VTSAX

Dangerous_Tax_2532

The 2055 target-date fund (VFFVX) is essentially a diversified version of what you are trying to do manually, so it is hard to beat in terms of simplicity and rebalancing efficiency. Adding mid-cap funds can boost returns, but it will also increase volatility and partially overlap with your total market fund. If you want to “optimize,” you might slightly tilt toward VTSAX and maintain some international exposure, but don’t complicate what is already a solid long-term strategy.

Awkward_Basis7533

Got it. So if it’s in a fund you’re absolved of responsibility? You know that the SPY500 is the 6th largest institutional holder of PLTR holding 27M shares right? You’re ok being complicit in little bites (say unknowingly) but it’s wrong if you do it willfully? But let’s say now you know - are you going to get out? It’s even heavier in VTSAX, QQQ, IVV, etc. Broad market funds are trying to make $$ we’re just our own fund managers. Anyone claiming any moral high ground is either A. Correct or B. Not making anything. It’s just too muddy.

CSGOW1ld

The market is not irrational. Just VTSAX and relax 

Gliese_667_Cc

A lot of you idiots would be MUCH better off putting your money in VTSAX. But no, you’d rather light it on fire and them come collect your worthless upvotes. Congrats on being stupid.

ifinance674

Why are you looking for further diversification? The thing that will build your wealth fastest at this point is your savings rate. Aim for a very high percentage of savings (more than 30%). You're young with no kids. The capital you accumulate now is worth the most because it has the longest runway to compound via investments. Consider your actual wealth sources: \- 2 jobs, presumably 2 different companies, many years of career ahead \- House, specific to your local area \- Cash \- Total stock market index \- Government bond market index \- Individual stocks You don't need more diversification. You are diversified. Other assets - bitcoin, gold, art, etc - are a distraction. If you are not looking to commit more time (say through rental real estate or investing in private businesses), then keep cash, pay off your mortgage faster or buy more VTSAX. And if you *really* feel you need more diversification, you can buy a total international stock market index fund as most of your exposure is USA. You have productive careers and own productive assets. Keep doing more of that.

Maleficent-Fennel250

Life is a lesson, you lost nothing. Stop the therapy and VTI is amazing, set and forget. Don’t sell VTI for VTSAX.

wheres_my_hat

VT, VTI, VTSAX choose one and don’t look back 

Potential-Ad5470

VTSAX and forget about it.

kiwimancy

I think funds like VTSAX today are larger than any fund in the past, but bear markets are hard for investment funds due to falling AUM from market losses and redemptions and I'm sure large funds have closed during downturns. I don't feel that's a risk worth focusing much effort on. But given two similar funds that serve the same purpose in my portfolio, higher AUM would be preferable for this reason. I would not expect a fund like VTSAX to close due to an unstable market, but it's a possibility. Vanilla index fund fees are very low and a downturn could prompt some consolidation in the industry.

xiongchiamiov

Funds typically close because they're doing very poorly. I'm not aware of _any_ index funds ever closing, although I'm sure they have, but something like VTSAX would be a very major event. But I suppose it is possible.

lonegodhand

I have been thinking and looking up some things on this, and I feel like im missing something. Looking for some assistance. So if mutual funds and ETFs are fully closed. Funds are distributed and gains/losses are realized. Correct? Some major index funds seem to appear near market drops (VTSAX in 2000; VT in 2008 as examples). I understand these examples had predecessors and from what I understand these were not considered taxable transfers to the Admiral funds. The questions I have are below: 1) Has a full closure of major funds like VTSAX ever occurred during large drops (or at all) resulting in an unexpected taxable event that increases the tax bracket for a large amount of money (if you are in profit) and hurting future compounding from this? 2) Is this risk high enough to justify avoiding to invest in smaller long term mutual funds even from large institutions? 3) If the the whole market is existing in a very unstable environment long in the future, could we expect this to happen to a large fund? Thanks in advance!

ach4n

You should definitely re-risk heavily out of VTSAX at the very least if you fear missing out on some gains. Worst scenario is that you leave your money in VTSAX and you are short on down payment that would potentially lose you the opportunity to buy the house or get a good mortgage rate. You will risk the opportunity to buy the house within your target timeframe just for a few gains in a single year. Is that worth it? Pull what you need for a down payment. Leave the rest in the market. You can always sell at a loss if you need more funds for home purchase. Unlikely you will lose over 25% of etf value within a year but you never know.

