment of $10,000 might be part of the reason it is not a part of many investors portfolios, but it should be.
Another mutual fund that does not receive much fan fare is the AIM Mid Cap Core Equity Fund. This fund has had a 10 year performance of 6.04% and outperformed the S&P 500 by 6.55% over that same period. This fund is just short of being a large cap fund and near the line of blend and growth with a low risk level but return is above average. For almost its entire existence, it has received a 5 star rating from Morningstar. The expense ratio is higher than most at 1.25% but the minimum investment is $1000.
You could follow the trend of making a large part of your portfolio with the favorite large cap large growth funds like the Prime Odyssey Growth Fund. This fund attempts to match returns of the Vanguard Prime Cap Core Fund, which is closed to investors. This fund has had a return of 5.04% over the past 5 years and outperformed the S&P 500 by 4.71% in that same time frame. This fund is considered an average risk with above average returns and an overall rating of 5 stars from Morningstar. The expense ratio of this fund is at a low 0.71% and it only takes a $2000 minimum investment to join.
Mark Hulbert of the Hulbert Financial Digest has a few words about Morningstar and its ratings and the lists they produce, “Morningstar has a lot of smart people who are trying their best, and who are smart statisticians”. He went on to further his thoughts about any top list of funds with “What they are revealing with these lists is just how difficult it is for any of us to identify top performers, even among funds with absolutely fabulous track records, picking next year’s winners is tough”.
Do not use any one list you find as a blueprint for your portfolio. Large cap and growth funds is a great base, but they should not be 100%. Remember today’s small company many be tomorrow’s giant like what Microsoft and Google did.
Some investment counselors think the Best Mutual Funds 2010 lists are just a gimmick. In truth, they are a well thought out suggestion to assist investors in making a very complex decision. From all the mutual funds that are available, everyone knows this is a difficult task that no one gets perfectly right.

Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VFSTX)

Douglas — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:35:52 +0000

The Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VFSTX) is just like the name implies, a short-term, fixed-income, midquality investment grade securities. The manager of this fund is Bob Auwaerter. He has been a part of this fund since 1983. In May of 2008, Gregory Nassour was appointed to assist Bob and became a co-manager at that time.

This is a fund that has 1,080 different bonds as its asset makeup. The annual turnover of this fund is 49% with a yield of 3.78%. The total assets of this fund are $32.8 billion with 82.5% being in bonds, 16.7% in cash, and 0.7% categorized as other. The bonds on which this fund invests in are between the grades of A and BBB with limited durations of 1 to 3 years.

The performance of this mutual fund was outstanding for a bond investment strategy with a one year return of 14.03%. This outperformed its bench mark being the Barclays US 1-5 year Credit Index which was at 13.52%.

The amount needed to invest in this fund is at a $3,000 minimum and it has an expense ratio of 0.21%. This fund has kept a 4 star rating from Morningstar for the long and short term while still being an above average risk with an above average return.

The volatility factors of this fund are a standard deviation of 4.18 and a mean of 5.16 with an R squared of 31 and a beta of 0.56.

If you are looking for a long term investment in Vanguard funds, the Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VFSTX) has shown to be a proven winner. It would be a valued asset as part of any investor’s portfolio.

Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund Investor Shares (VMVIX)

Douglas — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:21:03 +0000

The Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund Investor Shares (VMVIX) is a mutual fund that was designed to track and mirror the performance of the MSCI® US Mid Cap Value Index. This is done by investing in stocks that have a mid-capitalization value in the domestic market.
The fund manager is Donald Butler and has been since the inception of this fund in August of 2006. Under his guidance this fund has outperformed the index since its inception with a return last year of 37.61% before taxes.
This fund has a total of $1.0 billion in assets from 259 total stocks. The top ten stocks comprise 9% of the fund as a whole. The business sector where this fund is invested heaviest is the financial with 29.80% of the total assets followed by 13.10% in the consumer discretionary sector. Utilities follow in third with 12.20%. These percentages are what the fund was made up of on December 31, 2009.
Morningstar has this fund rated at an above risk with average returns considering the past three year’s performance and has two stars. This fund does have low cost and is very diverse with the top holding only making up 1% of the total assets so that no one company can have a too diverse effect on the overall performance of the fund.
The volatility indicators of this fund are a beta at 1.2 with an R squared of 92 and a standard deviation of 24.92. The expense ratio of this fund is at 0.30% and there is a minimum of $3000 to invest in it.
When it comes to Vanguard funds, the Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund Investor Shares (VMVIX) has kept to its original aim in its portfolio more than most.

Best Bond ETFs

author — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:57:10 +0000

Exchange Traded Funds, known as ETF, are a major investment option though many people do not venture into this trade. ETF are similar to mutual funds but have much dissimilarity as well. The best bond ETF is quite different from the mutual funds for they have low expenses and offer greater trading control that ultimately translates into higher profits.

The bond ETF option by Vanguard is currently one of the best products in the market. Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF covers all aspects of the stock market and offers the broadest rates of return; it was 31% in 2009.

ETF bond for Mega Caps, under Vanguard Mega Cap 300 Growth ETF, offers considerable investment options. This bond consists of the largest companies in the United States and thus offers the highest rates of return. With an expense ratio of 0.13%, the fund saw a growth of over 36% in 2009; this is a major rate of return for this scale of investment.

Vanguard Europe Pacific ETF is a profitable investment option where customers can invest around one-fifth of their total stock options. Expense ratio for this fund is 0.16% and the rate of return was 32% in 2009.

Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock ETF has an expense ratio of 0.27% and the fund saw a massive growth of 79% in 2009. Vanguard REIT Index ETF also offers a relatively profitable field of investment with 0.15% in expense ratios and rate of return upwards of 35%.

Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund (VWEHX)

Douglas — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:46:47 +0000

From America’s most convenient bank, the TD Bank CD rates online are easily found in their website. TD Bank, N.A. offers a broad array or retail, small business and commercial banking products and services to more than 6.5 million customers in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia. It is one of the 15 largest commercial banks in the U.S. with $142 billion in assets.
This fund is rated by Morningstar as average risk with average return with 3 stars.. There are a total of 340 corporate bonds in this fund with $11.5 billion assets that had an annual return of 39.1% last year. The average maturities of these bonds are 6.3 years. The expense ratio is presently at 0.32% with a $3,000 minimum investment required that can be increased in $100 increments.
The volatility factors of this fund over the past three years are a beta at 1.38, an R-squared at 15 and a standard deviation of 17.71.
This is a fund that is cautious and has a long term outlook. There is very little activity in this fund since the management has a buy and hold mentality, which paid off last year with its best performance since its inception date back in December of 1978.
The categories of the bonds in this fund had a bad name and were called in the past, junk bonds. This fund does not rally as fast as others in its category, but it does not lose as quickly either. This one of the Vanguard funds investors can place their savings in for a slow long term positive result.
The Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund (VWEHX) is a great vehicle for a worker’s with IRA contribution for long term investment for their retirement.