Here are the Best Options for Hosting Your Website

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There are dozens of decisions to make when you start a blog or build a niche website (one of our recommendations for a source of passive income), and choosing a web hosting provider is easily one of the most important. Your web host is the company that ensures your site is constantly live and up-to-date with your chosen design and files. Some web hosting companies also extend valuable services to their customers, ranging from assistance with marketing to 24/7 customer support.

Comparing the best web hosting companies can be totally overwhelming, which is why we pored over all the top options today to create this ranking. If you don’t want to read this entire guide, you should know that Bluehost is easily our top pick among web hosting companies. Not only are their starter plans insanely affordable, but they offer extra functionality and tools that can make getting started a breeze.

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The Most Important Factors

Cost of Services: For web owners who are first starting out, keeping ongoing expenses under control is crucial. We compared hosting providers to ensure the ones in our ranking offer some affordable “starter” plans that won’t cost an arm and a leg. We also made sure more expensive hosting plans for advanced websites offered plenty of value.

Customer Support: Because maintaining a live and functional website is crucial at all times, we looked for web hosting companies that offer 24/7 customer support.

Plan Variety: Because different types of websites need different features, we looked for hosting companies that offer a broad range of plans to meet unique client needs. This includes shared hosting plans, dedicated hosting plans, and certain high performance hosting solutions.

Network Security: Security of your network is crucial, which is why we only looked at hosting providers whose network security is standard for the industry or better.

The Best Web Hosting Companies

The best web hosting companies offer quality services for a monthly fee most website owners can afford. They also come with excellent customer service that is available around the clock as well as valuable tools that can help you take your website to the next level.

Company Best For  
Best Overall Get Started
Best Freebies Get Started
Best for Unlimited Websites Get Started
Best Budget Option Get Started
Best for High Traffic Sites Get Started

Web Hosting Company Reviews

You really need to do some digging to figure out which web host offers the services you need for a monthly cost you can afford. The following reviews can help you pick among the best web hosting services that made our ranking.

Bluehost: Best Overall

Why It Made the List: When it comes to web hosting plans for business owners and bloggers, BlueHost is typically the first company people turn to. Shared hosting plans typically start at around $2.95 per month, so this provider can be insanely affordable. Of course, you can also utilize Bluehost for a VPS plan with more power, control and flexibility, or for dedicated hosting with more customization.

Bluehost also offers special features when it comes to integrating and maintaining your WordPress site, and they offer 24/7 customer support that makes resolving web problems a breeze. We like the fact that you can call into Bluehost for customer support or chat with an expert on the web if you prefer. Also note that Bluehost plans come with a dedicated email, and that Bluehost makes it easy to transfer an existing domain or begin hosting a new website. Bluehost even offers a migration concierge service that can help you move your site over once you’re ready.

What Holds It Back: One major downside of Bluehost is the fact that you can only host your website in the United States. Their starter hosting plans are also fairly limited, so you could wind up having to pay for a more expensive plan as your website grows.

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HostGator: Best Freebies

Why It Made the List: HostGator is another popular hosting provider that tends to work well for beginners to intermediate website owners. A basic hosting builder plan from HostGator starts at just $5.95 per month, and this plan is good for sites with up to 100,000 visits per month. You’ll receive 1GB of backups as well as a free SSL certificate and a free domain as well.

With that being said, you can also upgrade to a Standard or Business WordPress hosting plan, both of which cost only slightly more. These plans work better for websites with more traffic over all.

As a side note, HostGator also offers Website Builder plans that are geared to new bloggers, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting. They offer 24/7 customer service support, and they can help you migrate your site from another host. You also get a 45-day money back guarantee that lets you try HostGator without a financial commitment.

Finally, HostGator promises to have your website live and functional 99.9% of the time. This promise speaks for itself.

What Holds It Back: The biggest complaint we hear about HostGator is their lack of email support. You need to call in or chat to get help with your website, which can be considerably more time consuming when compared to sending off an email.

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SiteGround: Best for Unlimited Websites

Why It Made the List: SiteGround offers web hosting, WordPress hosting, WooCommerce hosting, and Cloud hosting, along with easy and fast website building tools and a smooth website transfer process. Their hosting plans start at just $3.95 per month, yet this beginner plan is only good for single site hosting. With that being said, their GrowBig and GoGeek plans include unlimited websites, so they’re a great option if you want to set up hosting for multiple domains you own.