RaysIsBald

lmao WHAT. I spend the majority of my day discussing new makeup and skincare releases as you can see from my post history, i'm not a stonks person, but i'm in this sub because I knew just enough to trust the bogleheads on here instead of myself to take me from $26k four years ago to $80k today with a monthly auto-invest in VTSAX and VTIAX. my advice is index funds and find a different hobby. Skincare's a super interesting one if the stress of losing 30k is showing on your face -- peptides, patience, time, hydration, and index funds will fix that!

AltoDomino79

Is there any harm in having mutual funds (like VTSAX or VFIAX for ex) in a personal Brokerage account? I keep reading about how I should have ETFs in my Brokerage for tax benefits

magiccam

I withdrew my down payment money from my shares in VTSAX exactly a year ago (it sold for $134 a share at the time) and then kept it in a HYSA at 4% until I bought. It was exactly what I needed to do at that time. VTSAX has had great returns but if you’re going to put an offer on something you’ll need it in cash. It’s probably a good idea if you’re serious about buying soon.

csreddit8

Basically VTIAX and VTSAX. ln college, I did a presentation in debate class about 20 years ago basically Apple vs Microsoft products, specifically against the all iProducts. I totally didn’t have the foresight into Apple. Now I own almost every Apple product and I’m fully invested in the ecosystem. I have no way to predict how the market will shift. I can’t time the market and don’t want my personal bias to affect my NW. Just because I like something doesn’t mean the rest of the world does. Also market manipulation, politics, and who knows fuck about shit. Also, I got a B- on that presentation because the professor was pro Apple.

___Art_Vandelay___

"Never" is too absolute of a stance. We bought a brand new car a few years ago. Had the cash on-hand to pay in full, but instead opted to utilize the manufacturer's financing promo. We still put down about 30%, but the rest of that cash that was earmarked for the car, about $25k, was instead invested in our brokerage account's VTSAX. The manufacturer's financing was 0.9% APY over 60 months. Our monthly payment is under $400 and the lifetime interest on the loan is only around $530. No brainier to take the arbitrage; the investment growth covered that $530 in a couple months.

NicholasHansMark

Withdraw from VTSAX and rotate that into T-bills. When you’re ready to lay down your down payment, cash out your t bills. That vanguard savings account rate pays 0.5 less than a 4- week T bill (4%) and both are realized annually. So, within a year as our baseline which is a full anum then might as well roll with t bills

Sweetycherryx

Yeah, if you’re planning to buy within a year, I’d definitely move that money out of VTSAX and into something safer like a **high-yield savings account** or short-term CD. The market could easily dip right when you need the cash, and it’s not worth the stress or risk for short-term goals. You’ve already done the hard part by saving and growing it now it’s about protecting it. You can check **BankTruth** to see which HYSAs are paying the best and most consistent rates right now, so your down payment still earns something while you wait to buy.

max_strength_placebo

Monte Carlo models are only as good as the data used for the simulations. IMO people treat Monte Carlo far too seriously. at best it's just an educated guess that may or may not play out as planned IRL. but to answer the question: >Are people underestimating inflation risk… or just ignoring it because it’s depressing? the last few decades, inflation was extremely low by historical standards so many people have forgotten to adjust for inflation. interest rates were also abnormally low by historical standards. Howard Marks wrote a 2022 memo on this topic, how very few people in the finance industry have experience with rising rates and relatively elevated inflation. https://www.oaktreecapital.com/insights/memo/sea-change elevated inflation also changes investing outcomes. lots of FIRE people are assuming the 2010-2012 bear market will generalize indefinitely into the future. But they're gonna be in for a shock, one way or another. They're simply not prepared for TIPS or REITs (or anything other than VTSAX) to be the best performing investment for 15 years. adjust for inflation and the S&P 500 was underwater about 1866 to 1992, and 2000 to 2014. https://www.macrotrends.net/2324/sp-500-historical-chart-data to quote John Hussman: >he total return of the S&P 500 lagged Treasury bonds from 1929-1950, 1968-1987, and the 22-year stretch from 1998 to 2020 (3/23/98-3/23/20: 5.27% vs 5.32% annually), among other sub-periods. That’s 62 years of the 96-year period since 1929 – nearly two-thirds of history. https://www.hussmanfunds.com/comment/mc250720/

xtoxicxk23

VTSAX and chill because it doesn't sound like you're willing to take big risks for the potential of big rewards. Buy and hold of an index fund has never done anyone wrong.

