Not Your Typical Investment Newsletter

Fed up with your email inbox stuffed with investment pitches and act-now-before-its-too-late offers? Tired of world-is-ending profit pitches that are “exclusive” to you if you share your email now? Fed up with cryptocurrencies, meme stocks and SPACs? Not a stock or options trader? And finally, are your investment results falling short of the returns you were promised?

Good!

I’m tired of watching investors fall prey to catchy come-ons; I think there’s a better way!

The Independent Vanguard Adviser is a one-stop shop for smart, actionable and yes, successful investment advice, with more than 3 decades of results to prove it. The Independent Vanguard Adviser is NOT your typical investment newsletter.

My name is Jeff DeMaso and my one and only goal is to help you build and manage your long-term investment portfolio—your real portfolio—using Vanguard funds and services. I’m building on a 30-year history to bring you an independent, and honest voice on all things Vanguard. And I promise to do it in a language you can understand, and in a way that you, your family and your friends can follow.

Whether it’s broad investment advice and recommended model portfolios or simply a better-informed second opinion from the nation’s leading independent authority on Vanguard, I’ve got you covered.

Fear? Mayhem? A world in chaos?

I know that fear sells, and the argument that a bear market is just around the corner is always an attention grabber.

Plus, exclusivity and scarcity—or in today’s terminology, fear of missing out, or FOMO—motivates many investors who don’t have a game plan.

Action and constant trade alerts create the impression of value. The more complex the better, right?

I know all that.

But it’s precisely the wrong way to achieve long-term investment success.

Yes, bear markets do happen on occasion, and they can be painful. But the history of the stock market is clear: Optimists triumph over time, not pessimists. A dollar invested in Vanguard’s flagship 500 Index fund in 1976 (when it launched) would—despite numerous bear markets, inflation, deflation, higher (and lower) interest rates, recessions, wars, pandemics, another other crisis—be worth $156 today.

Don’t have 45 years to watch your money compound. Okay. But consider that since 500 Index’s inception, the average five-year annual return for investors in the fund clocks in at 11.7%. Over five years that compounds to a 74% gain—turning $100,000 into $174,000. That’s money you can take to the bank. (I can also show you how we’ve been able to beat that gain, over time. More on that later.)

By the way, investment success isn’t about exclusive access to some black-box strategy. You can buy the market for pennies anytime you want.

As for those trading strategies, well, it’s a fact that the more you trade the worse you’ll do. Arguably the most successful investor of our time, Warren Buffett, didn’t say his favorite holding period was “until the next recession.” No, he famously said “Our favorite holding period is forever.”

Want to build wealth in the market? Do it by spending time in the market, not by trying to time the market.

I write The Independent Vanguard Adviser for my friends and family. I invest in the same funds I recommend to them, and my subscribers.

It’s why I run The Independent Vanguard Adviser differently.

To be very, very clear, this is a gimmick-free zone.

No teaser fees that get jacked up next year—I am not your cable company.

No surprise super-expensive research report that you simply “must” buy now. My subscription is all-inclusive.

For a simple, annual fee, you get access to everything I do—from research to reporting to analysis. It’s one annual fee. No more, no less.

(You can pay monthly if you prefer, but if you’re a Vanguard investor you are probably looking for the better deal, and my annual option is it.)

And here’s what you get:

You get access to my Model Portfolios and Performance Review table with buy/hold/sell recommendations for all of Vanguard’s funds and ETFs.

You get investment commentary and education from the former director of research at a multi-billion-dollar investment advisory firm—me! And I’m not charging fees based on how wealthy you are. It’s one fee … full stop.

The media is full of Vanguard cheerleaders—and for good reason. But Vanguard is far from perfect. I call it like I see it … and promise to give you an unbiased and independent view on Vanguard and their myriad mutual funds and ETFs.

Sign-up for a 30-day free trial. I won’t charge you until the trial is over, so if we’re not a fit, you can cancel, hassle-free.

You won’t find any performance hype here. Sorry.

That doesn’t mean I’m not proud of our track record! On the contrary, you can find that 30-plus year track record here. I’m not hiding a thing.

Our Aggressive Portfolio has outpaced the stock market by 0.9% a year with the same amount of risk. That may not sound like much, but over more than three decades that translates into a total return of 3,454% versus 2,606% for the market.

The Growth Portfolio has roughly matched the market while taking on less risk. And the Moderate Portfolio—our take on the classic 60% stock and 40% bond portfolio—has outpaced Vanguard’s LifeStrategy Moderate Growth fund, hands down.

As I said, I’m proud of our results. But this isn’t a get rich quick scheme.

I’m not here to hype returns. This is about following a disciplined, simple approach to compounding wealth over time.

I hope you’ll join the thousands of independent Vanguard investors who’ve benefited from my research, analysis and advice over time.

All return stats are as of December 31, 2023. See here for our disclosures and disclaimers.