The Vanguard Group differs greatly from most other asset managers and mutual fund companies. Vanguard is organized as a mutual company, meaning that the firm is ultimately owned by the shareholders who invest in its funds. Before Vanguard made index funds available to the general public, index tracking was only done by institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies.
Vanguard's mission statement is as follows: "To take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success." The company's commitment to shareholders and its well-earned reputation for low fees and reasonable expenses make it especially well-suited for long-term investing.
Here are seven of the best Vanguard funds to invest in for retirement:
Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund Admiral Shares (ticker: VDADX). VDADX is an index fund based on the S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index. To be included in that index and subsequently in VDADX, a company must be based in the U.S. and have a documented history of increasing its dividend for at least 10 consecutive years. From that pool, the index excludes the top 25% highest-yielding stocks, with the remainder making up the index.
The information technology sector is the fund's largest sector weight, representing 23.6% of assets. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.08%.
Vanguard Core Bond Fund Investor Shares (VCORX). Investors should not neglect fixed-income funds when constructing their retirement portfolios, and VCORX should be looked at as a core bond fund holding. The fund invests predominately in a diversified portfolio of U.S. government and U.S. government agency bonds ranging in maturity from short term to long term. Being actively managed, it carries an expense ratio that's somewhat higher than some other funds on this list, but the 0.2% fee is still quite low compared to its peers.
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Cash back credit cards can help you save on everyday expenses such as groceries, gas, dining out and more. This can be a boon to your budget as high prices persist. Review our picks for the best cash back cards available today. S&P 5005,150.48 (-0.29%)
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*Market data as of Thursday's close.
Here's what you missed in the markets yesterday.
Stocks fell on Thursday, as fears about the stubbornness of inflation weighed on the markets. After a slightly hotter-than-expected reading from February's consumer price index numbers on Tuesday, investors got another uncomfortably warm reading from the producer price index (PPI), which measures wholesale prices, on Thursday.
PPI showed a 0.6% month-over-month increase last month, well ahead of the 0.3% reading economists were expecting. As has been the case for some time now, markets are closely watching how quickly inflation dissipates, as it will largely determine how quickly the Federal Reserve gets to the interest rate cuts markets so eagerly expect.
The S&P 500 lost 0.29% on the day.
Microsoft keeps chugging. The big got bigger on Thursday as software giant Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) tacked on 2.4% and hit a new all-time high. The most valuable publicly traded company in the U.S., now worth more than $3.1 trillion, caught a boost from JPMorgan analysts, who reiterated an "overweight" rating on Microsoft shares, emphasizing the company's impressive cybersecurity AI tools and emphasizing the utility of applications on its AI "companion," Copilot.
- Caught Our Eye written by John Divine Today's earnings reports. Companies expected to report earnings today include Jabil Inc. (JBJ), Embraer SA (ERJ), EHang Holdings Ltd. (EH) and Groupon Inc. (GRPN). | 