ifinance674

This might be hard to hear but: 1. **Plan to keep working -** If you are at zero savings you won't be able to stop working at 65 most likely, even if you own your house. 2. **Learning -** Devote time to studying. If you see a term you don't know, Google it. Read books. Starting with no knowledge is not the same as saying you can't learn this stuff. It's just work. 3. **Investing -** Choose a low cost, broad based index fund (VOO, VTSAX, etc). Buy regularly and stick to the plan. 4. **Eliminate debt -** If you've borrowed money, get rid of it. Credit card, car loan, etc...gone. Pay it back and *don't borrow more*. 5. **Emergency savings -** Put cash into a high interest savings account. Target 6 months and build up to it. 6. **Savings rate** \- Do whatever you can to pull in more cash. Extra jobs, sell tools on the side, I mean whatever. You'll need to be putting a lot more cash away. It's a tough spot man. I know 20 years sounds like a lot but it's going to go fast. And investing, for all it's benefits, unfortunately favors starting early. It's just how the math works. That said, your game isn't over. Pay off your debts, go *hard* into savings, bring in as much cash as you can now, have some emergency cash, invest consistently and regularly through good and bad times and prepare yourself not to be able to stop working. That might mean even getting a part-time job at Home Depot just for the benefits and cash flow. Put things in place *now* so you'll make it *then*. Good luck man.

c-u-in-da-ballpit

- 25% in individual equities (Nextracker, Array, Airbus, Novo, Kongsberg, First Solar, Micron) - 40% in VTSAX

professor_evil

Bro if this is the route you want to take, and it is a good tried and true route, get out of Robinhood. Open an account with Vanguard and buy VTSAX. Or Fidelity. They won’t fuck you. Robinhood will fuck you. I would stay far away from Robinhood for anything other than literally gambling with stocks. And even then I honestly use Fidelity now.

weasler7

I just have to add I appreciate the discussion because most people on /r/investing are too triggered for anything other than 100% VTSAX or SPY.

USC1989

VTSAX

AltoDomino79

What are the benefits of an Admiral share mutual fund like VTSAX or VFIAX versus the equivalent ETF like VOO or VT? I own mostly admiral shares in both my retirement accounts and my Brokerage investment accounts.

InjuryEmbarrassed532

We should have been at 7k already. I have been adding to mostly VTSAX/VTI since 2003 and am disappointed in the SP performance this year. It’s mostly Redditors who have been investing their lunch money that are freaking out. Contribute regularly to pre-tax and after-tax accounts, don’t try to be smart and don’t panic. Anyone in the their 40s+ without six figures+ will be screwed in the future.

Nonconformists

Yep. I tried for quick gains when I was 20-25 years old. Stupid tech stocks and some risky stocks that went bankrupt. For the past 12 years I have been in mostly VOO or VTSAX and those investments have quadrupled, at about 11% annual returns. It was really easy, in hindsight. I keep about 10-15% in reliable company stocks and the rest stays in total stock market ETFs and some high yield money market funds. Start saving early.

Margaritashoes

Put 500k in VTSAX, put 150k in XTBLX, then live off the rest as much as I could.

AltoDomino79

In other words, it's fine to have VTSAX in a personal Brokerage account (as opposed to traditional retirement account)?

kiwimancy

It does not apply to VTSAX because it is a share class of the same fund as VTI. The fund can use the ETF creation/redemption mechanism to wash out capital gains for both share classes.

AltoDomino79

In a brokerage account- is there any disadvantage to owning VTSAX mutual fund versus VTI etf? I have about 50k in VTSAX in my brokerage: I read that the mutual funds can trigger an undesirable tax event when there are capital gain distributions: I don't know if this applies to VTSAX

GAL123F

Index Funds/ETFs. VTSAX/VTI

CuteAmoeba9876

Really rich people who hold individual stocks got them by starting or working for those companies. The stock was part of their compensation. Most other people you talk to who buy individual stocks are either straight gambling, or buying the top performers that make up a big percentage of the index anyway.  It’s just too much brain damage to research individual companies enough to actually make good investment decisions. 9 times out of out of ten, the broad market funds beat actively managed mutual funds. Just buy the VTSAX or equivalent, maybe consider a target date fund to get your international and bond exposure. And use your mental energy for other things. 

