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5 Actively Managed Vanguard Funds to Own for the Long Haul

Vanguard funds are top of mind when it comes to index investing. After all, founder John Bogle basically created the idea of passive investing and brought index funds to masses back in the 1970s.

But Vanguard’s actively managed funds should be on equal footing with their passive brethren.

One of the biggest hurdles to actively managed mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is something called a “fee hurdle.” Historically, active funds cost more to run than a passive index-tracking fund. Because of this, an actively managed fund must earn more than its fees in order to bring investors a return. So even if a fund does beat the underlying index or benchmark, the higher fees will often produce lower returns. 

But for Vanguard, low-cost investment management is in its blood. As a result, Vanguard’s actively managed funds feature rock-bottom fees just like its passive investment options. This allows many of its active funds to offset the fee hurdles that other firms encounter and gives investors the opportunity to benefit from active management outperformance at lower costs.

With that in mind, here are five of Vanguard’s active funds to own for the long term. The funds featured here cover a variety of strategies, so there’s likely a low-cost option that aligns with your goals, no matter what type of investor you are.

  • SEE MORE The 12 Best Vanguard Funds for 2022

Data is as of March 10. Dividend yields represent the trailing 12-month yield, which is a standard measure for equity funds.

Stock Market Today: Tech Stocks Lead Relief Rally

The markets staged a robust relief rally that saw all but two sectors – energy (-3.1%) and utilities (-0.7%) – finish in the green.

Boosting investor sentiment were headlines indicating that foreign ministers from Ukraine and Russia will meet in Turkey on Thursday – the first cabinet-level talks to be held between the two countries since the conflict began.

  • SEE MORE 10 Beaten-Down Tech Stocks to Buy for the Long Term

This follows reports Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday said he is open to a dialogue with Moscow.

“Within equity markets, all the areas of the market that have been hit the hardest recently are snapping back sharply,” says Michael Reinking, senior market strategist for the New York Stock Exchange. This included financials, which rose 3.7% after “a few more European banks overnight provided updates on Russian exposure which were not as bad as some had feared,” as Reinking explained.

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However, it was technology (+4.0%) that led the charge, with chip stocks Nvidia (NVDA, +7.0%) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, +5.2%) among the biggest gainers.

At the close, all three major benchmarks had snapped their four-day losing streak, with the Nasdaq Composite up 3.6% at 13,255, the S&P 500 Index 2.6% higher at 4,277 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 2% to 33,286. 

It was the Nasdaq’s best day since November 2020 and was enough to pull the tech-heavy index out of a bear market. The S&P 500, meanwhile, had its biggest one-day gain since June 2020, while the Dow’s advance moved it out of correction of correction territory.

YCharts

Other news in the stock market today:

  • The small-cap Russell 2000 popped 2.7% to 2,016.
  • U.S. crude futures retreated sharply from Tuesday’s 13-year high, sinking 12.1% to settle at $108.70 per barrel. 
  • Gold futures slid 2.7% to end at $1,988.20 an ounce, snapping a four-day winning streak.
  • Bumble (BMBL) shot up 41.9% after BMO Research analyst Daniel Salmon upgraded the dating app shares to Outperform. “Catalysts should be driven by the Bumble app and include international expansion milestones and new bundle launches, while new advertising/sponsorship opportunities will be tested over the near term (likely on BFF first) supporting multiple re-expansion,” the analyst says. Raymond James analyst Andrew Marok (Outperform) also chimed in on BMBL, saying last night’s earnings report came in “better-than-feared.” Marok added that while Bumble’s decision to pull operations out of Russia will create roughly $20 million in headwinds in fiscal 2022, its full-year guidance is still “ahead of expectations.”
  • Declining oil prices lit a fire under travel stocks. Carnival (CCL, +8.8%), Royal Caribbean (RCL, +5.5%), American Airlines (AAL, +5.9%) and United Airlines (UAL, +8.3%) were some of the day’s biggest winners.

A Big Boom in Bitcoin Prices

Another big winner on Wall Street today: Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency jumped 11.3% to $41,807 (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.) after President Biden signed an executive order aimed at regulating digital-asset transactions.

  • SEE MORE Sweet Silicon: 5 Superb Semiconductor Stocks for 2022

The administration outlined several objectives as part of an effort to assess digital assets at the federal level, which include financial inclusion and responsible innovation. The goal of the order is to help the U.S. “maintain technological leadership in this rapidly growing space,” while “mitigating the risks for consumers, businesses, the broader financial system and the climate.”

