Best Mutual Funds Now

The Vanguard SEP IRA is the small business plan for their employees to save for their retirement. The name spelled out is simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Account. This plan defers the taxes of the contributions until years later. If you are self employed, this is a 1 to 1 deduction on your tax liability each year you contribute to it.

The maximum amount that can be contributed to one of these accounts each year is $5000 for people under 50 years old. If you are older than 50, then your contribution limit is $6000. For employers that contribute to these funds for their employees, 25% of their contribution is deductable as a business expense.

There are over 100 Vanguard funds and some ETFs that qualify for this special type of investment for your retirement.

There is a $20 annual fee for each Vanguard fund that contains less than $10,000 in contributions. The fee is not applicable to clients that are members of Flagship, Voyager Select, or Voyager Services. Also excluded from this fee are clients that have already signed up for total paperless communications with Vanguard.

To get started with this plan, a request for the SEP-IRA kits is necessary. It contains information on how to establish a plan and an account, a brief description of how the plan works, the authorization forms, and the new account forms. In addition, it contains the IRS form 5305-SEP that has to be filed with your taxes.

This is the best way to save for retirement, along with being the least expensive of any of the investment financial institutions in the market. Every working adult over the age of 21 with an annual income of over $550 is eligible to participate in the Vanguard SEP IRA.

For more reference about investments from Vanguard on this site please view Top Vanguard Mutual Funds.

For a resource about ETF”s, please view South Korea ETFs which is one our sister site of ETFinvestingblog.com.

Even further resources about mutual funds and other investments from Fidelity on another sister site of ours is mutualfundexplorer.com please view Best Fidelity Small Cap Mutual Funds.

We strive to bring you the latest and most accurate data possible from the home sites of the investment institutions we name. Always remember the bigger the risk, the larger the reward or loss. Invest with caution.

To know which are the top Vanguard Mutual Funds, your priorities must be known. For many, the best funds are the best performers, while others look at the best funds that have the lowest expenses. Both strategies are fundamentally sound.
When performance is the important indicator for the best fund, the Vanguard REIT Index Fund (VGSIX) is on top with a one year return of 109.90%. This number was last updated on March 31, 2010 by the Vanguard group. If long term is of more interest to you, then this fund has had a 10 year return of 11.18%. This fund has an expense ratio of 0.26%.
The second best performing fund from Vanguard is the Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining Fund (VGPMX) with a one year return of 79.66% and a ten year return of 20.79%. These numbers were last updated on March 31, 2010. This fund has an expense ratio of 0.39%.

Third is the Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund Investor Shares (VEIEX) with a one year return of 78.86% and a ten year return of 10.28%. These numbers were last updated on March 31, 2010. This fund has an expense ratio of 0.40%.

The fourth best performing fund was the Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund Investor Shares (VMVIX) with a one year return of 73.81%. This number was last updated on March 31, 2010. This fund’s inception date was August 24, 2006 so there is not a 10 year return because of its age. This fund has an expense ratio of 0.30%.

The fund with the lowest expense ratio is the Vanguard Institutional Total Stock Market Index Fund Institutional Plus Shares (VITPX) that is 0.025%. This fund has had a one year return of 53.13% and the holdings have 3239 different stocks in it.

Each of these Vanguard funds are good investments and these are my top Vanguard Mutual Funds for this month.

For more reference about investments from Vanguard on this site please view Investing in Vanguard Mutual Funds.
For a resource about ETF”s, please view Equity Commodity ETFs Guide which is one our sister site of ETFinvestingblog.com.
Even further resources about mutual funds and other investments from Fidelity on another sister site of ours is mutualfundexplorer.com please view Fidelity Closed End Mutual Funds.
A stock market resource on investing from another sister site of stockmarketinvestingblog.com is an article on Investing in Airline Stocks.

