3 Excellent Vanguard Funds for the Long Term

Russel Kinnel: Vanguard funds make great long-term holdings because they are cheap, and Vanguard’s sound stewardship keeps them on the right course. I picked three very different funds that I’d be happy to own for the next 20 years.

3 Excellent Vanguard Funds for the Long Term

1. Vanguard Dividend Growth VDIGX
2. Vanguard Total International Stock Index VTIAX
3. Vanguard Wellesley Income VWIAX

Vanguard Dividend Growth has it all: a good manager, a smart strategy, and low costs. Longtime manager Donald Kilbride stepped down on Jan. 1, 2024, and handed the reins to Peter Fisher. Fisher has been part of the effort for many years including serving as lead on a global dividend strategy since 2016. Subadvisor Wellington generally handles transitions like this well because they plan well in advance and have a deep bench serving most strategies. I’m a fan of dividend growth in general because it leads managers to growing companies with healthy balance sheets. And that means the fund has good defensive characteristics. Add in a fee of just 30 basis points and the fund is actually cheaper than a lot of index funds.

Next is an actual index fund. Vanguard Total International Stock Index fund works just like its U.S. counterpart only it invests in foreign stocks. Because foreign stocks have lagged the U.S. stocks for a while, some investors have small weightings overseas. But really these things go in cycles, so I think it makes sense for most people to have a sizable allocation outside the U.S. For a fee of just 11 basis points, you can get that exposure at a very low price.

Finally, I have a nice conservative fund designed for modest returns, some income, and capital preservation. Vanguard Wellesley Income is a Gold-rated fund run by Wellington that charges just 16 basis points. This is another Wellington-run fund that has had manager transitions recently. The bond sleeve was handed to a new manager in 2021 and the equity sleeve in 2022. But we still have confidence in the management, and we like this fund’s conservative asset mix of 35% equities and 65% bonds. It reduces the pain of bear markets all the while still throwing off a decent yield.

Watch “3 Great Funds for the New Year” for more from Russel Kinnel.