Do you have a Roth IRA set up? Even if your work doesn't offer a 401k option, you should be putting away money for retirement. Vanguard should be able to set you up with a Roth IRA.

Anonymous wrote:16:21 wondering where you gained knowledge of mutual funds?

I'm in investments professionally.

Anonymous wrote:my work does not offer a 401k option, and my wife and i have 100k in an account for emergencies (it's in a revokable trust so untouchable unless there is a serious emergency). though that is generating an 8% return. so with the 35k we currently have we're looking to invest into volatile markets and hope for a good return.

Wow. Where is the money in your trust invested that it is getting an 8% return?

16:21 wondering where you gained knowledge of mutual funds?

i really appreciate the advice!

Anonymous wrote:op here again, sorry didn't answer your first question. we are looking for the biggest return possible. our risk tolerance is very high.

Forget the Growth and Income fund and use the Vanguard Total Market index instead. Half the fees and better coverage of the total US market. The G&I fund is quasi active, so it's higher fee, but they haven't delivered any outperformance, so don't assume they will in future either.

Add in an international fund for diversification. VFWAX is a good option. If you really want to take risk for higher long term returns, add in an Emerging Markets fund/ETF (VWO is good) at a modest percent of your total allocation.

I think 50%-60% US is reasonable with 40%-50% in the non-US stuff.

You're young and seem to be on a good financial path, so I'm assuming this is all retirement funding, so just keep paying in, don't get cute trying to time buys and sells, add a little each month/quarter, and periodically rebalance the individual funds back to your target allocations (e.g., 50% US, 35% VFWAX, 15% VWO ... or whatever you think reflects your risk tolerance).

Over time, if you get more savvy about markets and cycles, you may venture into more niche and/or focused strategies to reflect your changing risk tolerance or desire to target different opportunities. (E.g., sector funds, small cap, high yield bonds, etc.). But for now you should diversify a bit, but stay all stocks, pick only index funds and be mechanical about how you invest. Over time it will pay off, even if it feels like it isn't (the only time people really notice is during bad times, but the good outweighs the bad over the long haul).

Good luck.

We have done very well w the Vanguard total stock market index fund. Fees are crazy low. Also if you call Vanguard they have financial advisors who can help you pick a fund.

my work does not offer a 401k option, and my wife and i have 100k in an account for emergencies (it's in a revokable trust so untouchable unless there is a serious emergency). though that is generating an 8% return. so with the 35k we currently have we're looking to invest into volatile markets and hope for a good return.

Vanguard is pretty safe, but you need to build up a bigger cushion first get your ready savings to about $50 k, and max out your 401k (if your start this young, you're on fabulous track). Then start thinking about how to invest anything else.

op here again, sorry didn't answer your first question. we are looking for the biggest return possible. our risk tolerance is very high.

i'm 24 years old, making 140k hhi. my wife and i have no plans for children any time soon, 35k in savings, no debt other than mortgage (220k@ 2.6%/30yr). we can contribute around 2700 dollars a month to the fund of our choice.

any advice is appreciated.

What are your goals / risk tolerance, and what does the rest of your financial picture look like? It's impossible to give any investment guidance without knowing a lot more context. As far as that fund goes, it's a decent quasi-index fund with a tilt towards higher quality, larger companies, which should do well in the long run. That said, you're probably just as well off buying a pure index fund that will carry an expense ratio of half or less than this fund. More broadly, it's generally not the best strategy to invest all your assets in a single asset class; rather, diversifying among regions and asset types tends to be the more accepted practice for people with limited investment training.

Hello, I'm not necessarily new to investing, though when I initially got into it I didn't do my homework. I got into a fund that has a high fee associated with the fund, the return isn't bad though the fee's that I'm currently paying are just too much. My plan is to transfer my money into the vanguards fund below, though before I do I would like to get some insight from other investors. My plan is to invest around 35k, let me know what you think - or if you have any recommendations.

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0093&FundIntExt=INT

really appreciate it