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5 No-Load Vanguard Mutual Funds To Buy In February

The continuous slump in oil prices and weak Chinese economic data has resulted in a bloodbath in the U.S. stock market so far this year. The Dow and the S&P 500 suffered their biggest monthly losses in January since Aug 2015. Both the indexes had also snapped multi-year winning streaks to end in the red last year. In the face of this downtrend, a long-term view will help investors to stay calm. Also, one should look for investments that are less expensive. In this regard, Vanguard mutual funds could be a good choice due to their low expense ratios. The cost can be further reduced if one selects Vanguard funds that have no-load. Why Vanguard Funds? Vanguard funds witnessed a large inflow last year. This indicates that investors had flocked to passively managed funds, being dissatisfied with the widespread failure of actively managed funds. Investors poured in $236 billion of money in the Vanguard Group in 2015, the largest in the industry, according to Morningstar Inc. In fact, Vanguard witnessed total net inflows of about $1 trillion in the last five years, which is almost double the entire sum attracted by the hedge fund industry during the same period. Currently, it is one of the world’s largest investment management companies. It has crossed the milestone of $3 trillion in assets under management. The secret of Vanguard’s success last year lay in its very low expense ratios. The low cost to operate a mutual fund helped Vanguard to navigate the volatile broader markets, which were beleaguered with global growth worries and a rout in oil prices. Now, in 2016, these very same factors are continuing to haunt the stock market. The major U.S. indexes are already in correction mode. Hence, in order to navigate the choppy waters, Vanguard funds are the best choice. Vanguard’s Expense Ratio Declines In January, Vanguard reported expense ratio reductions for 35 individual mutual fund shares. This also includes 12 Vanguard target-date funds. Separately, the Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund trimmed its expense ratio by 3 basis points. This U.S. mutual fund provider picked up the trend from last year. In 2015, Vanguard announced expense ratio reductions for 102 individual mutual fund shares. Vanguard has a history of lower expenses. In 1975, Vanguard managed $1.8 billion assets with an average expense ratio of 0.89%, while it currently manages about $3.2 trillion of assets and charges an average expense ratio of around 0.18%. If considered on an asset-weighted basis, the average expense ratio is even lower at 0.14%. Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb had said that “We strongly believe in setting our investors up for success, and one of the best ways to do that is to keep the cost of investing low, enabling them to keep more of what they earn.” Additionally, Todd Rosenbluth, director of ETF and mutual fund research at S&P Capital IQ said that “due to strong inflows in Vanguard mutual funds, they are able to bring expense ratios down for many mutual funds on a regular basis.” The Advantage of No-Load Funds Investing in no-load mutual funds reduces investors’ expenditure. Numerable research showed that no-load funds fared better than load funds on many occasions. Last year, out of the 15,129 no-load funds, the top 100 funds showed an average yearly return of 16.74%, beating the top 100 load funds’ average return of 11.05%. The average return of these top 100 no-load funds also came in ahead of the top performing mutual fund categories in 2015 such as Japan stock, healthcare and foreign small/mid growth to name a few. 5 No-Load Vanguard Mutual Funds to Consider As the stock market is subject to a persistently downward trend, mostly due to a continuous drop in oil prices and the crisis in China, it will be prudent to invest in no-load Vanguard Mutual Funds. In addition to the advantages discussed above, Vanguard mutual funds don’t charge front-end and back-end loads. A front-end load is charged while purchasing the shares. This type of fees can be as high as 8.5%. This might curtail a $50,000 investment to $45,750. On the other hand, a back-end load is charged when shares are sold. This type of fees can be as high as 5% to 7%. Meanwhile, Vanguard mutual funds charge expense ratios that are on an average 82% less than the industry average. Let us now take a hypothetical low-cost scenario. We assume that the value of a portfolio is $100,000 and it is expected to grow at an average of 6% yearly. Now, if we consider an expense ratio in a low-cost environment to be 0.25%, while the higher-cost scenario has an expense ratio of 0.9%, then in almost 30 years, the low-cost investor will emerge as a winner by gaining about $100,000 more than the high-cost investor. Additionally, such funds when combined with a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) are expected to boost your returns. The following funds also have impressive 3-year and 5-year annualized returns and the minimum initial investment is within $5000. Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund Investor (MUTF: VSEQX ) seeks maximum long-term capital growth by investing in stocks of small and midsize companies. VSEQX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 10.8% and 11.1%, respectively. VSEQX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 and has neither a front load nor a deferred load. The annual expense ratio of 0.21% is lower than the category average of 1.15%. Vanguard New Jersey Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor (MUTF: VNJTX ) seeks a high level of income exempt from both federal and New Jersey personal income taxes. VNJTX invests in high-quality municipal bonds issued by New Jersey State. VNJTX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 3.5% and 5.8%, respectively. VNJTX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 and has neither a front load nor a deferred load. The annual expense ratio of 0.20% is lower than the category average of 0.91%. Vanguard Ohio Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Inv (MUTF: VOHIX ) seeks a high level of income exempt from both federal and Ohio personal income taxes. VOHIX invests in high-quality Ohio municipal securities. VOHIX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 4.2% and 6.4%, respectively. VOHIX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 and has neither a front load nor a deferred load. The annual expense ratio of 0.16% is lower than the category average of 0.97%. Vanguard Value Index Fund Investor (MUTF: VIVAX ) seeks long-term growth of capital and income from dividends. VIVAX holds all the stocks in the Standard and Poor’s Value Index and attempts to match the performance of the index. VIVAX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 9.6% and 9.4%, respectively. VIVAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 and has neither a front load nor a deferred load. Annual expense ratio of 0.23% is lower than the category average of 1.11%. Vanguard Balanced Index Fund Investor (MUTF: VBINX ) seeks income and long-term growth of capital and income. VBINX’s assets are divided between indexed portfolios of stocks and bonds, with 60% of its assets in stocks and 40% in fixed-income securities. VBINX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 6.8% and 7.4%, respectively. VBINX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 and has neither a front load nor a deferred load. The annual expense ratio of 0.23% is lower than the category average of 0.89%. Original Post

