Portfolio Review – July 2018 – International Stock Market Struggles
[This portfolio review about the international stock market may contain affiliate links at no cost to you] The international stock market hasn’t been the best place for investors in the past few years. That trend has continued this year. It was especially clear this month as foreign stocks lagged domestic by quite a bit. That’s sure to cause a stir with my portfolio. It might force my international allocation down despite the fact that I’ve been dipping my toes in the international stock market. Recent purchases have skewed towards bonds and international stocks and that trend may have to continue. The YTD graphic below from Personal Capital tells the story…
Time in the Market Dividend Review – June 2018 – Get by with a Little Help from my VIIIX
Welcome to the June dividend update. It’s the big one and all my friends are here. That includes VIIIX, VMCPX, VSCPX, UNH and others too! Even RERGX makes an appearance. That’s quite a cast of characters! If you’re new to this series and think those names are weird then you’re not alone! Those weird random letters are just ticker symbols designed to make identifying funds easier and faster. VIIIX, for example, is an Vanguard S&P 500 index fund with a very low expense ratio. It’s a big part of my portfolio and is one of the reasons months like June are big for dividends. You see, most mutual funds and…
Most Vanguard ETF trades will soon be free
The 56 Vanguard ETFs that are currently commission free are getting some new friends in August. Vanguard announced today that they will expand their commission free ETF lineup. This expansion will include ETFs from a variety of competitors. As a result, in August, nearly 1800 ETFs will be commission free on Vanguard. This won’t include certain ETFs that are not seen as long term investing vehicles like leveraged or inverse ETFs. That’s a big boost to the offerings today and another win for investors. Vanguard customers today pay nothing for Vanguard ETFs and mutual funds. Now, they will pay nothing for a variety of other ETFs from competitors. The full…
