October 3, 2015

Vanguard’s Best 401k Funds

Vanguard Group is a popular asset management firm. It manages more than $3 trillion of investment assets. As one of the largest players in 401(k) plans, Vanguard has lot of high rated mutual funds for your 401k account.

Top Mutual Funds

Most Vanguard retirement plan products are index funds. The funds are passively managed and tracking its indices such as S&P 500 index, bond index, etc. Vanguard also provides many actively managed funds; you can find some the best active mutual funds in this list as well.

Like all Vanguard funds, these actively managed funds carry extraordinarily low expense ratios. Low fees aside, we wondered how good these funds really are, so we analyzed them.

Vanguard’s best 401k funds are:
    Vanguard’s Best 401k Funds
  1. Vanguard PrimeCap Fund (VPMCX)
  2. Vanguard Balanced Index Fund (VBINX)
  3. Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund (VGTSX)
  4. Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBMFX)
  5. Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFINX)
  6. Vanguard Wellington Fund (VWELX)

October 1, 2015

SPDR Financial Select Sector Fund (XLF)

SPDR Financial Select Sector Fund (XLF) is a financial sector exchange traded fund. It invests in financial companies.

This SPDR fund objective is to track the performance of publicly traded equity securities of companies in the Financial Select Sector Index. The index includes companies from the following industries: diversified financial services; insurance; commercial banks; capital markets; REITs; consumer finance; thrifts & mortgage finance; and real estate management & development.

XLF Fund Details

    SPDR Financial Select Sector Fund (XLF)
  • Fund Inception Date: 12/16/1998
  • Ticker Symbol: XLF
  • CUSIP: 81369Y605
  • Rank in category (2015): 81%
  • Category: Financial
  • Yield: 1.64%
  • Capital Gains: -
  • Expense Ratio: 0.14%
  • Total Assets: $ 22.30 billion
  • Annual Turnover Rate: 4.59%
updated on May 2017

This SPDR Financial Select Sector Fund has a low expense fee of 0.15%. The current yield is 1.66%. The portfolio turnover rate is 4.59%. This ETF is popular among investors.

September 29, 2015

Top 10 MultiSector Bond Closed End Funds for 2016: Part 3

This is part 3 of top 10 multisector bond closed end funds for 2016 article. The top funds are TCW Strategic Income Fund (TSI), AGIC Convertible & Income Fund (NCV), etc.

Best Fixed Income Funds

As discussed before, multisector bond funds are part of taxable bond fund category. These investment funds invest in various fixed-income sectors. Some may invest in dividend producing stocks. These funds use its assets to purchase US Treasuries, U.S. corporate bonds, foreign bonds, and high-yield bonds. These closed end funds have high yield for income.

Whether you should invest in these top performing multisector bond closed end funds, you need to do details research. You can buy these CEF funds using your brokerage for your investment account, retirement account, etc.

These close end funds are managed actively by the fund manager(s). Find the fund review below. The funds are sorted based on its net asset value returns for the past 3 years (up to September 6, 2015). Interested in part 1 and part 2 of this article; please check top 10 multisector bond closed end funds for 2016 articles.
Top 10 MultiSector bond closed end funds for 2016 are:
    Top 10 MultiSector Bond Closed End Funds for 2016: Part 3
  1. PIMCO Dynamic Income Fund (PDI)
  2. PIMCO Global StocksPLUS & Income Fund (PGP)
  3. PIMCO High Income Fund (PHK)
  4. PIMCO Income Strategy Fund II (PFN)
  5. PIMCO Income Opportunity (PKO)
  6. PIMCO Income Strategy Fund (PFL)
  7. Doubleline Opportunistic Credit Fund (DBL)
  8. TCW Strategic Income Fund (TSI)

September 27, 2015

10 Best MultiSector Bond Closed End Funds for 2016: Part 2

This is part 2 of the 10 best multisector bond closed end funds for 2016 article. The top funds are PIMCO Income Opportunity Fund, Doubleline Opportunistic Credit Fund, etc.

Best Taxable Bond Funds

As part of taxable bond funds, multisector bond funds invest in various fixed-income sectors. These funds use its assets to buy US Treasuries, U.S. corporate bonds, foreign bonds, and high-yield bonds. This closed end fund may produce high yield for income.

Whether you should invest in these top performing multisector bond closed end funds, you need to do details research. You can buy these CEF funds using your brokerage for your investment account, retirement account, etc.

