Vanguard Help

[Allegany]

My wife and I are about to open 2012 Roth IRA's at Vangard. This is our first investments at Vangard. We have other investments at TRP. I am looking for advice on which funds to use for this purpose. We are 59 and both still working. We have other investments and are looking at retiring in a few years around 62. Any thoughts?

 

[LOL!]

A lot of folks might say,
1. What's your desired asset allocation?
2. What does the rest of your portfolio look like?
3. What's missing in your 401(k)s and your plan that you need to fill in with investments in Roths?
4. What is high fee in your current assets that you could shift to low-fee at Vanguard in your Roths?

Sorry, if that's a non-answer, but without more info, you might get answers all over the place since vanguard has lots of good funds that are quite different from each other.

 

[jerome len]

I agree with LOL, but, if you want to get going and don't know what to do, I'd suggest starting with the Vanguard total stock index fund. Now.......if you haven't, get some help,depending on the size of your account, Vanguard may help and you can get a lot of good advice just by perusing their web pages. Good Luck.

 

[MichaelB]

Vanguard's two actively managed funds, Wellington and Wellesley, are also popular.

 

[Midpack]

Vanguard's two actively managed funds, Wellington and Wellesley, are also popular.

+1. If you want a no fuss, hands off place to park the money, these are two of the best choices. Even folks with more knowledge of asset allocation and asset classes/funds often don't get better results, and go back to Wellington and Wellesley.

And here's another simple viable option https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/vanguard/TargetRetirementList

 

[pb4uski]

Vanguard's two actively managed funds, Wellington and Wellesley, are also popular.

+1 and the Star fund is also a good couch potato choice - a balanced fund (about 60 stock/40 fixed) that is a composite of a number of Vanguard active and index funds.

 

[grasshopper]

I use STAR (VGSTX) as a core holding in my portfolio. The expenses are .34 which is a little higher than 100% index, but still pretty cheap. STAR is a very diversified mutual fund, covering lots of asset classes. I just add some short-term bonds or dividend paying stocks to fill in my asset allocation.

 

[Mulligan]

+1 and the Star fund is also a good couch potato choice - a balanced fund (about 60 stock/40 fixed) that is a composite of a number of Vanguard active and index funds.

I use total stock as my monthly contribution saving fund, and I use Star as my yearly Roth 5k dump in April. I like the diversification of the fund, too. However, I don't remember why I actually chose it over either of the Wells. And if I did, it probably wasn't a good reason anyway, but Im sticking with it. I just deposit it and forget about it.

 

[Allegany]

Vangard Help

Thanks for the replies. I don't have much of an understanding for the Vangard Funds . I've been mostly in TRP. Sounds like any of the suggested funds would suit my needs. Are there any more that anyone else is using that are relatively safe?
Thanks

 

[Midpack]

Thanks for the replies. I don't have much of an understanding for the Vangard Funds . I've been mostly in TRP. Sounds like any of the suggested funds would suit my needs. Are there any more that anyone else is using that are relatively safe?
Thanks

If you look at individual Vanguard funds, they show a "risk potential" rating for each fund like the example below. There's also a link right below the graphic with further explanation. You have to decide what level of risk you can live with knowing that in the long run higher returns come with higher risk or volatility. If you're hoping we can tell you what fund will provide high returns and low risk, I don't think anyone will be able to help.

 

[Allegany]

Thanks for your input. I signed up for VWINX. Looks like it will be good for me. Thanks everyone

 

[james7]

Thanks for your input. I signed up for VWINX. Looks like it will be good for me. Thanks everyone

Congratulations on a good choice.

 

[BUM]

Don't rush in but VG can provide low cost entry into other fund families such as PCRIX