16 years ago, when I first started my Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors, there were 55 Vanguard mutual funds and ETFs. Today, the number has doubled to over 100 with $1 trillion under management.

What’s more, Vanguard has begun to “outsource” some of their fund management, which means navigating the Vanguard waters is more hazardous than ever before.

Knowing which Vanguard funds to choose – and which to avoid – requires the average investor to really dig out the facts hidden behind the hype. Don’t rely on Vanguard to help. Like any company, they accentuate the positive–and bury the negative.

Since I have no affiliation with Vanguard, I’ve made it my business to learn everything there is to know about the Vanguard family of mutual funds. Who the fund managers are, what are the best funds to invest in, which funds carry the most risk, which funds charge hidden fees, which ones are supposedly “closed” but actually are not.

The Truth About Risk at Vanguard

For one thing, too many Vanguard investors believe their funds carry little if any risk, at least over the long haul. But nothing can be further from the truth. Many Vanguard funds are extremely risky and could spell disaster for the portfolios of unaware investors.

So really, truly, how much can you lose?

Truth is, every year you stay with Vanguard funds can cost you plenty – if you choose the wrong ones

For example, take Vanguard’s new “lifecycle” funds. There are 11 Target Retirement funds alone, and Vanguard is pushing them like nobody’s business. They’re cropping up in 401(k) plans all over the place.

You’re excused if you can’t figure out which to buy. But I’ll make it easy for you. Don’t bother with any of them.

At first glance, their relative returns and low risk look attractive. Believe me, looks can be deceiving. There are other Vanguard funds that are even safer, and perform much better.

And then there’s fund management. Very few of the average investors can spot a good manager from bad. Problem is, bad managers can make good funds head south in a heartbeat.

One prime example is this popular, high-growth fund that Vanguard’s financial advisers still recommend to their new investors. But they won’t tell you that its glory days are long gone – all because of bad management. Trust me–you don’t want you to get caught in the nets of this loser.

What about sector funds? With energy prices heading upwards and gold over $900 an ounce, sector funds are where the action is, right? Not where I see it. Sure, some of Vanguards sector funds are up 33% overall. But when the prices come down, these sector funds crash and burn. They’ll make the tech fever of the ’90s look like a cakewalk.

What’s Missing From the Mutual Fund Performance Numbers?

Don’t think the best way to measure Vanguard mutual fund performance is the 3-year and 5-year rankings you get from Morningstar or in the financial pages. Vanguard’s performance numbers don’t tell you the whole truth. They don’t ask the tough questions I do.

I’ve developed a much better system called Maximum Cumulative Loss (MCL). The simple numbers tell you what a fund’s absolute greatest loss has been during any specific period. So you know precisely how risky the fund is.

For example, while Value Index shows an annualized 10-year return of 9.4%, our Maximum Cumulative Loss indicator flashes an urgent warning signal. It had the potential to lose 39.1%!

Many investors are shocked to learn that they could lose so much in a “safe” value fund, or that it could take over 2 years to get even from such a loss.

MCL helps me uncover the real numbers behind the performance of Vanguard’s funds–the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’ll tell you how it can work for you in my new report. Get it here.

The Myth of Indexing

Here’s something else Vanguard won’t tell you:

Vanguard became famous for indexing, but index investors have no idea how risky those funds can be. With a volatile market and a subprime crisis, index funds are plummeting.
But Vanguard knows investors who plunk money into an index become “passive.” Their money goes “dead.” And Vanguard never has to worry about these clients getting antsy. Indexing is a great business–but it’s a lousy investment!

The big famous Index funds at Vanguard have chronically underperformed over the last few years, exposing conservative investors to the worst risks of bear markets.  From 2000 to 2005, Vanguard’s index funds were down a collective 13.3%.

Worst of all, money plunked into index funds aren’t growing. The indexes are so vulnerable right now, I must urge you to SELL now.

Meanwhile, our Vanguard “Best-of-the-Best” picks have beaten the indexes more than FOUR-TO-ONE.

I’ll tell you safer, more profitable ways to invest in my new report. Get the details here.

7 Flunking Funds – Sell Them Now

In Vanguard’s 7 Failing Funds, I reveal the 7 Vanguard funds that don’t deserve your money–despite what your broker may say.

Their names include some of Vanguard’s most popular. But some are overexposed in technology–yet they’re not what you’d consider “technology funds.” Some have inexperienced managers, or management-by-committee, which invariably leads to mediocrity. Get their names, and my take on why you need to sell them now.

I’ll also tell you about the perfect low-risk/high-profit investment for today’s volatile market conditions. Yet few investors have heard of it.

This is one of my top buys right now for one simple reason: It’s a fund with a history of protecting shareholders. Its approach to selecting both growth and value stocks meant it didn’t dive as deep in the 2002 bear market.

This fund uses computer models to select stocks for its portfolio using a special index benchmark to avoid straying too far from the “norm.” As the markets swing from growth to value, or vice-versa, this fund goes with the flow.

I am so enthusiastic about this fund that I am putting a great deal of my own money…my family’s money…and the money of my wealthiest clients into it.

I’ll give you the name of this #1 fund, and complete particulars in the free report I want to send you, introducing you to the advisory I write, The Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors. Access it immediately here:

A 136% Advantage

For over 16 years, I’ve shown Vanguard investor how to win by avoiding loss. Everything I do is designed to look squarely at risk first. This means getting away from underperforming, poorly run, undiversified or tax-inefficient funds.

Let me also add here that Vanguard investors who have followed my advice over the last 16 years have avoided the significant losses of the market. In fact, they’ve made 136% more profit than the typical, “go-it-alone” Vanguard investors.

In times like these, don’t you need profits like that?

From this day forward, your wealth can withstand the worst…and take advantage of the best…so that your portfolio can push forward to greater rewards. I’m here to help. Get started today with my just-released report, Vanguard’s 7 Failing Funds, Plus the 1 Fund to Buy Now is available free. Sign up for it here.