This regulation could continue to give cryptocurrencies a boost, says Anthony Denier, CEO of trading platform Webull. Digital assets have “definitely been at reputational risk for buying an asset class that is so volatile and derided. Oversight gives them a firmer ground to stand on.”

There are plenty of ways for investors to gain exposure to the top cryptocurrencies too. In addition to stocks that are connected to crypto in some way, Wall Street is now flush with Bitcoin ETFs and other cryptocurrency funds. Read on as we highlight 17 funds focused on riding the crypto wave.

  • SEE MORE 5 Best Dow Dividend Stocks to Buy Now

Amazon Increases Tuition Reimbursement

In a move that could affect hundreds of thousands of people, Amazon is offering to pay even more for college tuition, classes, books and fees for its front-line employees. Amazon employees more than 1 million people in the U.S. The e-commerce giant has been offering a $3,000 annual tuition stipend and has now raised that […]

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Where To Live in Indianapolis (Quiz)

No matter you’re style, Indy has you covered.

The post Where To Live in Indianapolis (Quiz) appeared first on The Rent.com Blog : A Renter’s Guide for Tips & Advice.

Stock Market Today: Powell Reins in Rate-Hike Prospects, Sets Stocks Loose

After more than a week of international affairs monopolizing Wall Street’s spotlight, attention shifted back to interest rates as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell telegraphed the answer to one of investors’ most pressing questions – and lit a fire under stocks.

In prepared testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, Powell said he’s “inclined to support a 25-basis-point rate hike” at the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting, set for March 15-16.

  • SEE MORE The 22 Best Stocks to Buy for 2022

While Powell provided plenty of hedging language – saying the economic implications of Russia’s invasion were “highly uncertain” and leaving the door open to a 50-basis-point increase in the Fed funds rate later in 2022 if rapid inflation persists – his comments largely shut down worries about a 50-basis-point hike in March that had contributed to recent equity selling.

“I think we should assume one hike at every meeting this year, or seven total,” says Kiplinger Economist David Payne. That adds up to the same total increase of 1.75 points previously forecast, but with slightly different timing.

“With inflation at a multi-decade high, the Fed is anxious to get off of a crisis footing,” adds Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank. “The Fed will try to cool demand enough to get inflation under control, but not choke off the recovery.”

Investors also cheered a better-than-expected private-sector employer report, with ADP announcing that payrolls increased by 475,000 in February, easily topping estimates for 375,000 – and more shockingly, that January’s 301,000 payroll losses were revised to 509,000 additions.

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Peter Essele, head of portfolio management for Commonwealth Financial Network, noted that February’s release showed small businesses (1-49 employees) experienced their first decline in jobs since April 2020, while large businesses (500+ employees) showed their third largest monthly job gain in 10 years.

“The dynamic in February is the extension of a trend that began in August 2021, where large business employment began to outpace small and medium business hiring in the recovery,” he says. “The trend may reflect changing preferences in the labor force, with workers pivoting toward larger-scale businesses that potentially offer more benefits and higher wages.”

  • SEE MORE Hedge Funds’ 25 Top Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy Now

Ninety-two percent of the S&P 500’s components, and every one of its 11 sectors, finished in the green, pushing the index 1.9% higher to 4,386. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.8% to 33,891) and Nasdaq Composite (+1.6% to 13,752) also closed well in positive territory.

YCharts

Other news in the stock market today:

  • The small-cap Russell 2000 had itself another solid day, up 2.5% to 2,058 to post its fourth gain in five sessions.
  • A weekly decline in domestic crude inventories and reports that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will continue to gradually increase output sent U.S. crude oil futures spiking nearly 7% to $110.60 per barrel – their highest settlement since May 2011. “I would expect the run higher in oil prices to continue through the course of 2022,” says David Keller, chief market strategist at StockCharts.com, though he adds that “many energy names appear overextended and due for at least a brief pullback before resuming their uptrends.”
  • Gold futures fell 1.1% to settle at $1,922.30 an ounce.
  • Bitcoin slipped 1.0% to $43,826.77. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.)
  • Nordstrom (JWN) stock shot up 37.8% after the department store reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.23 per share on $4.5 billion in revenue – beating analysts’ estimates for earnings of $1.02 per share on $4.4 billion in sales. The company also noted improving sequential sales in its off-price division, Nordstrom Rack, and gave higher-than-expected guidance for fiscal 2022. Still, CFRA Research analyst Zachary Warring maintained a Strong Sell rating on the retail stock. “We do not believe JWN can achieve numbers anywhere near their guidance for fiscal 2022 after earnings per share of just $1.10 in fiscal 2021 after massive government stimulus and unprecedented pent-up demand. We would steer clear of shares that trade at 8.0x JWN’s earnings-per-share guidance for fiscal 2023.”
  • Salesforce.com (CRM, +0.7%) reported solid fourth-quarter results Tuesday night, bringing in adjusted earnings of 84 cents per share on $7.3 billion in revenue. This exceeded analysts’ estimates for 75 cents per share and $7.2 billion, respectively. CRM also guided for higher-than-expected revenue in both the current quarter and the full fiscal year and expects to see $1.5 billion in sales from Slack in fiscal 2023. “Given how deep its relationships are with its customers, Salesforce will continue to do well in the current financial environment,” says Chris Rothstein, CEO and founder of Groove, the leading sales engagement platform for enterprises using Salesforce. “As economic uncertainty and inflation continue to drive down multiples for tech companies around the world, Salesforce is uniquely positioned to be able to take advantage of the situation.”

