The Independent Vanguard Adviser
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WEEKLY BRIEF | Vanguard Splits, Shifts and Stumbles
Proposals in perspective | Rotenberg’s expanding role | Vanguard splits its stock indexing team | Cash Plus yield gets a teaser yield | A year-end email misfire
Heating Up?
Newton’s first law says that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. [Emphasis added.] This is the idea behind momentum investing and our Hot Hands
Vanguard Shuffles the Deck … Again
When I reviewed MidCap Growth (VMGRX) at the start of the month, I said that “Vanguard continues to shuffle the managers at MidCap Growth in search of a winning hand.” Well, I had no idea that Vanguard was about to take a card out of the deck so quickly. Today
Di-Worse-ified Equity
Is anything as painful as a bad mutual fund that compounds its mediocrity by paying out large capital gains distributions? Vanguard released its final estimates for the capital gains it expects its funds to pay this month, and one of the biggest is coming from one of Vanguard’s worst
Get It While It’s Hot, Or Not
Public Service Announcement: PRIMECAP Odyssey Aggressive Growth has reopened.
Recession Fears Replace Inflation Worries
Inflation check-in | Signs of a recession | Capital Gain season | Vanguard service woes
Investing Beyond the AI Hype
2026 OUTLOOK | The market’s baseline is growth—but in an AI-driven, fully-priced world, diversification matters more than ever.
The AI Footprint in Your Vanguard Portfolio
MAILBAG | A comprehensive look at Vanguard funds tied to the AI narrative, as well as those that aren’t—and how the IVA Portfolios stack up.
PRIMECAP Finds Its Edge … Again
A strong 2025 reminds investors why patience with PRIMECAP still pays.
Vanguard and The Vanguard Group are service marks of The Vanguard Group, Inc. We are not affiliated in any way with The Vanguard Group and receive no compensation from The Vanguard Group, Inc.
Hi, I’m Jeff DeMaso.
Welcome to the Independent Vanguard Adviser.
I’ve been a Vanguard investor for over a decade, co-editing the leading newsletter on Vanguard funds and ETFs. I’m a big Vanguard fan, but they are not perfect (nobody is). I’ll tell you the good and the bad when it comes to Vanguard.
Over two decades while working at a multi-billion-dollar investment firm, I held titles of intern to CIO (and everything in between). I’ve seen investors make avoidable mistakes time and time again. I aim to share the investment insights and advice I want my family and friends to have so that you can make meaningful investments for yours.
When investing, I believe in simplicity, diversification and spending time in the market. A simple promise: My family and I will invest in the same funds I recommend to you!
When I’m not poring over Vanguard’s most recent prospectus, you can find me chasing my toddler around the playground or trying to avoid an injury while reliving the glory days on the soccer pitch.