Mutual fund investing is preferred by investors who wish to diversify their portfolio among various asset classes but lack professional expertise in managing funds. Vanguard mutual funds should be good investment choices since they provide low-cost, uncomplicated equity, fixed-income and multi-asset funds that can help investors meet their goals.

Founded by John C. Bogle in 1975, it is one of the world's largest investment management firms. Headquartered in Vally Forge, PN, Vanguard had $7.7 trillion of assets under management globally as of Apr 30, 2023. It had more than 20,000 employees globally on Dec 31, 2022, and offers 203 funds in the United States and 227 in foreign markets.

Vanguard is owned entirely by funds — a unique feature among mutual fund firms. According to the company, this structure allows management to focus more on shareholder interests. Among the most significant advantages, Vanguard claims to offer low-cost, no-load funds. This means the fund doesn’t charge investors when fund shares are being bought or sold.

We have selected three Vanguard mutual funds that have given investors positive returns so far this year and are expected to perform well in the long term.

These funds boast a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy), have positive three-year and five-year annualized returns, minimum initial investments within $5000, and carry a low expense ratio compared to the category average. Mutual funds, in general, reduce transaction costs and diversify portfolios without an array of commission charges mostly associated with stock purchases (read more: Mutual Funds: Advantages, Disadvantages, and How They Make Investors Money).

Vanguard Whitehall Funds, Selected Value Fund VASVX invests most of its net assets in common stocks of mid-cap domestic companies, which, according to its advisors, are undervalued and often have above-average dividend yield. VASVX advisors consider undervalued stocks as those that are out of favor with investors and trading at below-average prices in relation to measures such as earnings and book value.

Richard Lawrence Greenberg has been the lead manager of VASVX since Feb 24, 2005, and most of the fund’s exposure was in companies like AerCap (3.3%), Gildan Activewear (1.9%), and TE Connectivity (1.9%) as of 4/30/2023.

VASVX’s three-year and five-year annualized returns are 18.6% and 9%, respectively. VASVX has an annual expense ratio of 0.43%, which is less than the category average of 1.01%.

To see how this fund performed compared to its category and other 1, 2 and 3 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.

Vanguard Windsor Fund VWNDX invests most of its net assets in common stocks of large and mid-cap domestic companies, which, according to its advisors, are undervalued. VWNDX advisors consider undervalued stocks as those that are out of favor with investors trading at prices below average in relation to measures such as earnings and book value.

Richard S. Pzena has been the lead manager of VWNDX since Aug 1, 2012. Most of the fund’s exposure was in companies like Pfizer (2.2%), Edison International (2.0%) and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (2.0%) as of 4/30/2023.

VWNDX’s three-year and five-year annualized returns are 16.9% and 9.6%, respectively. VWNDX has an annual expense ratio of 0.42% compared to the category average of 0.94%.

Vanguard Strategic Small-Cap Equity Fund VSTCX invests most of its net assets in equity securities of small-cap domestic companies that its advisors believe have a balance between strong growth and reasonable value compared to its industry peers. VSTCX advisors choose to invest in stocks based on a quantitative approach while keeping the MSCI US Small Cap 1750 Index as the benchmark.

Cesar Orosco has been the lead manager of VSTCX since Feb 25, 2021, and most of the fund’s exposure is in companies like EMCOR (0.9%), nVent Electric (0.8%) and Tenet Healthcare (0.8%) as of 6/30/2023.

VSTCX’s three-year and five-year annualized returns are almost 15.3% and 5.2%, respectively. VSTCX has an annual expense ratio of 0.26% compared to the category average of 1.03%.

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