

If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll follow the prompts on each page. If you already have an account somewhere else, you can select “start your transfer or rollover.” If you’d like to open a new account from scratch, select “start your new account.” Head to the Vanguard investor page and click “open an account” to get started. While it’s a good idea to review your investment accounts at least once a year, you don’t have to spend a lot of time tinkering with your investments with Vanguard. Vanguard is best for new investors or those who don’t want to spend a lot of time managing investment accounts. $20 to $25, depending on the account, but can get waived in some instances. An expense ratio is the fee an investor is charged for investing in that fund. Vanguard has $0 commission fees and low expense ratios. Investing in fractional shares allows investors to determine how much they want to invest in a share by buying a piece of it without buying the whole share. You can’t invest in fractional ETFs with Vanguard. If you decide to invest through Vanguard, you have your choice of thousands of: Mostly fee-free, except some mutual funds and options have transaction fees.Multiple investment types are available, including stocks, bonds, options, ETFs, mutual funds, and other services.You can choose the right account based on your needs, including individual and joint taxable accounts, traditional and Roth IRAs, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, 529s, UGMAs, and trusts.Offers both self-managed and robo-advisors, depending on what type of investor you are.An automated service runs for 24 hours a day, but that only gives you information on your account and market updates. If you need to chat with someone about your account, you can only do it Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. While great for new passive investors, active investors or those who want to learn more analytics might find the platform a little too simplistic. Under no circumstances does this information represent a recommendation to buy or sell securities.Basic user interface. If you don’t have an extra hundred grand laying around to invest, VDC offers the same holdings and nearly identical performance at the same cheap Vanguard expense, which is 0.12% on both funds.Īs of this writing, Kent Thune did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. For example, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Admiral Shares (MUTF: VCSAX) has that $100,000 investment threshold, but the performance ranks are top 1% in the Consumer Defensive category for the 1-year, 3-year and 5-year returns and is 15th percentile for 10-year performance.


Some of the best Vanguard funds, in comparison to respective category averages, happen to be the Admiral share class of mutual funds, which have $100,000 minimum initial investment amounts - a difficult hurdle for most investors.īut ETFs don’t have such barriers to entry. We round out our list of best Vanguard funds with an ETF - the Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (NYSEARCA: VDC). The expense ratio for VGHCX is 0.35% - or $35 annually for every $10,000 invested - and the minimum initial investment is $3,000.īest Vanguard Funds: Vanguard Consumer Staples (VDC) Top holdings include Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE: BMY), Actavis plc (NYSE: ACT), and UnitedHealth Group Inc. Hynes had years of co-management experience under the direction of Owens.Īlthough the Vanguard Health Care fund lags behind the sky-high short-term performance of health sector funds heavy in bio-technology holdings, the diversified mix of health industry firms in the portfolio makes the fund much more attractive for long-term investors. Owens, was at the helm from 1984 to 2012, and, before taking over management in 2008, current manager Jean M. The original portfolio manager, Edward P. With an inception dating all the way back to 1984, VGHCX has a rich history of top performance and sector leadership. Vanguard Health Care (MUTF: VGHCX) is one of the best Vanguard funds and also one of the best sector funds in the entire mutual funds industry. Best Vanguard Funds: Vanguard Health Care (VGHCX)