SiteGround’s GrowBig plan is their best seller, and it’s easy to see why. This plan is for unlimited websites as we mentioned, and you get 20 GB of web space. You also get a free SSL certificate, daily backups, free email, managed WordPress, and a 30-day money back guarantee, among other perks.

SiteGround is well known for their customer service, including the fact they offer 24/7 assistance via phone, email or chat. They also offer top notch security and reliable email service, both of which are important as you get your business off the ground.

What Holds It Back: One major downside that comes with SiteGround hosting is the fact that their plans come with limited data storage. Also note that their introductory pricing is on the low end, but that you’ll pay considerably more for hosting once your introductory offer period ends.

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Hostinger: Best Budget Option

Why It Made the List: Hostinger made our list as the best budget option based on the affordability of their shared hosting plans for small and medium websites. You’ll pay just $0.99 per month for a Single shared hosting plan, and it’s still only $2.15 per month once the introductory period ends. Even their Premium shared hosting plans and Business shared hosting plans are only $2.89 and $3.99 per month during the introductory period respectively.

With that being said, their Single plan can be plenty for someone who is building a beginner website. This plan is only good for one site, but you do get an email address. You also get 100GB of bandwidth and 1x processing power and memory, 24/7 customer support, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and plenty of other perks. If you want a free domain and daily backups, however, you do have to move up to the Premium shared hosting plan.

Also note that Hostinger offers VPS hosting plans, cloud hosting, email hosting, and specific WordPress hosting plans. Hostinger also offers a 30-day money back guarantee.

What Holds It Back: Hostinger’s cheapest hosting plan doesn’t even back your information up on a daily basis, although you can add it onto your plan or upgrade to another one of their plans that includes this feature. Limited bandwidth can also be a problem with their basic hosting plan.

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Liquid Web: Best for High Traffic Sites

Why It Made the List: LiquidWeb offers an array of features that make their plans better for advanced or high traffic sites. You can choose from cloud hosting plans as well as hosting plans on a dedicated server. Their dedicated server plans are for high performance websites who need fast speeds and the highest level of security. Obviously their plans are considerably more expensive than other hosting firms, yet you get so much in return. If you sign up for their Intel Xeon 1230 plan, for example, you get 5 TB of bandwidth, 250 GB Acronis Cyber Backups, 4 cores @ 3.9 GHz Max, 16 32 GB RAM, and more.

Liquid Web is also known for their exceptional customer support, which is offered 24 hours a day and seven days a week via the phone, email, or chat. They also employ highly-trained technicians who know how to troubleshoot your problems and get you back online, and they don’t require contracts so you can cancel at any time.

Liquid Web also offers a 100% uptime guarantee, as well as a response from their help desk within 59 minutes each and every time.

What Holds It Back: The only major downside of dealing with Liquid Web is price. You’ll get a lot of bang for your buck, but many website owners cannot justify the cost of their hosting plans until they’re earning a substantial amount of money each month.

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How We Found the Best Website Hosting Providers

There are a lot of companies offering web hosting today, but these firms are not created equal. To come up with the best web hosting providers for our ranking, we considered the following criteria:

Cost and Value
We believe the cost of hosting services is crucial, and that’s especially true if you’re a beginning blogger who is trying to keep their investment at a minimum. Most of the web hosting companies on our list offer a plan for beginners for less than $5 per month.

With that being said, there is a difference between cost and value. In addition to cost, we looked for web hosting providers that offer plenty of features and support in exchange for their monthly fees. You don’t have to pay a lot to get a lot of support right out of the gate, and we believe the choices we made in this ranking reflect that.

Customer Support
We also looked for web hosting providers that offer 24/7 customer support via a support phone line, chat, or email. We gave precedence to companies that offer support through all three mediums, and especially ones who have a reputation for speedy and quality customer service responses.

Migration Support
Setting up a new website can be a pain, but migrating an existing site to a new host can be a nightmare. For that reason, we looked for web hosting providers that offer exceptional migration support for free or for a fee.