5 Market-Beating International ETFs YTD

The worries that cropped up last year intensified with the start of this year, leading to brutal trading in stocks across the globe. This is especially true as the Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (NYSEARCA: VEU ) targeting the international equity market has lost about 5.8% from a year-to-date look compared to a loss of 5.5% for iShares MSCI ACWI Index ETF (NASDAQ: ACWI ), which targets the global stock market including the U.S. In particular, the collapse in oil price to below the 12-year lows and persistent weakness in China are the major culprits of the woeful performance. Emerging markets have been struggling while developed markets are also exhibiting slow growth amid streaks of volatility and uncertainty. The U.S. economy has also started to feel the pain of an ongoing financial instability and global growth concerns given that GDP growth came to a standstill in 2015. Notably, the global stocks had wiped out nearly $7.8 trillion in value in the first three weeks of 2016. However, the stocks rebounded at the end of the fourth week following additional stimulus hopes from the European Central Bank (ECB) to print more money and cut interest rates further. Additionally, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) propelled the stocks higher by pushing its interest rates to a negative territory. Further, oil has also gained momentum reversing some of the losses incurred in the year (read: Japan ETFs to Buy on Negative Interest Rates ). While this is true, the positive sentiments proved to be short-lived and the global stocks again started another week on a sour note. In such a weak backdrop, most of the international markets and their ETFs have been able to fight through the bearish trend and have delivered handsome returns so far this year crushing the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY ) . Below we have highlighted some of them: iShares MSCI Indonesia Investable Market Index Fund (NYSEARCA: EIDO ) This is the most popular ETF tracking the Indonesian market with AUM of $252.4 million and average daily volume of more than 722,000 shares. The fund tracks the MSCI Indonesia Investable Market Index, holding 87 securities in its basket while charging 64 bps in annual fees from investors. The product is somewhat concentrated on both sectors and securities. The top two firms account for at least 11% of total assets each while from a sector look financials dominates the fund’s return with more than one-third share. Consumer discretionary, telecommunication services and consumer staples round off the next three spots with a double-digit exposure each. EIDO has added 3.6% so far this year and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 or ‘Hold’ rating with a High risk outlook (read: Believe in T Rowe Price? Invest in These EM ETFs ). iShares MSCI Thailand Capped ETF (NYSEARCA: THD ) The fund targets the Thailand equity market and tracks the MSCI Thailand IMI 25/50 Index. It has amassed nearly $218.2 million in its asset base and trades in good volume of 186,000 shares a day on average, probably ensuring no additional cost beyond the expense ratio of 0.64%. In total, the ETF holds 126 stocks, with each accounting for less than 7% share. It is somewhat concentrated from a sector perspective as financials comprises more than one-fourth of total assets while energy and industrials round off the next two spots with double-digit exposure each. The product is up 3.4% in the year-to-date timeframe and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 with a Medium risk outlook. iShares MSCI Malaysia ETF (NYSEARCA: EWM ) This ETF follows the MSCI Malaysia Index and has a targeted exposure to the Malaysian stock market. Holding 43 stocks in its basket, the fund is highly concentrated on the top three firms with at least 9% share each while the other firms hold no more than 5.7% of assets. Financials dominates the fund’s return at 30.3%, followed by industrials and utilities that make up for 14.8% share each. The fund has been able to manage assets worth $217.3 million and charges 47 bps in fees per year from investors. It is heavily traded with average daily volumes of 2.21 million shares. EWM has gained 3.4% this year so far and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 with a Medium risk outlook. iShares MSCI Chile Capped ETF (NYSEARCA: ECH ) This product provides exposure to 31 Chilean stocks by tracking the MSCI Chile IMI 25/50 Index. Here again, the top three firms dominate the portfolio with at least 8% share each while other firms account for less than 6.8% of assets. Further, about one-third of the portfolio is allotted toward utilities while financials and materials also receive double-digit exposure each. The ETF has accumulated $177.3 million in AUM and sees solid volume of more than 290,000 shares a day on average. Expense ratio came in at 0.64%. The fund is up 2.8% in the same period and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 with a Medium risk outlook. Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Mexico Hedged Equity ETF (NYSEARCA: DBMX ) This product offers exposure to the Mexican equity markets while at the same time hedges against any fall in the peso against the U.S. dollar by tracking the MSCI Mexico IMI 25/50 US Dollar Hedged Index. The fund holds 62 securities with the largest allocation to the top two firms that collectively make up for 22.9% of assets. From a sector look, consumer staples accounts for the largest share at 30.4% closely followed by financials (20.9%), telecom (14%) and industrials (13.2%). The fund has amassed $4.1 million in its asset base while trades in light volume of about 2,000 shares. It charges 50 bps in fees per year and has added 2.3% so far this year. DBMX has a Zacks Rank of 2 or ‘Buy’ rating with a Medium risk outlook. Link to the original post on Zacks.com

