Vanguard released November-end estimates of both capital gains and income distribution amounts for all its funds and, as if the 15.7% capital gains distribution weren't enough for beleaguered shareholders in Precious Metals & Mining, there's also another 4.7% worth of income that appears ready to be passed along at year-end. While only 12 funds are paying capital gains, everyone feels some pain from the distribution of dividend and interest income. More...
Sell. This fund of funds tracks the Morgan Stanley EAFE index by investing in European Index (currently about 70% of assets) and Pacific Index (the remaining 30%). It's similar to Tax-Managed International, which tracks the same index, though that fund buys stocks directly and comes with a higher minimum and more onerous back-end loads. Performance for the two has been virtually identical. Yet both ignore the emerging markets component that one finds in Total International or World ex-U.S. Index. And there's the rub. If you buy into the indexers' credo that one should index "all" markets rather than a slice of the pie, then this fund is a non-starter.
It's a new year, and I for one am glad to put 2008 in the rearview mirror. That said, here are some highlights from this month's issue. Morgan Growth is growing fat with managers. Does multi-management help? You couldn't prove it to me. As for volatility, check out my tables showing how volatile the Dow really was in 2008. Looking ahead to 2009, I've also got the 2009 Hot Hands fund for you. I'll have a full report on Hot Hands next month. And Vanguard is finally going to try to fix their brokerage business by taking all the inner workings internal, and taking it out of Pershing's hands. Let's hope it's a fix and not something that gets worse rather than better. Finally, beware of the Treasury bubble (Vanguard's Extended Duration Treasury ETF gained 55% in 2008, most of it in just the last two months) and remember to take the forecasts of market pundits and economists with a grain of salt, as there is no crystal ball. I've got a look at the past year's news and a report card on my own calls over the year for you. More...
Thank goodness the year is over. As one analyst said to me yesterday, "On Friday you can start the year off with a 0.0% year-to-date return." Sounds good to me. But I'll still be working to recover what we lost in this tumultuous year. Though the official numbers aren't in yet, the Dow index appears to have had its third-worst year ever, by a fraction, beaten only by the declines of 1931 (-52.7%) and 1907 (-37.7%). The Dow dropped 33.84%, which is a few basis points worse than the 33.77% decline of 1930. I say, good riddance. More...
Daniel P. Wiener is editor of The Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors, a monthly newsletter that keeps abreast of recent developments at Vanguard, and the annual FFSA Indepedent Guide to the Vanguard Funds. Through his newsletter and guide book, Dan helps tens of thousands of Vanguard investors choose wisely among more than 100 Vanguard mutual funds. The Adviser is a five-time winner of the Newsletter Publishers Foundation's Editorial Excellence Award. More...
| Models | November | Year to Date |
| Growth | -6.9% | -41.0% |
| Conservative Growth | -5.9% | -36.0% |
| Income | -4.5% | -26.1% |
| Growth Index | -7.4% | -42.1% |
| The average Vanguard investor |
-3.4% | -24.6% |
Copyright © 2008
InvestorPlace Media, LLC.
All rights reserved.
700 Indian Springs Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601
A service of the Fund Family Shareholder Association. The Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors and FFSA are completely independent of The Vanguard Group ®. Vanguard®, The Vanguard Group®, and The Vanguard Group of Investment Companies® are service marks of The Vanguard Group®. FFSA is not affilited with or endorsed by The Vanguard Group®, The Vanguard Group of Investment Companies®, or any Vanguard® mutual fund. Copyright© 2008 InvestorPlace MEdia, LLC. All rights reserved.