GoldWallpaper

I recommend re-reading *The Simple Path to Wealth*, because you're choosing some funds with BIG expense ratios over ones with very low ones (like VTSAX). This is exactly the opposite of what the book recommends. There's nothing wrong with that if it fits your risk profile. But you'd likely be better off having *mostly* VTSAX, and then using a small-ish portion of your portfolio for more high-risk stuff. Personally, I did well with half my portfolio in VTSAX and half in large-cap growth (tech, basically) funds over the past 15+ years. But given that the S&P is now extremely tech-heavy, that's probably overkill. related subs: /r/bogleheads, /r/financialindependence

1percentagarose

Hello! I had some cash sitting around that I was too nervous to invest and I finally bit the bullet and did it. Looking for feedback on how I did: IRA - consolidated some old IRAs into one and ended up with the following * VFIAX (Vanguard 500 Index fund)- 40% * VIMAX (Mid-Cap) - 20% * VSMAX (Small-Cap) - 15% * VIGAX (Same as VUG below) - 15% * VTSAX (Total Stock Market) - 10% Brokerage Account - ended up with the following * VTSAX (Total Stock Market) - 26% * VEXPX (Vanguard Explorer Fund)- 24% * VUG (Growth ETF)- 20% * VGSLX (Real Estate) - 10% * VGHCX (Health) - 10% * VXUS (Total International Stock) 10% All other things considered, have a good income for a MCOL area, have an emergency fund, and additional retirement/investment accounts. I just wanted to try my hand at a more strategic approach than "put everything in an S&P 500 fund" (which there's nothing wrong with!) There's some redundancy here due to already having holdings in some funds that I didn't want to sell. As time goes on, I hope to keep fine tuning and rebalancing. My goals are growth without having to babysit the portfolio, hence the mutual funds/ETF approach. I'm also way too intimidated to get into single stocks so this seemed like a more comfortable route. I plan on reviewing monthly and correcting about every quarter or so as needed. IRA is obviously for retirement, brokerage fund is earmarked for retirement/long term growth but might also use it for a house downpayment depending on how things go. What do you think? I tried to prioritize low cost funds, diversifying into new sectors for me like health, international, real estate, etc, and having a mix of large/mid/small cap to try to capture more gains.

DaemonTargaryen2024

To add to this OP: focus on active funds vs passive (index) funds. VTSAX is a good example of a mutual fund but passive, so is a good choice

therealjerseytom

VTSAX is a fund too. > I keep reading about how mutual funds will more often underperform the market This makes so sense. A mutual fund is just a collection of holdings. There are mutual funds that *are* "the market." The starting point for all of this is *what are you trying to achieve, and why is a certain solution the best choice to meet your goals?* Like there needs to be intentions behind your choices. So I'd ask you - what is it about your 5-fund allocation that you believe will outperform the total market (which, mind you, already includes financials, tech, etc) over X amount of years?

Loquater

Seeing as how I'm working and don't need my invested money until I have enough to hopefully retire, I'm perfectly comfortable owning the entire market. Irrational up or irrational down doesn't really matter for my personal timeline and risk tolerance. I understand the whole market enough to know that's the best place to grow my wealth, so that's where I invest. You're giving me vibes that you feel like you're smart enough to pick winners and losers. Good luck with your research and may the odds be ever in your favor. I'd rather spend my time arguing with idiots online, and I'll happily keep acquiring my VTSAX shares.

winniecooper73

VTSAX

bradley-g2

VTSAX I'm begging you NOT to play with options until you have all of the following: - Able to invest regularly in the broad market (VTSAX). Right now, for a 22YO, TIME is your greatest friend - Emergency fund for 6 months of living expenses - Studied the stock market and stock trading for at least 3-5 years (paper and live trading) with expendable income. Options are a derivative of stocks. So you MUST be fluent in stocks before doing options - An account that can draw down $15k-25k and still recover. If you "only" have 1k, you will blow up your account very quickly