Crowded Stocks Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft Still A Buy: Bernstein

Alphabet, Facebook, Intel, Amazon.com and Apple ( AAPL ) rank among the most “crowded” technology and telecom stocks globally, says a Sanford Bernstein research report, which notes that Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Sprint are among the least-crowded large-cap stocks. The Bernstein report says investors should keep in mind what stocks are “crowded,” or highly concentrated, amid market volatility. Still, being among the most crowded doesn’t rule out a favorable stock rating for a stock. So-called crowded stocks are often called growth and momentum stocks. And high institutional ownership is usually a good thing, as IBD’s Investor’s Corner can tell you. “We believe it’s important for investors to include ‘crowding’ as a consideration for their portfolio strategy, especially for technology (which is very crowded), to improve diversification, mitigate downside risk and potentially enhance returns,” said Bernstein analyst Mark Moerdler in the report. The worry with heavily owned stocks is that, given high valuations and high growth expectations, they might take a hit if investors exit the stock market during a broad sell-off. Other analysts at Bernstein rate Alphabet ( GOOGL ) and Amazon ( AMZN ) stocks as a buy, Facebook ( FB ) neutral and Apple outperform, even though Apple also is on the crowded list. Intel ( INTC ) has a hold rating from Bernstein, while Microsoft ( MSFT ) has a buy. On Apple, Moerdler wrote: “The stock has underperformed over the last quarter due to fears of iPhone weakness, which we believe is now largely priced into the stock.” Microsoft “has become increasingly crowded over the last few quarters as investors and sell-side analysts have come to realize the massive opportunity for Microsoft to grow long-term EPS as the company moves to cloud and subscription revenue,” Moerdler said. Among software stocks, he says, “companies that have greater exposure to cloud and recurring revenue (are) showing the most crowding.” According to Moerdler: “Crowded stocks react less positively to good news than un-crowded stocks, but overreact negatively to bad news more so than un-crowded stocks.” Sprint ( S ) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) have  market perform ratings at Bernstein Research.