Two Mutual funds?

Question

I am planning on putting money into 2 mutual funds the Vanguard Wellesley Income Fund Investor and Vanguard European Stock Index Fund Investor. I am 19 I am not sure if it is aggressive enough 2/3rd stock. It will be under a Roth IRA so I can only fork over $8,000 (2006 and 2007) no april 15th yet. I am not sure if this is a good idea or a horrible Idea foreign trade seems sweet but not so sure.

Answer 1

gosh137 has some excellent points. And I more or less agree with them. But the Wellesley Income Fund has outperformed more than 1/2 of the Vanguard funds mabe 2/3. That is certainly worth more than a little consideration. I too think there is an over abundance of bonds, but what do I know?

The big advantage of Vanguard is the low expense ratio. The disadvantage is that their minimum investment amounts are somewhat high. Maybe you might give T Rowe Price a peak. Their minimums, if I recall correctly, are about $2000. That would allow you to spread out your investments a little more and maybe add a small cap or mid cap portion.

Answer 2

I don't think it is a good idea. With such a long time horizon, you don't need the bonds of Wellesley's fund. Plus, for diversification, you could use some mid- and small-cap domestic stocks and some stocks from Asia. Those sectors are not covered by the 2 you want. Why not get the whole world of stocks in one fund, one of Vanguard's Target Retirement Fund closest to your retirement date? If you want to adjust the stock/bond, domestic/foreign allocation yourself, try Total Stock Market fund and Total International Stock Market Fund now, and next year add Total Bond Market Fund.