Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund: All You Need to Know
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If you are looking to invest your money in the target date funds, you are spoilt for choice. That leads to the question, where should you begin your research on these funds.
One of the best funds in that category is definitely the Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund (VTTHX).
Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund comes with a diversified portfolio within a single fund that has the ability to adjust its asset mix over time.
The diversification is broad and the fund gradually decreases the exposure to stocks while increasing the exposure to bonds as your date of retirement draws closer.
Past the retirement date, the fund will continue adjusting for seven years till the allocations are matched with that of the Target Retirement Income Fund.
The bonds and stock market can be volatile from time to time so investors should have at least some risk tolerance before investing in this fund.
This fund is ideal for people who are expecting to retire between 2033 and 2037. In this post, we will give you a basic idea of the fund and provide you with a starting point for your research on this fund (and the Target-Date category in general).
The information provided in this post about the Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund is based on metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
Let’s get started.
But first let’s have a general idea on how mutual funds and ETF (exchange-traded funds) differ:
1-ETFs (exchange-traded funds) are more liquid; this means they can be sold and bought frequently in the market.
2-ETFs are easy to access like any stocks.
3-ETFs cost you less in annual fees.
4- ETFs are open-ended, which means units can be created or redeemed based on investor’s demand.
5- ETFs have less taxes.
However, Vanguard specifically has become a likeable choice for some investors because of its long list of low-cost mutual funds.
Both mutual funds and ETFs have some similarities in management style and returns, but each product may be more appropriate to different investors.
Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund: All You Need to Know
The Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund invests in different Vanguard mutual funds with an asset allocation strategy that has been tailored for all investors planning to retire around the year 2035.
These are the underlying funds: Vanguard Total Bond Market II Index Fund, Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund, and Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund.
Must Read: How to Invest in Index Funds
Where is the Vanguard Group from?
The manager of the Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund (VTTHX) is the Vanguard group based out of Malvem, Pennsylvania, USA.
The fund was launched in October 2003.
Since that time, VTTHX has gone on to accumulate almost $39 billion in assets under management.
Since February 2013, the fund has been managed by William A. Coleman.
Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund Performance
If you are looking to invest in any fund, the fund manager’s pedigree is important but perhaps nothing is more important than the actual performance of the fund.
The Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund has delivered an annualized return of 7.1% in a five-year period.
In case that window seems a little long for your preference, the three-year annualized return of this fund is also a stellar 10.56%.
The Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund places in the top third among all competing target-date funds in the returns category.
A key aspect of analyzing any particular fund’s performance is observing its standard deviation.
A lower standard deviation points towards a fund that is less volatile.
Compared to a category-average standard deviation of -43.9%, the VTTHX has averaged a standard deviation of 8.79% over the last three years.
In a five-year span, the category average is -0.04% while that of the VTTHX is 9.13%. The fund is clearly more volatile than its competitors.
What are the risk factors of the Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund?
Whenever it comes to investing your hard-earned money, you should never downplay the risk factors associated with whatever you are investing your money in.
The Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 fund outperformed its peer group by 30% despite losing 48.04% in the most recent bear market.
What these numbers signify is that this fund is a safer choice than its peers when it comes to a bearish market environment.
What’s more, the fund’s five-year beta is 0.74, making it hypothetically less volatile than the market in general. Another important factor to consider is alpha.
That number will reflect the fund’s performance on a risk-adjusted basis when compared to a benchmark.
During the last five years, the fund has an alpha of -1.22, when benchmarked against the S&P 500.
What this signifies is that this fund’s managers struggle with selecting securities that can deliver returns that exceed the benchmark.
Must Read: Best Vanguard Funds to Invest In
What are the expenses associated with the Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund?
The mutual fund market is extremely competitive and that makes the cost and expenses very important factors. Let’s consider two similar funds that have given the same returns over the same time period.
All other aspects being the same, the fund with the lower cost will be the outperformer.
Cost-related metrics are crucial for investors to observe. As far as fees are concerned, the VTTHX is a no-load fund.
Compared to the category average of -48.04%, the fund’s expense ratio is 0.13%.
So as far as costs are concerned, the Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund is more expensive than its competitors.
The fund also mandates a minimum initial investment of $1,000.