Hosting Options
Finally, we all know that there are a lot of hosting options available today, ranging from VPS hosting to cloud hosting and shared hosting. We looked for companies that offer a variety of options at different price points that could make financial sense for a wide range of business models.

A Few Tips When Choosing Your Hosting Provider

Choosing a web hosting plan and provider can be overwhelming, yet the decision you make can have an impact on your website and its functionality for years to come. Whether you’re an advanced ecommerce expert, an established blogger, or a newbie, these tips can help you pick a web hosting plan that will work for your needs.

  • Don’t be afraid to start small. If you’re first starting out, you shouldn’t spend too much time picking a web hosting plan. Bluehost is an easy default option for most people since it is easy to set up and incredibly affordable on a month-to-month basis. Don’t be afraid to start with a basic web hosting plan that can help you launch your website, and remember that you can always upgrade to a plan with more storage or features later on.
  • Remember that introductory pricing won’t last forever. Most web hosts offer a cheap introductory price for their web hosting plans, but it’s important to know that the lowest prices don’t last forever. As you compare web hosting based on affordability, make sure to compare introductory prices and long-term prices to determine how much you’ll pay after the first year.
  • Do some research to determine the type of hosting you need. Do you need hosting on a dedicated server? Are you okay with a shared hosting plan? Maybe you need a hosting plan that is geared to ecommerce sites. Either way, it helps to have an understanding of the type of hosting you need ahead of time. That way, you can compare plans from different providers on an apples-to-apples basis.
  • Consider hosting plans that can grow with you. If you hate the idea of switching hosts, you may also want to consider companies that offer tiered hosting plans that can grow right along with you. This means starting with a basic plan, but being open to switching to a premium plan with more features and faster speeds as time goes on. You may also want to start with a shared hosting plan then migrate to dedicated hosting or VPS hosting as your business grows.

Definitions for Common Web Hosting Terms

Backup: Some web hosting providers advertise their “backup” services. This means that they back up your data on a regular basis (usually a daily basis) to make sure new information on your website isn’t lost.
Bandwidth: This term is used to describe the rate of data transfer within a given amount of time. More bandwidth means you’ll have faster speeds.
Blog: Blog is a term commonly used to describe a website run by an individual or group of individuals. Some blogs serve as personal diaries, whereas other blogs are set up to earn income on a passive basis.
Cloud Hosting: Cloud hosting allows your website to run via a server that stores all your data virtually in a cloud.
Dedicated Server: You can sign up for a shared hosting service, but you can also opt for a dedicated server instead. This means you’ll have access to a single dedicated server that is set up to host only your account, giving you complete control and the potential for higher performance.
Domain Name: Your domain name is the name you give your website. An example of a domain name is GoodFinancialCents.com.
Server: A server is a system that serves as the home of your website, and most servers are owned by web hosting providers.
Shared Hosting: Shared hosting plans allow you to share server space and resources with other users, typically for a much lower cost. For that reason, shared hosting is ideal for beginning bloggers.
Site Speed: Site speed is a term used to describe how fast your website is able to operate.
VPS Hosting: VPS stands for “virtual private server.” This type of hosting lets you access virtualized technology that allows your website to be hosted on a dedicated server with more than one user.
WordPress: WordPress is a popular blogging platform that many people use to build and oversee their websites. Many web hosting plans also integrate with WordPress for ultimate functionality and convenience.

Summary: Best Web Hosting Services

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The post Here are the Best Options for Hosting Your Website appeared first on Good Financial Cents®.

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What Happens to Mortgage Rates When the Fed Cuts Rates?

by Posted in Home, Home Improvement Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Just about everybody with a wallet is impacted by the Federal Reserve. That means you—homeowners and prospective buyers. Whether you’re already nestled in to the house of your dreams or still looking to find it, you’ll probably want to track what happens to mortgage rates when the Fed cuts rates. When the Fed (as it’s commonly referred to) cuts its federal funds rate—the rate banks charge each other to lend funds overnight—the move could impact your mortgage costs.

The Fed’s overall goal when it cuts the federal funds rate is to stimulate the economy by spurring consumers to spend and borrow. This is good news if you are carrying debt because borrowing tends to become less expensive following a Fed rate cut (think: lower credit card APRs). But in the case of homeownership, what happens to mortgage rates when the Fed cuts rates can be a double-edged sword.