Buying and Holding? Consider These 7 Funds

We’ve mostly spent the past few weeks exploring ways to either defend yourself from recent volatility or take advantage of the market’s bobbing and weaving.

  • SEE MORE 7 Energy ETFs for Rising Oil & Gas Prices

But for many buy-and-holders, the name of the game during times of tumult is … well, business as usual: Hold on to what you believe in, sell what you don’t, buy when opportunity (and value) strikes.

One aspect of maintaining this kind of a portfolio is ensuring you have a solid portfolio core of diversified exposure to the market’s basic flavors. We’ve long touted our Kiplinger 25 mutual funds and Kip ETF 20 to get the job done, but investors with fund-provider loyalty can often find all the tools they need within the very same family. Take American Funds parent Capital Group, which recently made a splash in the ETF world with six actively managed core-portfolio offerings.

However, buy-and-holders also may want to add “satellite” holdings – smaller positions meant to generate outperformance, and again, some fund families have a wealth of options available.

State Street Global Advisors, for instance, is one of the top ETF providers in the game via its SPDR family of funds, with nearly 140 ETFs available in the U.S. alone. We’ve winnowed down its wide selection down to seven SPDR ETFs that are ideally suited for buy-and-hold portfolios.

  • SEE MORE The 22 Best ETFs to Buy for a Prosperous 2022

Stock Market Today: Dow Drops 597 Points as Russia Escalates Attack

The major market benchmarks opened lower and losses accelerated amid reports that Russia is targeting civilian areas in Ukraine, including Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city. Additionally, after warning of “high-precision strikes,” Russian forces on Tuesday hit a TV tower in Kyiv.

“The crisis in Ukraine is evolving rapidly, and with it so are investor expectations for international relations, commodity prices, inflations, the corporate operating environment and company margins,” says Lauren Goodwin, economist and portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments.

  • SEE MORE 7 Energy ETFs for Rising Oil & Gas Prices

“As the crisis unfolds, equities could bounce if developments point to contained conflict and lighter sanctions, while equities could deteriorate in moments of escalation.”

Today, stocks crumbled as the attacks intensified, with financials (-3.7%) the worst-performing sector amid notable losses in blue chips American Express (AXP, -8.5%), Goldman Sachs (GS, -3.2%) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM, -3.8%).

Not surprisingly, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-1.8% at 33,294) was the biggest decliner, followed by the S&P 500 Index (-1.6% at 4,306) and the Nasdaq Composite (-1.6% at 13,532).

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One bit of encouraging news today was this morning’s Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing purchasing manager’s index (PMI), which rose to a higher-than-expected 58.6 in February.

“Manufacturing growth was solid in February, the inflation-sensitive prices component dipped on the month, and the index component reflecting supplier delivery performance noted better supply chain conditions than in January and December,” says Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank.

  • SEE MORE Hedge Funds’ 25 Top Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy Now

“Falling coronavirus cases should help the domestic side of the economy improve further in the spring months, but spillover from higher energy and food prices and international shipping disruptions related to the Russia-Ukraine war are a downside risk to manufacturing near-term,” he adds. 

