(Money Magazine) -- For the Money 70, our recommended list of mutual and exchange-traded funds, 2009 was a year of vindication. After the vast majority of the funds on our list suffered steep losses in 2008's credit crisis, almost all rebounded strongly last year -- with many posting double-digit gains. But short-term returns aren't the point. It's far more important for you to focus on long-term results.
This list was never intended to be a collection of hot funds. Instead, the point of the Money 70 is to give you a menu of high-quality funds and ETFs that you can use to construct a well-diversified portfolio, which in turn will help you achieve your long-term financial goals.
And over lengthy periods of time, Money 70 funds have proved worthwhile -- provided you stuck with them in good times and bad. Take the case of Royce Pennsylvania Mutual. In a decade where gains were hard to come by in the U.S. stock market, this small-cap fund earned 9.5% a year vs. 3.9% for small stocks in general. Yet by moving money into and out of the fund at the worst possible times, Pennsylvania Mutual investors earned just 3.9% annually, according to Morningstar.
The good news: Many Money 70 investors are more patient than average. For example, while Vanguard Windsor II returned 3.8% annually over the past decade, investors in the blue-chip stock fund earned nearly all of that: 3.4% a year.
It just goes to show that you don't need to try to outguess or outperform the market to be a successful investor. Just choose a sensible, long-term strategy and have the patience to hold on during inevitable bad times. This group of funds was designed to help you do just that.
See more on how we picked the funds and what changes we've made since last year.
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMRMX American Funds Mutual Fun... | -1.21% | +0.87% | 0.67% | Value |
| SSHFX Sound Shore Fund | -4.02% | -1.29% | 0.94% | Value |
| PRFDX T Rowe Price Equity Incom... | -0.71% | -0.53% | 0.73% | Value |
| VWNFX Vanguard Windsor II Fund | -4.77% | -1.79% | 0.38% | Value |
| FAIRX Fairholme Fund | +6.11% | +6.41% | 1.01% | Blend |
| SWPPX Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund... | -0.75% | -0.88% | 0.10% | Blend |
| SWTSX Schwab Total Stock Market... | +0.10% | -0.38% | 0.12% | Blend |
| FMIHX FMI Large Cap Fund | -1.49% | +2.81% | 0.97% | Blend |
| IVV iShares S&P 500 Index Fun... | -0.79% | -0.94% | 0.09% | Blend |
| SLASX Selected American Shares | -3.25% | -0.90% | 0.94% | Blend |
| VFINX Vanguard 500 Index Fund | -1.71% | -0.99% | 0.18% | Blend |
| VTSMX Vanguard Total Stock Mark... | -1.02% | -0.51% | 0.18% | Blend |
| VTI Vanguard Total Stock Mark... | -0.16% | -0.41% | 0.07% | Blend |
| AMCPX AMCAP Fund | -3.49% | -0.44% | 0.78% | Growth |
| JENSX Jensen Portfolio | -2.29% | +1.31% | 0.96% | Growth |
| TRBCX T Rowe Price Blue Chip Gr... | -2.56% | -0.28% | 0.81% | Growth |
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEFIX Delafield Fund | +3.26% | +4.34% | 1.26% | Value |
| FAMVX FAM Value Fund | +1.12% | -1.41% | 1.28% | Blend |
| VIMSX Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Fu... | +4.65% | +0.50% | 0.27% | Blend |
| VO Vanguard Mid Cap ETF | +5.70% | +0.57% | 0.14% | Blend |
| CAAPX Ariel Appreciation Fund | -0.68% | +0.15% | 1.25% | Blend |
| FPPFX FPA Perennial Fund | -0.46% | +0.04% | 1.07% | Growth |
| MERDX Meridian Growth Fund | +6.59% | +4.01% | 0.86% | Growth |
| POAGX PRIMECAP Odyssey Aggressi... | +1.22% | +4.45% | 0.79% | Growth |
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRSVX T Rowe Price Small-Cap Va... | +1.56% | +1.08% | 0.97% | Blend |
| PENNX Royce Pennsylvania Mutual... | +0.53% | +1.18% | 0.92% | Blend |
| NAESX Vanguard Small-Cap Index ... | +3.27% | +0.47% | 0.28% | Blend |
| VB Vanguard Small Cap ETF | +4.39% | +0.56% | 0.14% | Blend |
| RYSEX Royce Special Equity Fund... | -0.34% | +3.93% | 1.17% | Blend |
| RYVPX Royce Value Plus Fund | -1.51% | +1.41% | 1.47% | Growth |
| WAAEX Wasatch Small Cap Growth ... | +3.13% | +0.06% | 1.31% | Growth |
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRAIX Bridgeway Aggressive Inve... | -6.87% | -5.83% | 1.20% | -- |
