Is your Vanguard Wellington fund’s outlook, OK? In a word, yes. But what does that mean for investors in the fund? You know from parts I and II, you can have your cake and eat it too. In other words, you can keep your Wellington and transfer it to Fidelity Investments. But let’s step aside for a moment and consider how investors sell at the worst of times because they can’t handle losing money. When they capitulate and throw in the towel, it’s more about how much money they can’t stand to lose. It has nothing to do with the future. And, of course, history shows these are the times to be … [Read more...]

You know from my recent piece on Vanguard, I like the outlook for the Vanguard Wellington fund. You can read about that and why I like Fidelity Investments here. Today, you’ll want to draw your attention to the recent mini blip in stocks. Imagine if it lasted decades instead of days. How would you feel if we had a redo of that '70s show? What I want you to focus on today is a performance comparison during the mini blip of Vanguard’s Wellington fund vs. the S&P 500. As you can see in the chart below, Wellington held up nicely. Action Line: You know my concerns about … [Read more...]

Is your Vanguard Wellington fund’s outlook OK? In a word, yes. But before we get into my favorite balanced fund, let’s remember it’s not managed by Vanguard. It’s managed by Wellington Management up in Boston, the home base of my favored Johnson family’s Fidelity Investments and the epicenter of old-monied firms like Brown Brothers Harriman. My father-in-law Dick Young would call on Wellington during his days in Boston. And remember, Vanguard founder Jack Bogle was a Wellington Management guy. The money management business has deep Boston roots. As an aside, it’s my belief that Bogle’s … [Read more...]