YCharts

Other news in the stock market today:

  • The small-cap Russell 2000 gave back 1.9% to end at 2,008.
  • Gold futures spiked 2.3% to settle at $1,943.80 an ounce.
  • Bitcoin rallied 5.5% to $44,252.28. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.)
  • Target (TGT) jumped 9.8% after the big-box retailer reported adjusted earnings of $3.19 per share and revenue of $31 billion in its fourth quarter, beating analysts’ estimates for earnings of $2.86 per share and sales of $31.4 billion. TGT also offered up higher-than-expected guidance for the upcoming fiscal year. “TGT continues to find ways to keep traffic and sales momentum strong, which is allowing the retailer to continue making investments in price, labor, etc. while also growing the bottom line,” says CFRA Research analyst Arun Sundaram (Buy). “Fiscal 2023 results will be choppy quarter-over-quarter, but should generally get better as the year progresses.”
  • Foot Locker (FL) fell 7.6% after B. Riley analyst Susan Anderson downgraded the athletic apparel retailer to Neutral (Hold) from Buy and slashed her price target by $30 to $34 (FL closed today at $29.23). “We believe FL will be in a transition phase for at least a year as their exposure to Nike (NKE) is lowered, which creates limited visibility on future sales/margins,” Anderson writes. “This transition could open up ~$900M in shelf space annually which we expect will benefit other footwear and apparel manufacturers including Crocs (CROX), New Balance and Adidas, but will create a void for FL until that space can be filled.”

Why We’re Still Watching Inflation

Oil prices, on the other hand, swung notably higher in today’s trading, even after the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release 60 million in emergency crude reserves.

U.S. crude futures were up more than 11% at their session peak before finishing up 8% at $103.41 per barrel – their highest settlement since July 2014. And these rising energy prices could keep the fire burning under already sizzling inflation.

  • SEE MORE Warren Buffett Stocks Ranked: The Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio

“The Russia/Ukraine conflict is driving oil and other commodity prices higher, which does present the possibility of inflation remaining higher for longer,” says Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist for Ally Invest. “Medium-term inflation will be important to keep an eye on. Consumer confidence has already taken a hit and a survey by Ally shows that 77% of Americans believe inflation will increase over the next 12 months.”

There are several options for investors looking to mitigate the effects of red-hot inflation on their portfolio, including seeking out high-quality stocks from sectors that are considered more “inflation-proof” than others: consumer staples, utilities and healthcare, for instance. You can also play the hot hand with energy stocks or increase exposure to rising commodity prices with these exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Each of the funds featured here provide investors access to a wide variety of commodities futures and hard assets that can often work as a hedge against inflation.

  • SEE MORE 2022’s Best Mutual Funds in 401(k) Retirement Plans

Hedge Funds’ 25 Top Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy Now

Hedge funds as a group have a poor long-term track record, but there’s still something irresistible about knowing what the putative smart money has been up to. 

Besides, you’ve got to give them credit where credit is due. Hedge funds as a group might not be generating positive returns in 2022, but hey, at least they’re beating the broader market.

Hedging strategies by definition limit upside when stocks are rising, which helps explain the industry’s years of underperformance during the bull market. By the same token, however, hedging strategies limit downside when everything is selling off. And goodness knows investors have seen plenty of red on their screens so far this year.

  • SEE MORE 10 Stocks Warren Buffett Is Selling (And 7 He’s Buying)

Case in point: the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index delivered a total return (price appreciation plus dividends) of -1.6% year-to-date through Jan. 31. That compares with the S&P 500’s total return of -5.2% over the same span.

We won’t know how hedge funds have adapted to current market turmoil until the next batch of regulatory filings come out in May, but we do know how they were positioned heading into 2022.

Surprise, surprise: Hedge funds were heavily invested in most of the market’s biggest and bluest of blue-chip stocks. 

Indeed, components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average are heavily over-represented when it comes to hedge funds’ favorite stock picks. Fully 13 of the Dow’s 30 names rank among the stocks most widely held by hedge funds.

That’s partly a function of Dow stocks’ massive market capitalizations and attendant liquidity, which creates ample room for institutional investors to build or sell large positions. Big-name blue-chip stocks also carry a lower level of reputational risk for professional money managers. (It’s a lot easier to justify holding a large position in a Dow stock than a no-name small-cap if restive clients start grumbling about their returns.)

Be that as it may, almost half these names are not in the famed blue-chip average, and a few of these picks might surprise you. Either way, each hedge-fund favorite is worth a closer look.

Have a look at hedge funds’ 25 top blue-chip stocks to buy now. All these names likely appeal to elite funds because of their size, strong track records or outsized growth prospects. But we’ll delve into a few specifics that make each blue chip special.

Share prices and related data are as of Feb. 27, unless otherwise noted. Companies are listed in reverse order of popularity with hedge funds, according to data from WhaleWisdom. Analysts’ ratings and other data are provided S&P Global Market Intelligence, Morningstar, Refinitiv Stock Reports Plus and YCharts, unless otherwise noted.
  • SEE MORE The 22 Best Stocks to Buy for 2022

The Best College Towns in Maine

No matter your student status, you’ll appreciate these towns.

The post The Best College Towns in Maine appeared first on The Rent.com Blog : A Renter’s Guide for Tips & Advice.