| Previous Close | 10.38 |
| YTD Return | -1.08% |
| Expense Ratio (net) | 0.05% |
| Category | Intermediate-Term Bond |
| Last Cap Gain | 0.00 |
| Morningstar Rating | ★★★★★ |
| Morningstar Risk Rating | Above Average |
| Sustainability Rating | N/A |
| Net Assets | 199.45B |
| Beta (3y) | 1.05 |
| Yield | 2.69% |
| 5y Average Return | N/A |
| Holdings Turnover | 0.00% |
| Last Dividend | 0.00 |
| Average for Category | N/A |
| Inception Date | Nov 12, 2001 |
Among the questions asked of my July 4 column about Taylor Larimore's three-fund portfolio was its historic performance. How would investors have fared had they implemented that idea 20 years ago? Easy to answer, particularly with Morningstar Direct's handy-dandy hypotheticals tool.
Last week's column profiled Taylor Larimore's recommended three-fund portfolio, which consists of three Vanguard offerings: Total Stock Market Index VTSAX , Total International Stock Index VTIAX , and Total Bond Market Index VBTLX . My tax expertise starts and ends with realizing that if I own shares of Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B , I will be tax-free until I sell that position, since the company does not pay a dividend, and stocks, unlike mutual funds, are not forced to distribute their realized net capital gains. The Total International Stock fund would go into my taxable account (two reasons--I can then recover all or most of the foreign tax withholding as a tax credit on the 1040 and second I will get the qualified dividend rate).
For many years, our fund flows showed that fixed income was one area where many investors preferred active management. Owing to the Fed's historic zero interest-rate policy that stretched from December 2008 to December 2016, bond yields were meager. Investors looking for yield were rewarded for taking on credit risk.
This broad, market-cap-weighted fixed-income fund has a durable cost advantage.