vonbauernfeind

My trad IRA is clocking close to $600k. I keep around $50k available for speculating on individual stocks. I made around $8k on AMD & Intel last year, and reinvested in Intel when they hit rock bottom around the gen 13/14 chip failures. I'm up another $2k on intel. My SMH play of about $2500 is up $1.2k. I'm up about $500 on Grail and down $1k on Procept, a couple speculations from the healthcare industry. I'll probably exit Grail soon and Procept soon if it doesn't recover. I have $3k in T Mobile, but it's neither gained or lost, and $10k in my own company that's down about $2k. So my little speculations have me up around $9k overall poking around. But comparatively it's such a small amount of my portfolio, and since I don't have to worry about capital gains in an IRA (or Roth IRA), it feels a bit more free to speculate more rapidly. My main holdings are things like $224k in VTSAX and $125k in VWUAX. I bet on the market with 90% of my portfolio.

Investoid

Without knowing your entire portfolio it will be a bit difficult to take a guess. I also recommend giving your rough age. Younger people who have income should just put a large portion into VTSAX since it just covers everything and can wait it out 30+ years of growth while having really low costs. I have 80% VTSAX. 15% VTIAX, and 5% is just for fun stuff. There isn't much to change each year until retirement with that setup. If I were to start all over I would go 95% VTSAX I think and ignore international blend. There wasn't too big a difference to bother.

readsalotman

I've been buying VTSAX/VTI for 12 years. I have about $985k in there. Another fraction of a percent and I join the two comma club.

Interesting-Cap7686

Put it in a HYSA or a broad index fund VTSAX if you know you won't need it for 5 years. read or listen to the podcast "friends that invest" to learn broad specifics. You can always do small bits of money until you're comfortable

SnS2500

There are equal weight S&P500 ETFs, but that impacts far more than the NVDA aspect. It sounds you are making a mountain out of mole hill. Suppose NVDA were 3% of VTSAX. Would that really make a meaningful difference to you?

Pale_Drink4455

For the entire history of the stock market of well over 100 years it has earned 10%. Trust the facts and be fully confident of putting that monthly in S&P funds such as VTI, VTSAX etc and let it cook over time in two ROTHS and the rest in a brokerage. You don’t need an advisor to do that. it’s simple and effective and why pay someone a lot of money over time to charge a yearly fee.

StatisticalMan

Sell the NVidia and buy more VTSAX now you have less NVidia exposure.

taplar

Why do you need an alternative?  Flip the statement. VTSAX is ~97% non-Nvidia.

entropybender

Your allocation actually looks pretty solid for a growth-tilted strategy. VIGAX specifically tracks growth-oriented large-cap stocks, which can provide nice upside during economic expansions. The Vanguard growth index has historically outperformed value indexes during tech and innovation cycles. That said, diversification is key - your mix of total market (VTSAX), international (VTIAX), and growth (VIGAX) shows you're thinking strategically. Consider reading some Boglehead forum discussions or William Bernstein's writings to dive deeper into growth vs. value philosophies. Your financial advisor's support is also a positive sign.

dinklebot2000

My biggest concern would be overlap. Top 10 holdings for VTSAX and VIGAX are nearly identical.

Pale_Drink4455

VTI, VOO, VTSAX and chill for the next 30 years.

DaemonTargaryen2024

Hard yes for VTSAX and VTIAX. Soft no for VIGAX. There are worse things than VIGAX, but unless you have a particular reason for the growth tilt it's better to just stick with blend (VTSAX)

0olongCha

VTSAX, or its etf variant VTI.

greg_boose

I'm only investing in NVDA, GOOGLE, APPLE, VOO, VTSAX, CCJ, VOO, and QQQM. Had to stop buying all the meme shit and the AIs. Really wish I held onto all my OKLO, though!

Improvcommodore

I’m leaving my 401k and Roth IRA in VTSAX/VTIAX until I retire, but I am currently reallocating my taxable brokerage to majority bonds to up my emergency funds from 6 months to 12.

IHadTacosYesterday

I'd only need to be out of Cali for two years. I'm one of those FIRE people. Financial Independence Retire Early. Most FIRE people have all their money in VTSAX. So, when they hit their FIRE number, they don't have a massive tax problem with unwinding their risk. Unfortunately for me, almost none of my money is in VTSAX. All my money is in Google (48%), AMD (15%) NVDA (13%), AVGO (12%), VOO (10%), META (2%). I have to unwind my risk, which means selling out of huge percentages of these positions. Positions that have doubled. Some of them have tripled. Which means huge amounts of LTCG (Long Term Capital Gains) Obviously, I'm blessed to have the problem of too many LTCG's and thus too much taxes, but I still have to deal with the taxes. I could unwind the vast majority of my risk over a two year period, and I might save like 15 to 18k each year in doing so.

