The late Vanguard founder John C. Bogle built his investment philosophy around a simple idea: investors are best served by owning the market at the lowest possible cost. In “The Little Book of Common Sense Investing” and throughout his career, he repeatedly argued that passive indexing gave investors the highest probability of long-term success.
Among his best-known observations were, “The two greatest enemies of the equity fund investor are expenses and emotions,” and “Owning the stock market over the long term is a winner’s game, attempting to beat the market is a loser’s game.”
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Adherence to those principles helped transform Vanguard into the world’s second-largest asset manager, with one of its flagship exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (ticker: VOO), recently surpassing $1 trillion in assets under management.
However, some of Vanguard’s newest products represent a noticeable departure from Bogle’s passive indexing philosophy. In November 2025, the firm launched three actively managed equity ETFs in partnership with Wellington Management, targeting U.S. value, growth and dividend stocks. Their expense ratios range from 0.3% to 0.4%, more than 10 times VOO’s 0.03% fee.
In July, the firm announced a strategic alliance with Wellington Management and alternative asset manager Blackstone to launch the semi-liquid WVB All Markets Fund. The fund combines public stocks and bonds with allocations to private assets via a fund-of-funds model, reflecting the firm’s growing interest in alternative investments.
It is impossible to know what Bogle would have thought of these newer offerings, but Vanguard has operated under different leadership since his retirement and passing. Bogle consistently emphasized low costs, broad diversification, tax efficiency, disciplined investing and staying invested through market cycles. Those same principles remain a useful framework today for long-term investors.
Here are seven of the best Vanguard funds to buy and hold:
| Fund | Expense Ratio |
| Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares (VFIAX) | 0.04% |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTSAX) | 0.04% |
| Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTIAX) | 0.09% |
| Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTWAX) | 0.09% |
| Vanguard LifeStrategy 60/40 Fund (VSMGX) | 0.10% |
| Vanguard Target Retirement 2070 Fund (VSVNX) | 0.08% |
| Vanguard Wellington Fund Investor Shares (VWELX) | 0.24% |
Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares (VFIAX)
“Investors who stay diversified, keep costs low and remain invested through market cycles are far more likely to reach their goals than those trying to outguess short-term market moves,” says Kathy Kellert, head of index equity product at Vanguard. “A buy-and-hold approach helps remove the pressure to constantly react, and instead lets compounding do its work.” VFIAX is one way to execute this strategy.
Unlike its ETF share class VOO, VFIAX does not trade throughout the day. Instead, purchases and redemptions are executed once daily at the fund’s net asset value. The fund carries a slightly higher 0.04% expense ratio and a $3,000 minimum investment, but it is often more readily available in employer-sponsored 401(k) retirement plans and health savings accounts.
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTSAX)
The S&P 500 is often used as a proxy for the U.S. stock market, but it does not actually include the entire market. The index is limited to 500 large-cap companies that must satisfy quantitative requirements for size, liquidity and profitability, followed by a committee’s subjective review before being added or removed. As a result, thousands of mid- and small-cap stocks are left outside the benchmark.
VTSAX tracks the CRSP U.S. Total Market Index, expanding its portfolio to roughly 3,500 stocks while still remaining market-cap weighted. That means its largest holdings closely resemble those of VFIAX, but investors also gain exposure to thousands of smaller companies omitted from the S&P 500. The fund also charges a 0.04% expense ratio and has a $3,000 minimum investment.
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTIAX)
By market capitalization, U.S. stocks account for roughly 60% of the global equity market. Investors who only own domestic companies therefore miss exposure to thousands of businesses listed overseas, including those in developed markets such as Japan, the U.K., Canada and Germany, as well as faster-growing emerging markets such as China, India, Mexico and Brazil.
VTIAX tracks the FTSE Global All Cap ex U.S. Index, a broad benchmark of more than 8,700 market-cap-weighted stocks. The portfolio is allocated approximately 74% to developed markets and 26% to emerging markets, giving investors broad international exposure through a single fund. VTIAX charges a 0.09% expense ratio and also requires a $3,000 minimum investment.
[READ: 10 of the Best Vanguard ETFs to Buy for 2026]
Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTWAX)
Investors can combine VTSAX and VTIAX to build a globally diversified stock portfolio, but doing so raises questions about how much to allocate to each fund and when to rebalance as market values change. Those decisions can create unnecessary analysis paralysis, particularly for long-term buy-and-hold investors who simply want global market exposure without having to making active allocation decisions.
VTWAX eliminates that decision by tracking the FTSE Global All Cap Index, which holds roughly 10,000 market-cap-weighted stocks across the U.S., developed markets and emerging markets in a single portfolio. Because the fund adjusts its regional weights as global market capitalizations evolve, investors do not need to manually rebalance between U.S. and international stocks.
Vanguard LifeStrategy 60/40 Fund (VSMGX)
Vanguard has long argued that successful investing depends less on predicting which countries, sectors or individual stocks will outperform and more on factors investors can actually control, such as their savings rate, tax efficiency, dividend reinvestment and, perhaps most importantly, asset allocation. For investors seeking a simple solution, Vanguard offers its LifeStrategy lineup of mutual funds.
These funds feature various preset allocations to globally diversified stocks and bonds. For example, VSMGX follows the classic 60-40 balanced portfolio. Investors currently receive a 2.6% 30-day SEC yield after a 0.1% expense ratio, and the fund carries Vanguard’s standard $3,000 minimum investment. The fund has delivered an 8.5% annualized total return over the trailing 10-year period before taxes.
Vanguard Target Retirement 2070 Fund (VSVNX)
“Vanguard’s target retirement funds are a solution for investors who want a globally diversified portfolio that adjusts its risk profile over time,” says Brian Miller, head of multi-asset product management at Vanguard. “Pick the target date closest to when you plan to retire, and the fund allocates to a low-cost mix of stocks and bonds that gets more conservative as you approach retirement.”
For example, investors just entering the workforce can use VSVNX, if it is offered through their 401(k) plan. The fund charges a competitive 0.08% expense ratio and requires only a $1,000 minimum investment. Today, the portfolio is invested approximately 90% in stocks and 10% in bonds, with that allocation gradually becoming more conservative as the target retirement date approaches.
Vanguard Wellington Fund Investor Shares (VWELX)
“Launched in 1929, VWELX has seen it all: the Great Depression, World War II, the intense bear market of the 1970s, the subsequent bull market of the ’80s and ’90s, the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, just to name a few,” Miller says. This longstanding mutual fund is actually more affordable than all three of Vanguard’s new Wellington actively managed ETFs, at a 0.24% expense ratio.
VWELX follows an allocation of roughly two-thirds stocks and one-third bonds. The equity sleeve emphasizes large-cap companies with above-average dividend yields, attractive valuations and improving fundamentals, while the fixed-income side focuses primarily on intermediate-duration investment-grade corporate bonds. The fund has delivered an annualized total return of 8.4% since inception.
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7 Best Vanguard Funds to Buy and Hold originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 07/28/26: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
