Vanguard Primecap (More and more investors seem to be discovering the wonders of stock dividends of late. About 25% of Vanguard Health Care's stocks are foreign – much more than most competitors.Launched in 1929 under the markedly less sexy name "Industrial Power Securities Company," Wellington is oldest among Vanguard's mutual funds and the nation's oldest balanced fund.Like most balanced funds, Wellington – which is managed by Wellington Management – has about two-thirds of assets in stocks and the rest in bonds.Wellington looks for stable dividend-paying companies such as Microsoft (For its bond holdings, Wellington sticks mainly to debt rated single-A or better. The fund holds shares of nearly 7,500 different companies, with roughly 40% of the fund's assets invested in companies that hail from Europe, 30% from the Asia-Pacific region, and 20% from emerging market economies like China, India, and Brazil.
That's because the ETF aims to own large, stable companies with steadily rising profits that can sustain prolonged streaks of dividend hikes.Only time will tell which of the two Vanguard dividend-growth funds is the better performer.
Brokerage assets are held by Vanguard Brokerage Services, a division of Vanguard Marketing Corporation, member FINRA and SIPC.
Dividends serve as ballast in punk markets, too, meaning funds that emphasize dividends tend to hold up well in market downdrafts.My favorite dividend funds are those that emphasize dividend growth. Vanguard Dividend Growth Investor (VDIGX, $31.49) isn't just among the best Vanguard funds to buy for the year ahead – it's the best of the actively managed dividend growth funds. Financial and healthcare stocks have the biggest exposure in Vanguard Value, and if those areas can outperform in 2020, then the mutual fund should follow suit.Mutual fund investors shouldn't take for granted that they'll match 2019's strong returns, but looking for areas that other market participants have missed is a solid strategy. Instead, it holds larger, established stocks such as insurer UnitedHealth Group (Wellington Management runs VGHCX, too. Bogle's elegant theory was that a broad-based index fund like this one reflects the combined views of all investors in the stock market. And like so many bond funds, returns have shined so far this year: VFSTX has returned 5.5% year-to-date, which is better than 83% of its competitors.In other words, VMLTX, which holds a basket of more than 6,000 municipal bonds – essentially defines low risk.
Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services.A new year has begun, and investors have high hopes for 2020.
Many new investors turn to Vanguard funds to get them started since Vanguard is one of the largest investment companies in the world. That left value investors disappointed, but they still think that their day will come, and Vanguard Value Index is a solid way to play that portion of the market.