Vangaurd Wellington mutual fund, what are your thoughts?

Im considering investing resources into a Vangaurd Wellington mutual fund, anyone have money invested in this? And is it a good start for new comers?

Is a retirement account the only one that is tax defered?

Vanguard Wellington is a terrific fund for a newcomer. It is a balanced fund with a mixture of (roughly) 65% stocks and 35% bonds. Vanguard recently did a comparison of the ten year period starting in July, 1997, which included the tech boom, the ensuing severe bear market, and later recovery. The market leaders during these three phases were, respectively, domestic stocks, domestic bonds, and international stocks. Wellington trailed the market leader during each of the phases, but nevertheless has the best ten year record. Very impressive.

I personally have about 56k invested in Wellington right now. I consider it a solid core holding. If you own only a single fund, Wellington would be on the short list of funds to consider.

I love vanguard index funds. Low costs and the strategies generally do what they are supposed to do. Beware that most are not quick hit funds, unless you make a sector play, and are more for investing in the long haul.

Vanguard and Fidelity both have some excellent funds.

My main thought related to Wellington is that it will provide average returns. It is too large a fund to offer better than average returns. That being said it should also offer below average volitility.

A more aggresive fund that has the potential to offer better returns is Vanguard Global Equity Fund, about 1/8 the size although it is still relatively large and it holds securities that offer more potential but also more risk.

Wellington is a GREAT fund in a tax deferred account. It is not suitable for a taxable account as the bond holdings (approx 40 %) throw off a lot of income and would cause capital gains. It has a rather high buy in cost at $10,000.00.

If you are looking for a balanced fund with 60% stock and 40% bonds Wellington is hard to beat.

Vanguard's Wellington is a good, conservative fund. If you like balanced funds (stocks plus bonds) also consider Oakmark's Equity and Income: OAKBX