Vanguard Wellesley Balanced Fund Can Round Out Any Portfolio

Shawn | Nov 19, 2010 |

0 Comments | Rating: 0

As any investor knows a well-balanced portfolio will help to reduce volatility. But how does one go about getting a balanced portfolio? Most investors do not even understand what that means, let alone how to go about perfecting it. And with financial advisor fees sometimes running up too much of a bill that it does not even make it worthwhile to go visit a professional. So what is an investor to do? Most people do not have the time to analyze every fund out there and even if they did they are packed with so much jargon most of it does not even make sense.

First of all, what exactly is a balanced portfolio? This reference has to do with the balance of stocks (or equities) to bonds (or fixed income) in the portfolio. If a person was to create a balanced portfolio without mutual funds, he or she would have to buy numerous stocks and bonds, create the risk of illiquidity, and hope all of the holdings perform well. Now a balanced portfolio of mutual funds can be attained in a couple different ways. The first way is to purchase a number of different funds in both the equities (growth) section and the bond (income) section. The other way is to purchase a single fund that already incorporates holdings in both these sections.

But how is an investor supposed to know which balanced fund to choose? What is the best balanced fund for an investor? There are many of funds out there, and many of them charge outrageous fees. The ones that do not charge extravagant fees generally significantly under perform the market. Investors know what they want, but they generally are fairly unaware of how to get what they want. And when a person can not afford to pay advisor fees, where can they turn?

This is where Vanguard steps up and gives the investor what they need. Not some fancy fund packed with a hundred managers each demanding a share of the profits. Vanguard offers low fee non-managed funds that are suitable for most of the investors out there. The Vanguard Wellesley fund is one of the best balanced funds on the market. With a fee of only .31 this ranks almost 4 times lower than the average mutual fund fee. So for investors that are looking for a great balanced fund that will not break the bank in fees, the Wellesley fund is a perfect fit.