Oscar_Tamed

VTSAX

therealjerseytom

IMO VTSAX (or to be 100% in it) is not an appropriate investment vehicle for a financial goal 3-4 years out.

Ray_725

Either or but I would do one or the other. VOO is S&P 500 which you can purchase on any brokerage and can trade throughout market hours. VTSAX is US total market which you can only purchase under Vanguard and is traded at end of day.

HappyCaterpillar2409

VTSAX = Vanguard Total Market Mutual Fund RDDT = Reddit's ticker symbol

nichijouuuu

VTSAX over VOO no?

FINomad

Real estate *is* less passive, period. I know too many real estate investors and based on the stories I hear from them, not a single one is passive. Hell, they spend more time just visiting with their CPAs due to their complex taxes than I spend on my portfolio management and taxes each year. Even those with property managers still have to manage their managers. They are business owners with a real estate portfolio and either direct employees/managers on payroll or an outsourced property management company, which they have to watch like a hawk. And then there are all the wanna-be BiggerPockets landlords that bought at too high of price, thought rents could never go down, got a bad string of tenants, got a bad sequence of repairs/replacements, etc. and they are left with negative returns that they can never recover from (and hours upon hours of their lives wasted in the meantime). >What about the risk that VTSAX goes down 50% in a big crash? It will at some point. The typical bear market lasts less than three years. I keep three years of expenses in cash. What about the risk that your properties sit vacant for longer than you can stay solvent? What about the risk that you didn't know what you were doing and overpaid or picked the wrong property(ies)? What if you invest in commercial real estate and a pandemic hits and everyone switches to WFH and you lose your leases for years? What if your area becomes the next Detroit? What happens if your property management company doesn't do their due diligence on getting you quality tenants and you spend months/years (depending on the state) trying to evict someone? What if the foundation of one of your rentals starts to sink? What if you have properties in Florida and your property taxes go up 60% in five years while rents start to drop? And on and on and on. I like passive investments and there's simply too much to deal with and worry about with real estate.

Repulsive-Opening249

Hi everyone. I am new to finances and I have been trying to diversify by Roth IRA portfolio. I recently purchased $500 in VGT but this is what I have so far. What else should I invest in to diversify my portfolio? I’m also looking into VOO, OKLO, QQQ at some point. VFFVX VANGUARD TARGET RETIREMENT 2055 INVESTOR $13,914.93 VFIAX VANGUARD 500 INDEX ADMIRAL $8,419.39 VTSAX VANGUARD TOTAL STOCK MARKET INDEX ADMIRAL $8,682.77

shanewzR

Agree Real estate can be less passive but you can get it managed. What about the risk that VTSAX goes down 50% in a big crash?

FINomad

I already have over $2M invested in VTSAX (mutual fund version of VTI). I'd throw the new $2M in there as well. No real estate for me. I want passive income, not a job dealing with people in the RE industry.

Past_Drag4727

The VTSAX is mutual fund and RDDT is the stock of reddit

HappyCaterpillar2409

Low Risk: Put all of it into VTSAX High Risk: Put all of it into RDDT Do not try to build your own portfolio.

chatrep

I did the same and transferred my IRA from Vanguard to RH. I am a huge fan. So much easier to use. But the bonus match was what got me. I was going to point out the 5-year requirement. You get the bonus right away but they can claw it back within 5 years. As for IPO’s, they are doing more but keep in mind, just like anywhere else, they limit allocation. So you could ask for 100 shares and end up just getting a few. They also ask that you hold for at least 30 days as they want to discourage flipping. You can sell right away but then they won’t allocate ipo’s to you. I also like that everything is integrated from stocks, crypto, options, futures. Super easy UX. They also have fantastic margin rates but I don’t use margin. One other note… if this is a standard taxable account, when you sell VTSAX and have gains, be aware of the taxes.

