The Independent Vanguard Adviser
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Seasoned insights on Vanguard funds that most investors don’t know—and Vanguard won’t tell you.
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Vanguard’s Target-Maturity Bond ETFs: Useful Tools, Limited Uses
Low fees and a familiar playbook could help Vanguard win assets—but these funds solve specific problems and won’t replace traditional bond funds.
Adding Insult to Injury
Note: This article contains distribution data for calendar year 2022. In a broad bear market, a handful of Vanguard funds are set to hand shareholders a big tax bill in December—talk about adding insult to injury. On the surface that doesn’t make a lot of sense. If stock
One Month Doesn't Make a Rally
NOVEMBER 2022 | Stocks bounce back from a bad September, but bonds continue to struggle. Plus, an article roundup and the IVA Factor Tracker.
You may trust, but we will verify
Give Vanguard credit for trying to educate investors about bear markets, staying the course and what I like to call “time in the markets, not market timing.” But come on, at least get your charts to agree with your data. Vanguard posted an article on its investor website, “Keeping performance
In The Mixing Bowl
Our Portfolios follow a simple recipe: Partnership with the best that Vanguard has to offer and patience with the vagaries of the markets. The results of that recipe can be found on the Model Portfolio tab. Of course, Dan and I have tweaked the recipe’s ingredients—the individual funds
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.