This is the article displaying the portfolios by Vanguard’s target-date retirement funds. Here you will find a description, performance, and resources for the portfolios as well as detailed information on how to implement them yourself.
Article Contents
- Vanguard target-date retirement portfolio, beware of the giant
- Description of Vanguard target-date retirement portfolios
- Performance of Vanguard target-date retirement portfolios
- Asset Allocation for Vanguard target-date retirement portfolios
- Resources for Vanguard target-date retirement portfolios
- Conclusion
Vanguard target-date retirement portfolio, beware of the giant
Vanguard is the fund management company founded by the supreme good guy of investing John C. Bogle. Vanguard has a unique governance structure that makes it so that Vanguard’s only mission is to look out for those who own shares of the mutual funds. John Bogle has structured Vanguard in such a way that the owners of shares are also the owners of Vanguard. The investors (owner) are all those people who own a Vanguard mutual fund or ETF. John Bogle calls it the only mutual mutual fund company.
One of John Bogle’s best books is his Common Sense on Mutual Funds.
I recently completed a history of the Vanguard which was very good. It is called The Man in the Arena: Vanguard Founder John C. Bogle and His Lifelong Battle to Serve Investors First
“The book is part tribute to Mr. Bogle, part history, and part investment wisdom. The breadth of the tributes extends beyond the finance world of managers and writers, to heavyweight economists, such as Paul Volcker, and all the way to a former resident of the White House, Bill Clinton. The history spans the time period from the founding of Vanguard and its unique mutual ownership to the launching of the first no-load mutual funds and index funds. I personally loved the poster that declared “Index funds are un-American.”
Description of Vanguard target-date retirement portfolios
The Vanguard target-date funds are made of other funds. They are funds of funds in other words. This is the standard and smart way of constructing a target-date fund. Many if not most other target-date funds are constructed this way, fx, Dimensional Fund Advisors, BlackRock, and Fidelity.
The glide path structure of Vanguard’s target-date retirement portfolios. Notice how the bond portion becomes increasingly larger as you move across (move to the right) the x-axis. This is the “glide path” effect. Source: VanguardThey follow a standard glide path philosophy as do all other target-date portfolios. The closer you are to retirement age the greater the bond allocation will be. Bonds (fixed income) have a lower risk level than stocks (equities).
The Vanguard target-date funds are giants within the target-date fund universe. A Morningstar survey from 2019 estimate that Vanguard accounts for 40% of all assets under management within the target-date retirement category. This category has $1.7 trillion under management as of 2019.
Vanguard started offering the target date funds in 2006 just after the Pension Protection Act of 2006 was signed into legislation. This allowed target-date funds into 401(k) saving plans.
The portfolios are made up of 4 funds. This makes them extremely easy to implement and maintain. They have massive diversification. The portfolios do not tilt their allocations towards any particular risk premia.
Performance of Vanguard target-date retirement portfolios
| Portfolio name | Asset class count | 1 year return (2019) | Year to date | 10 year return | CAGR since 1989 | Drawdown | Risk Level | Expense ratio | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 (Benchmark) | 1 | 31.46% | 3.69% | 13.52% | 10.54% | -37.63% | 5 - very high risk | 0.04% | 1.79% |
| Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 (55 year old) | 4 | 21.54% | 1.77% | 8.43% | 8.05% | -26.38% | 3 - medium risk | 0.05% | 2.09% |
| Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 (45 year old) | 4 | 24.32% | 1.85% | 9.31% | 8.29% | -33.10% | 4 - high risk | 0.05% | 2.18% |
| Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 (35 year old) | 4 | 25.21% | 1.87% | 9.59% | 8.34% | -35.27% | 5 - very high risk | 0.05% | 2.21% |
| Vanguard Target Retirement 2060 (25 year old) | 4 | 25.22% | 1.86% | 9.58% | 8.33% | -35.33% | 5 - very high risk | 0.05% | 2.21% |
Asset Allocation for Vanguard target-date retirement portfolios
Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 (55 years old)
- 42.20% US Total Stock Market (VTI)
- 28.00% International All-World ex-US (VEU)
- 20.90% Total US Bond Market (BND)
- 8.90% Non-US Bonds (BNDX)
Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 (45 years old)
- 51.20% US Total Stock Market (VTI)
- 33.90% International All-World ex-US (VEU)
- 10.50% Total US Bond Market (BND)
- 4.40% Non-US Bonds (BNDX)
Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 (35 years old)
- 54.00% US Total Stock Market (VTI)
- 35.90% International All-World ex-US (VEU)
- 7.10% Total US Bond Market (BND)
- 3.00% Non-US Bonds (BNDX)
Vanguard Target Retirement 2060 (25 years old)
- 53.90% US Total Stock Market (VTI)
- 36.10% International All-World ex-US (VEU)
- 7.10% Total US Bond Market (BND)
- 2.90% Non-US Bonds (BNDX)
Disclaimer: These are target-date funds. By design, their asset allocation will change over time. In general, target-date funds shift more of their assets towards bonds as you age to lower your risk. This means that the asset allocation below will have changed until we update it here at portfolioeinstein.com.
Resources for Vanguard target-date retirement portfolios
It is always a pleasure to read any of John Bogle’s book so any book by him is recommended. These two are good starting points.
- John Bogle – Common Sense on Mutual Funds
- The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns
Vanguard has a very helpful page for Vanguard’s target-date funds.
Vanguard’s approach to target-date strategy can be found in their white paper.
You can compare different Target Date Funds in the article What Is The Best Target Date Fund?
If you need a primer on target-date portfolios you should go read article Target Date Fund Portfolios.
Conclusion
The Vanguard target-date portfolios are simple portfolios to implement while providing great diversification.
What are 2 good things about these portfolios that you like?