ChoiceRadiant6381

I prefer VTI or VOO ETF or funds like VFIAX or VTSAX, fidelity and Schwab have the same fund and the expense ratios are like 0.05% vs 0.50%. I have come to the conclusion over the last 25 years and more so over the last 10 that fund managers don’t really beat the market and you pay a higher expense for the rate attempt. Their bogey is the S&P 500 anyways, so why go through all the effort. Now there are exceptions like Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, but those are few and far between.

BiggestMack01

I am an 18 year old with a pretty good amount of money saved up. Right now, I have nearly all of my funds in VTSAX. I am on the verge of transferring my funds to robinhood on a 2% transfer deal they have right now (I’d make the maximum 500 dollars from that). I also do know to keep the 500 dollars, I’d have to hold my money in Robinhood for 5 years, which I don’t really plan on taking money out anyway. In Robinhood, I’d probably just hold VTI because they do not have VTSAX, and I feel like one huge advantage to this is being able to buy IPOs when they release, as they seem to be constantly doubling these days. Also, Robinhood makes it significantly easier to sell and buy shares of stock. I’d like to know if this is a smart or dumb decision, and why? Thanks guys.

FINomad

I keep 2-3 years of expenses in cash (checking+VMFXX) and the rest of my portfolio is in VTSAX. Yes, it's really that simple. Read The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins and you can pretty much understand my investment philosophy since I stopped day trading in 2000. I really wish that book existed when I was a teenager. I had a paid off house that I built in my 20s and sold shortly after I hit my FI number because I hated home ownership. It was tough putting hundreds of thousands of dollars into VTSAX in 2019, but I'm really glad I did since the stock market crushed the returns that my house had over the past 6+ years. Time in the market.

ivanmalvin

I'm not sure why you would lean so heavily on one company for your future. Yes it has worked great for you so far but that's no guarantee. Spread out at least some of those gains into passive, low fee, S&P500 or Total stock market index funds. VOO / VTSAX or similar.

Kinda_Quixotic

Up over $1M in the last 10 years. Very boring strategy - VTSAX. Funny thing, I let myself feel like a failure for not making more like some friends (NVDA, lucky RE buys that felt risky to me, etc). I’ve played it safe and had safe returns.

FINomad

It's simple. I sell some VTSAX when I need money. You realize dividends are basically the same as selling, right? You are being *forced* to sell four times a year with dividends, then you are taxed on the full amount of the dividend. The way I do it, I only sell when I need the money, and I am only taxed on my long term capital gains (same rate as qualified dividends). Careful, that retiredbyfourty guy is one of those dividend chasers that doesn't understand how dividends work. You probably shouldn't trust a guy that can't even spell "forty."

readsalotman

We've been DCAing for 12 years and have nearly $1M now. The only dip we've ever bought was the COVID plunge of March 2020. We had an extra $10k and bought VTSAX with it. Other than that, neither of us have the time to try to analyze and buy on dips. Not worth the effort imo. I'm too focused on my golf game and planning our next vacation.

WhoGotDaKeys2MaBeema

Best bet is to put a portion of it into VTSAX and VXUS and a small amount into BND. You will be so diversified that a crash wouldn't really even phase your portfolio. Then, just continue to DCA into it until you retire.

Country2000

Set up auto investing in your brokerage account. I use Chase and have weekly purchases setup, because I have a large amount of cash that I don’t want to dump in all at once. Chase will automatically transfer $5,000, from my checking account and put it into my brokerage account, every Tuesday. And it will then automatically make a $5,000 purchase of VTSAX after hours that Tuesday evening. Very easy to average in this way

AltoDomino79

If I invest $1000 dollars in an index fund like VTSAX or VOO within a Vanguard Brokerage Account, and that index fund investment grows to $2000- am I only taxed on the $1000 gain? I'm trying to understand the difference between a Brokerage vs a retirement account. In my (non roth) retirement account, I know that I'd be taxed on the entire $2000.

Doctaglobe

VTSAX and chill

todays_tom_soy_

If you're interested in investing in companies that are more aligned with your values, there are various mutual funds + ETFs that are available (e.g., VEGN: "US Vegan Climate EFT"). Be careful about overly restrictive funds (whose focus may be too narrow to produce the steady gains typical of broad index funds) or funds that have unreasonably high annual fees. Many of these funds aren't going to make as much financial sense as the broader funds that track the S&P 500 or the whole market (e.g., VTSAX). If you're worried about the practices of particular investment companies, it's helpful to look into past lawsuits that have been filed against them. I like Vanguard, which made its reputation in part by offering certain investments with especially low fees, changing the industry in the process, and the company is technically owned by its customers. No company will be perfect, though. Beware of investments that serve the interests of the company much more than those of the investor. Some annuities arguably fall into this category, for example.