These investment funds are managed actively by the fund manager(s). Find the fund review below. The funds are sorted based on its net asset value returns for the past 3 years (up to September 6, 2015). Interested in part 1 of this article, please check top 10 multisector bond closed end funds for 2016 article.

The 10 best multisector bond closed end funds for 2016 are:
    10 Best MultiSector Bond Closed End Funds for 2016: Part 2
  1. PIMCO Dynamic Income Fund (PDI)
  2. PIMCO Global StocksPLUS & Income Fund (PGP)
  3. PIMCO High Income Fund (PHK)
  4. PIMCO Income Strategy Fund II (PFN)
  5. PIMCO Income Opportunity Fund (PKO)
  6. PIMCO Income Strategy Fund (PFL)
  7. Doubleline Opportunistic Credit Fund (DBL)
  8. TCW Strategic Income Fund (TSI)

September 25, 2015

Top 10 MultiSector Bond Closed End Funds for 2016

Find top 10 multisector bond closed end funds for 2016. The best funds are PIMCO Dynamic Income Fund, PIMCO High Income Fund, etc.

Best Fixed Income Funds

Multisector bond funds seek income by diversifying their assets among several fixed-income sectors. These funds utilize its assets to purchase U.S. government obligations, U.S. corporate bonds, foreign bonds, and high-yield U.S. debt securities.

Whether you should invest in these top performing multisector bond closed end funds, you need to do details research. You can buy these CEF funds using your brokerage for your investment account, retirement account, etc.

These investment funds are managed actively by the fund manager(s). Find the fund review below. The funds are sorted based on its net asset value returns for the past 3 years (up to September 6, 2015).

Top 10 MultiSector bond closed end funds for 2016 are:
    Top 10 MultiSector Bond Closed End Funds for 2016
  1. PIMCO Dynamic Income Fund (PDI)
  2. PIMCO Global StocksPLUS & Income Fund (PGP)
  3. PIMCO High Income Fund (PHK)
  4. PIMCO Income Strategy Fund II (PFN)
  5. PIMCO Income Opportunity (PKO)
  6. PIMCO Income Strategy Fund (PFL)
  7. Doubleline Opportunistic Credit Fund (DBL)
  8. TCW Strategic Income Fund (TSI)

September 23, 2015

John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (HTD)

John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (HTD) is a popular closed end fund. It invests mainly in dividend paying common and preferred securities.

This John Hancock fund’s investment objective is to provide a high level of after-tax total return from dividend income and capital appreciation. The fund managers are Gregory K. Phelps, Harindra de Silva, Gregory McMurran, Dennis Bein, and Joseph H. Bozoyan. This fund has a high dividend yield of 7.50%.

This equity fund has an expense fee of 1.55%. With assets of 1.2 billion, the fund sponsor is John Hancock Advisers LLC. The fund market price is trading 11.05% discount from its net asset value (NAV). This creates opportunity for value investor to invest in this fund.

HTD Fund Profile

    John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (HTD)
  • Fund Inception Date: 02/27/2004
  • Ticker Symbol: HTD
  • CUSIP: 41013V100
  • Rank in category (YTD): 100%
  • Category: US Stock - Equity Tax-Advantaged
  • Distribution Rate: 7.50%
  • Effective Leverage: 32.78%
  • Capital Gains: -
  • Base Expense Ratio: 1.21%
  • Net Assets: $ 1.24 billion

September 21, 2015

Investing in Top Corporate Bond ETFS in 2015

How to invest in top corporate bond ETFs in 2015? Find best fixed income exchange traded funds. Top funds are Fidelity Limited Term Bond ETF, Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund, etc.

Best Fixed Income Funds

Corporate bonds ETFs invest in debt issued by companies with investment-grade credit ratings. Bonds included in these funds can feature varying maturities and durations. This fund provide yield for income for investors.

These top performer funds are sorted based on its year to date total return in 2015 (up to September 4, 2015). You can find this best ETF funds review from this article. Other fund information can be found below such as expense ratio, Morningstar rating, fund’s NAV, holdings, yield, etc.

Top 10 corporate bond ETFS in 2015 are:
    Investing in Top Corporate Bond ETFS in 2015
  1. ProShares Short Investment Grade Corporate ETF (IGS)
  2. PowerShares Fundamental Investment Grade Corporate Bond Portfolio (PFIG)
  3. Fidelity Limited Term Bond ETF (FLTB)
  4. Newfleet Multi-Sector Income ETF (MINC)
  5. FlexShares Credit-Scored US Corporate Bond Index Fund (SKOR)

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