What happens to mortgage rates when the Fed cuts rates depends on many factors.

The connection between a Fed rate cut and mortgage rates isn’t so crystal clear because the federal funds rate doesn’t directly influence the rate on every type of home loan.

“Mortgage rates are formed by global market forces, and the Federal Reserve participates in those market forces but isn’t always the most important factor,” says Holden Lewis, who’s been covering the mortgage industry for nearly 20 years and is also a regular contributor to NerdWallet.

To understand which side of the sword you’re on, you’ll need an answer to the question, “How does a Fed rate cut affect mortgage rates?” Read on to find out if you stand to potentially gain on your mortgage in a low-rate environment:

How a fixed-rate mortgage moves—or doesn’t

A fixed-rate mortgage has an interest rate that remains the same for the entire length of the loan. If the Fed cuts rates, what happens to mortgage rates if you are an existing homeowner with a fixed-rate mortgage? Nothing should happen to your monthly payments following a Fed rate cut because your rate has already been locked in.

“For current homeowners with a fixed-rate mortgage set at a previous higher level, the existing mortgage rate stays put,” Lewis says.

If you’re a prospective homebuyer shopping around for a fixed-rate mortgage, the news of what happens to mortgage rates when the Fed cuts rates may be different.

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For prospective homebuyers: If the Fed cuts its interest rate and the 10-year Treasury yield is similarly tracking, the rates on fixed-rate mortgages could drop, “and you could lock in interest at a lower fixed rate than before.”

– Holden Lewis, mortgage expert and NerdWallet contributor

The federal funds rate does not directly impact the rates on this type of home loan, so a Fed rate cut doesn’t guarantee that lenders will start offering lower mortgage rates. However, the 10-year Treasury yield does tend to influence fixed-rate mortgages, and this yield often moves in the same direction as the federal funds rate.

If the Fed cuts its interest rate and the 10-year Treasury yield is similarly tracking, the rates on fixed-rate mortgages could drop, “and you could lock in interest at a lower fixed rate than before,” Lewis says. It’s also possible that rates on fixed mortgages will not fall following a Fed rate cut.

How an adjustable-rate mortgage follows the Fed

An adjustable-rate mortgage (commonly referred to as an ARM) is a home loan with an interest rate that can fluctuate periodically—also known as variable rate. There is often a fixed period of time during which the initial rate stays the same, and then it adjusts on a regular interval. (For instance, with a 5/1 ARM, the initial rate stays locked in for five years and then adjusts each year thereafter.)

So back to the burning question: If the Fed cuts rates, what happens to mortgage rates? The rates on an ARM typically track with the index that the loan uses, e.g., the prime rate, which is in turn influenced by the federal funds rate.

If the Fed cuts rates, what happens to mortgage rates? If you have an adjustable-rate mortgage, you may see your rate change.

“If the Fed drops its rate during the adjustment period, you could see your interest rate go down and, in turn, see lower monthly payments,” says Emily Stroud, financial advisor and founder of Stroud Financial Management.

Since ARMs are often adjusted annually after the fixed period, you may not feel the impact of the Fed rate cut until your ARM’s next annual loan adjustment. For instance, if there is one (or more) rate cuts during the course of a year, the savings from the rate reduction(s) would hit all at once at the time of your reset.

If the Fed cuts rates, what happens to mortgage rates for prospective homebuyers considering an ARM? An even lower rate could be in your future—at least for a specific period of time.

“If you’re looking for a shorter-term mortgage, say a 5/1 ARM, you could save considerably on interest,” Stroud says. That’s because the introductory rate of an ARM is usually lower than the rate of a fixed-rate mortgage, Stroud explains. Add that benefit to lower rates fueled by a Fed rate cut and an ARM could be enticing if it supports your financial goals and plans.

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“If the Fed drops its rate during the adjustment period, you could see your interest rate go down and, in turn, see lower monthly payments.” 

