Just when you think Vanguard might see the light and get back to its roots, it shows once again why it has become too big and is just like any other money-sucking behemoth--like BlackRock. Vanguard has proven this with the introduction of its own ESG investments program. In my series “You Invest, They Win,” I prove that you are not necessarily front and center, as you most certainly should be when it comes to how your money is invested. This is especially true with the new, hot, investment flavor-of-the-month, ESG. What is an ESG? It’s a marketing tool hoping to get you to feel good about … [Read more...]
Why Vanguard Is Too Big For You
If you want clear evidence of why Vanguard is too big, then look no further than the money flow into passive index funds. When investors are lulled to sleep by a bull market, they dream about things like early retirement, vacations, and second homes. What they tend to miss is that reversion to the mean is a fact of life. You can take my word for it and that of the father of index funds Jack Bogle.
Learn more about why Vanguard is too big for you below:
Investors Facing Long-Awaited ETF Industry Shakeout
You have probably invested at some point in ETFs or ETNs. The exchange-traded investments have thrived for decades now as a lower-cost and more efficient alternative to mutual funds. But after years of huge fund companies issuing new ETFs and ETNs by just throwing products at the wall to see what stuck, the industry is shaking out. The Wall Street Journal reports that this year alone 188 exchange-traded products have been shut down. Michael Wursthorn writes: Asset managers have closed more exchange-traded products than they have launched this year, a sign of how market gyrations have … [Read more...]
Key Manager Retiring from Vanguard GNMA Fund
You read from Your Survival Guy back in June of 2017 that Michael F. Garrett might be one of the most important names in the fixed-income world today. He’s the portfolio manager of the Vanguard GNMA Fund, which is managed by Wellington. Unfortunately, as I have followed Garrett for some time, he is retiring. Garrett will be tough to replace, but there is a deep bench at Wellington. Even so, this is another reason for my concern about Vanguard being too big. Here's some more about Garrett's departure from CityWire.com back in May 2019: Veteran Wellington portfolio manager Michael F. … [Read more...]
Update! Why Vanguard is Too Big for YOU
Coronavirus Infects Stock Market: Part XLIX A new client of mine is consolidating his eight-figure fortune with Fidelity. What’s shocking is how easily he decided to leave Vanguard. “Why?” I asked him. “E.J., I haven’t heard from anyone at Vanguard in over a year,” he said. “They’re letting a quarter of a hundred million dollars walk out the door,” I thought to myself. “The front door.” That is shocking. “I’ve read your father-in-law Dick Young for over 30-years,” he said. “I miss him.” “Welcome home,” I said. When the late Vanguard founder Jack Bogle released Bogle on … [Read more...]
Vanguard is Telling You the Problem with Indexing
If you want to understand the problem with index investing, then consider what the king of indexing is doing. Recently Vanguard announced its robo-only advisor service. If you signup for this, you will not speak with a live representative and you will not be allowed to invest in non-Vanguard funds. When you step back and consider all of the advertising Vanguard is doing for its actively managed funds the reason becomes crystal clear. I want you to pay attention here. Indexing or passive investing will destroy the wealth of the masses asleep at the wheel. You will not be one of them, I … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Is Vanguard Throwing Caution to the Wind?
You may have read that Vanguard is moving into a digital robo-only service. My take? Well, first off, when you sign-up for Vanguard advisor services you’re only going to be offered Vanguard funds. You will not be investing in my preferred, dividend centric stock approach. You are treated like all of the other sheep loaded into the mutual fund pen. Second, I believe Vanguard is essentially throwing in the towel (they’d never admit it) about their index funds and the problem with how big they’ve become. Offering a robo-only service will be a backdoor way for Vanguard to steer investor … [Read more...]
This is Why Vanguard is Too Big
If you want clear evidence of why Vanguard is too big, then look no further than the money flow into passive index funds. When investors are lulled to sleep by a bull market, they dream about things like early retirement, vacations, and second homes. What they tend to miss is that reversion to the mean is a fact of life. You can take my word for it and that of the father of index funds Jack Bogle. Index funds, like those built based on the S&P 500, weight the shares of a small number of the biggest companies heavier than those of small companies. That's the ugly truth behind the S&P … [Read more...]
Why We Favor Laddering Bonds
Yesterday I asked readers Do You Know this about Vanguard Wellington and Wellesley Funds? I explained that we have not soured on the funds, but that their effective maturities are longer than we'd like. I also wrote that at Young Research we recommend laddering bonds. One of the reasons we favor laddering bonds is to help strip-out interest rate risk. When you own a bond outright you have control over your holding period. Duration measures a bond’s sensitivity to interest rates. For example, a bond with a 15-year duration will decline by 15 percent with every one percent increase in … [Read more...]
Do You Know this about Vanguard Wellington and Wellesley Funds?
As you know our concerns about Vanguard continue to mount. Yesterday, a reader wrote: “[Dick] used to be big on Wellington and Wellesley, given their longevity and resistance to tail risk over time. Also, it seemed to me that Wellington Management's fixed income expertise would be an asset in this part of the cycle. I'm wondering why he has soured on these funds.” The quick answer is no we have not soured on Wellington and Wellesley with two distinctions. First, Vanguard has nothing to do with the management of Wellington and Wellesley. Vanguard has outsourced those management … [Read more...]
My Concerns as Money Piles Up at Vanguard
Last week Vanguard founder Jack Bogle spoke out about the dangers of index funds, something he helped pioneer. Take a look back at this piece I posted on October 12, 2017 for more depth on the issue. Let the good times roll? Great lyrics from the Cars but it’s a song I can’t get out of my head thinking about the money piling up by the truckload at Vanguard’s back door. We’re talking nearly $300 billion in the first nine months of this year alone. All of that money unloaded and stacked up with the rest of the $4.7 trillion at the firm. That’s a lot of confidence in one company. And maybe … [Read more...]