Put a bunch of investors in a room, and they’ll talk all day about taking a flyer on a hot biotech stock or mining a beaten-down industrial or even betting big on bitcoin. Some may even lay odds on traditional gambling tables.
But when it comes to the core of your portfolio—the bulk of your hard-earned savings that you want to build over time—the goal is simple: Generate reliable growth and, ideally, some income along the way.
It’s the core of your holdings where the fundamentals matter more than anything else. Time in the market. Diversification. Low costs. Owning stable, name-brand companies that can steadily compound profits—and your wealth—over time. This is not the part of your portfolio where surprises are welcome. Rock solid is the key.
At least, that’s how I think about the core of my portfolio.
If you agree, Vanguard’s Growth & Income funds are a natural place to look for solid, long-term options. That said, Vanguard investors simply face too many choices—and not all of them deserve a chunk of our dough. A few are best avoided altogether.
So let me walk you through my take on Vanguard’s Growth & Income lineup. This week, I’ll focus on the index fund options. Next week, I’ll look at whether any of Vanguard’s actively managed funds should earn a place in our portfolios.