Investing in Vanguard Mutual Funds is different than with any other mutual fund company. The company itself is owned by the funds and not the corporation. The corporation is funded by the funds that contribute to the cost of the management, marketing, and distribution process of the company.
Vanguard was started back in 1975 by John C. Bogle and he is given credit with the creation of the first index fund that was made available to individual investors. Shortly after the creation of this company, the brokerage firm of Vanguard changed into a no load mutual fund firm. This enabled investors to buy and sell shares without having to pay a sales commission or load. Today, they handle over one trillion dollars of investors’ money.
This company has over 500 Vanguard funds in which to choose from. There are both short term and long term investments, but the philosophy is to encourage long term investment. The types of investments are mutual funds and ETFs.
The performance of the mutual funds has outperformed their competitors by 75% over the past decade. Most of these funds are diverse in their investment philosophy which is why so many have average or below average risk ratings.
There are sector funds that concentrate their investments in just one sector like Gold, metal, or tech stocks, but with the increased risk comes the chance for increased revenue. One of these is the mutual fund for the real estate sector with a ticker symbol of VGSIX. Last year’s return was 97.82%, with a ten year return of 10.50%.
An example of a diverse mutual fund from Vanguard is the total stock fund with a ticker symbol of VTSMX. In its holdings are over 3000 companies stocks that cover every market. It had a return last year of 56.25% and a total return, since its inception in 1992, of 7.91%.
For individuals Investing in Vanguard Mutual Funds is the safest way to venture but always remember there is some risk with any investment.
For more reference about investments from Vanguard on this site please view Vanguard Dividend Growth Fund Review – VDIGX
For additional resources about ETF”s, please view South Korea ETFs which is one our sister site of ETFinvestingblog.com.
Even further resources about mutual funds and other investments from Fidelity on another sister site of ours is mutualfundexplorer.com please view Best Fidelity No Load Mutual Funds.
A stock market resource on investing from another sister site of stockmarketinvestingblog.com is an article on Investing in Lithium Companies which is worth a look at three companies that had return over 500% last year.
We strive to bring you the latest and most accurate data possible from the home sites of the investment institutions we name. Always remember the bigger the risk, the larger the reward or loss. Invest with caution.

The advantage of investing with Vanguard Mutual Funds for Retirement Savings is a simple one. They charge their clients with these funds what it cost then to run them without any mark up. These are tax deferred investments that allow investors to supplement their 401k investments with up to $5000 additional investment amounts per year and $6000 for individuals that are over the age of 60.
Most of the Vanguard Funds are eligible for an individual’s retirement savings. This is with both IRA and Roth IRS eligible funds. The minimum investment for most of these with an IRA account is $3000.
When choosing which funds to make an investment in, there are many sources that give advice. Money magazine made a list of the best 70 mutual funds in January of 2010. Of those 70 mutual funds, 23 of them were from Vanguard. That is a full one third of the list. This included actively managed funds, Index funds, ETF’s and target retirement funds.
Forbes is another highly respected magazine that is designed to help investors choose the right funds wisely. They also had a best buy list in January of 2010 that listed 135 different funds that would make good investments. 27% or 36 of those funds were Vanguard mutual funds. These were chosen on criteria of risk adjusted performance and low costs. Of the 23 different categories, at least one Vanguard fund was selected in 17 of them.
The Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund (VEIEX) was on the Forbes honor roll. It has an expense ratio of 0.40% and had a one year performance as of February 28, 2010 of 91.90%
It might sound like a sales pitch, but it is true that the choice of Vanguard Mutual Funds for Retirement Savings is a good choice immaterial which fund you chose.
For more reference about investments from Vanguard on this site please view Vanguard Dividend Growth Fund Review – VDIGX
For additional resources about ETF”s, please view Actively Managed ETFs Explained which is one our sister site of ETFinvestingblog.com.
Even further resources about mutual funds and other investments from Fidelity on another sister site of ours is mutualfundexplorer.com please view Best Fidelity No Load Mutual Funds.
A stock market resource on investing from another sister site of stockmarketinvestingblog.com is an article on Investing in Lithium Companies which is worth a look at three companies that had return over 500% last year.
We strive to bring you the latest and most accurate data possible from the home sites of the investment institutions we name. Always remember the bigger the risk, the larger the reward or loss. Invest with caution.

This Vanguard Dividend Growth Fund Review (VDIGX) is looking closely at this investment to provide you with what you need to know to make a sound investment.

The statistics and recommendations at the onset of looking at this fund are positive. Morningstar rates this as a low risk high return investment. The assets of this fund are in 49 different stocks with the largest sector being health care with just under 18% of the holdings. The investment strategy is to provide investors with a steady flow of income for long term investment and long term capital appreciation.

The makeup of the assets is 95.4% in stocks of which 6.9% is overseas. The remainder is in cash holdings.