| MUHLX Wexford Muhlenkamp Fund | -5.11% | -7.16% | 1.27% | -- |
| WEHIX Weitz Hickory Fund | +13.25% | -1.40% | 1.33% | -- |
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSRSX Cohen & Steers Realty Sha... | +16.13% | +2.38% | 1.06% | Real Estate |
| DVY iShares Dow Jones Select ... | +4.11% | -3.16% | 0.40% | Dividend Stocks |
| IGE iShares S&P North Amer Na... | -2.94% | +3.11% | 0.48% | Natural Resources |
| RWX SPDR DJ International Rea... | +5.59% | -- | 0.59% | Real Estate |
| PRNEX T Rowe Price New Era Fund... | -4.90% | +3.38% | 0.69% | Natural Resources |
| VGSIX Vanguard REIT Index Fund | +17.45% | +1.50% | 0.26% | Real Estate |
| VNQ Vanguard REIT ETF | +17.72% | +1.34% | 0.13% | Real Estate |
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DODFX Dodge & Cox International... | -1.85% | +2.89% | 0.65% | Large Value |
| OAKIX Oakmark International Fun... | +2.55% | +4.72% | 1.17% | Large Value |
| AEPGX American Funds EuroPacifi... | -3.26% | +4.63% | 0.85% | Large Blend |
| FSIIX Fidelity Spartan Internat... | -4.63% | +0.89% | 0.20% | Large Blend |
| VEA Vanguard Europe Pacific E... | -3.65% | -- | 0.15% | Large Blend |
| VEU Vanguard FTSE All World e... | -1.31% | -- | 0.25% | Large Blend |
| VWIGX Vanguard International Gr... | -0.77% | +3.59% | 0.53% | Large Blend |
| VGTSX Vanguard Total Internatio... | -2.57% | +2.79% | 0.32% | Large Blend |
| ARTIX Artisan International Fun... | -7.60% | +1.86% | 1.22% | Large Growth |
| VFSVX Vanguard FTSE All-World e... | +3.96% | -- | 0.63% | Small/Mid Growth |
| PRIDX T Rowe Price Internationa... | +2.06% | +5.53% | 1.29% | Small/Mid Growth |
| NEWFX American Funds New World ... | +4.94% | +10.28% | 1.18% | Emerging Markets |
| PRMSX T Rowe Price Emerging Mar... | +3.42% | +9.88% | 1.32% | Emerging Markets |
| VEIEX Vanguard Emerging Markets... | +2.70% | +11.55% | 0.40% | Emerging Markets |
| VWO Vanguard Emerging Markets... | +3.85% | +11.61% | 0.27% | Emerging Markets |
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AHITX American Funds High-Incom... | +3.20% | +5.78% | 0.80% | High Yield |
| DODIX Dodge & Cox Income Fund | +3.63% | +6.22% | 0.43% | Intermediate Term |
| FPNIX FPA New Income Fund | +0.92% | +4.32% | 0.60% | Intermediate Term |
| HABDX Harbor Bond Fund | +7.33% | +7.48% | 0.60% | Intermediate Term |
| TIP iShares Barclays TIPS Bon... | +3.61% | +5.19% | 0.20% | Inflation Protected |
| RPIBX T Rowe Price Internationa... | +0.51% | +5.12% | 0.82% | World |
| VIPSX Vanguard Inflation-Protec... | +5.02% | +5.06% | 0.25% | Inflation Protected |
| VWITX Vanguard Intermediate-Ter... | +3.49% | +4.82% | 0.20% | Muni |
| VBISX Vanguard Short-Term Bond ... | +2.50% | +5.05% | 0.22% | Short Term |
| BSV Vanguard Short Term Bond ... | +2.35% | -- | 0.12% | Short Term |
| VBMFX Vanguard Total Bond Marke... | +4.93% | +5.91% | 0.22% | Intermediate Term |
| BND Vanguard Total Bond Marke... | +4.64% | -- | 0.12% | Intermediate Term |
| Fund | YTD Return | 5 yr Return | Expense Ratio | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRRFX T Rowe Price Retirement 2... | +3.26% | +3.65% | 0.60% | -- |
| VTTHX Vanguard Target Retiremen... | +0.34% | +0.68% | 0.19% | -- |
| Note: While Money Magazine recommends all target retirement funds in the T. Rowe Price and Vanguard fund families, data listed are for the T. Rowe Price Retirement 2005 and Vanguard Target Retirement 2035. | ||||
|
Just because oil isn't leaking into the gulf doesn't mean Obama shouldn't seize on oil rig explosions to make the case for comprehensive regulatory reform More |
The president's plan for roads and rail gets high marks for efficiency, but has little chance of passing. More |
Google Instant aims to shave seconds off the average search time. More |
A former Ford engineer teams up with an Italian auto parts supplier to clean up motorcycle emissions in Asia. More |
The state university system agrees to abide by reforms developed by the New York Attorney General. More |
| Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2010 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2010 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2010. All rights reserved. |