Gliese_667_Cc

If you need chatgpt to gamble for you, you should probably just stick to VTSAX.

xiongchiamiov

VIGAX is a bet on the growth subset of companies (ones with higher expectations and higher prices to match). Those have done really well the past decade/two, [but historically underperformed value](https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/insights/when-its-value-versus-growth-history-is-on-values-side). I wouldn't describe investing in it as "more aggressive" in the way that you want; what you're trying to do is increase returns through increasing [compensated risk](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/1cnjdvz/what_do_you_all_mean_by_uncompensated_risk/). For your goal, I would simply start with VTSAX, VTIAX, and a bond fund in proportions similar to the TDF, then reduce the bond percentage as you are comfortable: * https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Asset_allocation * https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Risk_and_return:_an_introduction * https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Risk_tolerance * https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Assessing_risk_tolerance

magneto-reluctance

(34m) ditched tdf for 46.5%VTSAX 28.5%VTIAX 25%VIGAX did I make a mistake? TDF had an expense ratio of .64% that bothered me when crunching some number for over the next 10 years. I was between the funds listed above and GRMIX 75% VTIAX 25% the plan advisor steered me towards my current allocations. What do you guys think? I wanted something that mimicked the TDF without bonds, but more aggressive.

readsalotman

I've just been DCAing into VTSAX for 12 years, its already automated.

readsalotman

I started investing into VTSAX about 12 years ago, started with $50. I now have $975k. Slow and steady!

Traditional-Eye-7094

VTSAX

Kinda_Quixotic

The two hesitations I have about this narrative: (1) GenAI could potentially drive as big of a change in business as personal computing did. And most of those companies are American. If GenAI takes over x% of accounting, medical diagnoses, driving, etc, those companies will continue to dominate. (2) Mega forces (especially demography) favor US over other developed economies… especially Korea, Japan, and Europe (excepting maybe FR). I can’t decide what to do… diversify Globally? Metals? Or stick with the VTSAX and chill. Sigh.

Darth_Dumpy

First off, I just want to say congratulations - no matter where the money is going 17% is a great savings rate. I generally would recommend eventually trying to get it closer to 25%, but 17% is much better than most Americans ever achieve and will set you up very well. I recommend plugging your numbers into a compound interest calculator ([this](https://www.flarefi.co/tools/compound-interest-calculator) is the one I use, but there are a lot of great ones out there) to run projections based on your expected returns (about 10% if you're in S&P). I find this super motivating to save more. I personally use Schwab for my Roth and Brokerage and have no complaints. I think it's a great idea to use tax advantaged accounts (Roth / 401k / HSA) as this maximizes your returns, but a brokerage is also a great route for funds you might need more flexibility with. You have a strong emergency fund, so just plowing as much money as you can into index funds (VOO, VTSAX, etc) is what I would recommend. When you're first starting though, the amount you save is much more important than what you're investing in. Just pick a fund and focus on getting as much money in as you can and ignore the noise and you'll do great!

AnonymousIdentityMan

VTSAX.

InclinationCompass

VTI and VTSAX each have nearly 4000 companies. VXUS has over 8500. So between the two, I’m invested in over 12,500 companies globally.

Milios12

Would option c be a private practice for you? That's a whole headache, but some people like doing it. Definitely more work than a rental. Anyway, if I had a kids and a demanding job? Just invest $500k something like $VTSAX or $VTI and walk away. 500k would be great for a home to rent it out, if you dont already have a home. You are way past that situation, I imagine.

thanos_was_right_69

I would put it all in VTSAX

knawnieAndTheCowboy

VTSAX

JackieDaytonaPanda

You right just don’t know why VTSAX doesn’t get as mentioned as these other funds

j909m

I'm all for VTSAX; I was just noting that OP didn't mention it.

JackieDaytonaPanda

Dude why not VTSAX? I’m auto invested into VTSAX and I’ve always heard it’s just the mutual fund version. What’s the beef?

j909m

That “all in VTSAX” guy is screwed.

Sonarav

VTSAX and chill for my Roth IRA Target Date Index Fund for my employer sponsored plan