The performance of this fund last year was 21.74% before taxes. For the past 12 months ending on February 28, 2010 the annualized return has increased to 40.97%. The volatility measurers of this fund covering the past three years are a beta at 0.79, the R squared at 96 and the standard deviation of 16.12. The expense ratio as of May 2009 was at 0.32%.

There is a minimum of $3000 required to invest in the mutual fund for general accounts and IRA’s. For educational saving accounts the minimum is only $2000.

Like many of the Vanguard funds this fund changed its benchmark from the Russell 1000 index on January 31, 2010 to the Dividend Achievers Select Index. This index is managed by Mergent Inc exclusively for Vanguard.

The Vanguard Dividend Growth Fund Review (VDIGX) still looks positive even after the index change and appears to still be a sound investment.

For more reference about investments from Vanguard on this site please view Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF and Vanguard Sector Index Funds.

For additional resources about ETF”s, please view Best S&P 500 ETF Funds which is one our sister site of ETFinvestingblog.com.

Even further resources about mutual funds and other investments from Fidelity on another sister site of ours is mutualfundexplorer.com please view Fidelity Destiny II Fund (FDETX).

We strive to bring you the latest and most accurate data possible from the home sites of the investment institutions we name. Always remember the bigger the risk, the larger the reward or loss. Invest with caution.

The Vanguard Sector Index Funds all changed their benchmark indexes that went into play on February 26, 2010. These are the same indexes but the weight of the individual holdings of these funds has changed. The target is to still mirror and outperform these indexes for the benefit of investors. The funds effected and their new indexes are listed below.
The Vanguard Consumer Discretionary Index Fund (VCR) now follows the MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Discretionary 25/50 Index.
The Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund (VDC) now follows the MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Staples 25/50 Index.
The Vanguard Energy Index Fund (VDE) now follows the MSCI US Investable Market Energy 25/50 Index.
The Vanguard Financials Index Fund (VFH) now follows the MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index.
The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHCIX) now follows the MSCI US Investable Market Health Care 25/50 Index.
The Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) now follows the MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index.
The Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund (VGT) now follows the MSCI US Investable Market Information Technology 25/50 Index.
The Vanguard Materials Index Fund (VAW) now follows the MSCI US Investable Market Materials 25/50 Index.
The Vanguard Telecommunications Services Index Fund (VOX) now follows the MSCI US Investable Market Telecommunications Services 25/50 Index.
The Vanguard Utilities Index Fund (VPU) now follows the MSCI US Investable Market Utilities 25/50 Index.
All of these Vanguard funds are RIC compliant by being no more the 25% of the total assets in any one security issuer, and no more than 50% of the total assets in securities of that issuer that represent 5% of the overall makeup of the fund. This makes all of the Vanguard Sector Index Funds adhere to the tax code limitations set out by the IRS.
For more reference about investments from Vanguard on this site please view Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF.
For additional resources about ETF”s, please view Best S&P 500 ETF Funds which is one our sister site of ETFinvestingblog.com.
Even further resources about mutual funds and other investments from Fidelity on another sister site of ours is mutualfundexplorer.com please view Fidelity Destiny II Fund (FDETX).
We strive to bring you the latest and most accurate data possible from the home sites of the investment institutions we name.

The Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF has a trade symbol of VEU. This ETF attempts to mimic and outperform the benchmark set by the FTSE All world ex US Index.
This is a large foreign blended fund made up of stocks from developing and emerging regions of the world. The actual make up of the holdings as of January 31, 2010 had 23.8% in emerging markets, 46.8% in Europe, 23.5% in the Pacific region, and 5.9% from North America. There are a total of 2154 different company stocks in the holdings that has a turnover rate of 9.4% at the end of last October.
The countries with the most investments from this fund are the United Kingdom with 14.7%, Japan with 14.5%, France with 8.0%, and Canada with 5.9%. The average annual return of this fund for the past year as of February 28, 2010 was 65.79%. The volatility measures of this stock are not measurable since this fund is less than 3 years old but the two principal managers have been working with investment management for a combined 34 years. These principal managers are Duane F. Kelly and Ryan E. Ludt.
For people thinking about Vanguard funds, this fund is for those investors who are looking to diversify their portfolio with a fund other than one from the domestic market place, and are looking for a long term capital growth fund. This is a long term investment strategy and those seeking significant dividends should avoid adding this ETF to their portfolio.
The Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF does incur a commission charge but over all expense ratio is low at 0.25%.

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.

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.

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.