– Emily Stroud, financial advisor and founder of Stroud Financial Management

Benefits of other variable-rate loans following a rate cut

If you have a Fed rate cut and mortgage rates on your mind and are a borrower with other types of variable-rate loans, you could be impacted following a Fed rate cut. Borrowers with variable-rate home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and adjustable-rate Federal Housing Administration loans (FHA ARMs), for example, may end up ahead of the curve when the Fed cuts its rate, according to Lewis:

  • A HELOC is typically a “second mortgage” that provides you access to cash for goals like debt consolidation or home improvement and is a revolving line of credit, using your home as collateral. A Fed rate cut could result in lower rates for variable-rate HELOCs that track with the prime rate. If you are an existing homeowner with a HELOC, you could see your monthly payments drop following a Fed rate cut.
  • An FHA ARM is an ARM insured by the federal government. If you’re wondering about a Fed rate cut and mortgage rates, know that this type of mortgage behaves much like a conventional variable-rate loan when the Fed cuts it rate, Lewis says. Existing homeowners with an FHA ARM could see a rate drop, and prospective homebuyers could also benefit from lower rates following a Fed rate cut.

When it comes to a Fed rate cut and mortgage rates, refinancing to a lower rate could be an option for existing homeowners.

Refinancing: A silver lining for fixed rates

When it comes to a Fed rate cut and mortgage rates, refinancing to a lower rate could be an option if you have an existing fixed-rate loan. The process of refinancing replaces an existing loan with a new one that pays off your old loan’s debt. You then make payments on your new loan, so the goal is to refinance at a time when you can get better terms.

“If someone buys a home one year and a Fed rate cut results in a mortgage rate reduction, for example, it presents a real refinance opportunity for homeowners,” Lewis says. “Just a small percentage point reduction could possibly trim a few hundred bucks from your monthly payments.”

Before a refinancing decision is made based on a Fed rate cut and mortgage rates, you should consider any upfront costs and fees associated with refinancing to ensure they don’t offset any potential savings.

Managing your finances as a homeowner

You might be expecting some savings in your future now that you’re armed with information on what happens to mortgage rates when the Fed cuts rates. Whether you’re a homebuyer and financing your new home is going to cost you less with a lower interest rate, or you’re an existing homeowner with an ARM that may come with lower monthly payments, Stroud suggests to use any uncovered savings wisely.

“Invest that cash back into your property, pay down your home equity debt or borrow with it,” she says.

Understanding the connection between the Fed rate cut and mortgage rates can help you better manage your finances as a homeowner.

While news of a Fed rate cut may entice you to analyze how your mortgage will be impacted, remember there are many factors that help to determine your mortgage rate, including your credit score, home price, loan amount and down payment. The Fed’s actions are only one piece of a larger equation.

Even though the Fed’s rate decisions may dominate headlines immediately following a rate cut, your home is a long-term investment and one you’ll likely maintain for years. To best prepare for what happens to mortgage rates when the Fed cuts rates is to always manage your home finances responsibly and be sure to make choices that will lead you down the right path based on your financial goals.

*This should not be considered tax or investment advice. Please consult a financial planner or tax advisor if you have questions.

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The post What Happens to Mortgage Rates When the Fed Cuts Rates? appeared first on Discover Bank – Banking Topics Blog.

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What Are Mutual Funds? Understanding The Basics

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If you’re one of those investors with very little time to research and invest in individual stocks, it might be a good idea to look into investing in mutual funds.

Whether your goal is to save money for retirement, or for a down payment to buy a house, mutual funds are low-cost and effective way to invest your money.

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What is a mutual fund?

A mutual fund is an investment vehicle in which investors, like you ad me, pool their money together. They use the money to invest in securities such as stocks and bonds. A professional manages the funds.

In addition, mutual funds are cost efficient. They offer diversification to your portfolio. They have low minimum investment requirements.

These factors make mutual funds among the best investment vehicles to use. If you’re a beginner investor, you should consider investing in mutual funds or index funds.

Investing in the stock market in general, can be intimidating. If you are just starting out and don’t feel confident in your investing knowledge, you may value the advice of a financial advisor.

Types of mutual funds

There are different types of mutual funds. They are stock funds, bond funds, and money market funds.

Which funds you choose depends on your risk tolerance. While mutual funds in general are less risky than investing in individual stocks, some funds are riskier than others.

However, you can choose a combination of these three types of funds to diversify your portfolio.

  • Stock funds: a stock fund is a fund that invests heavily in stocks. However, that does not mean stock funds do not have other securities, i.e., bonds. It’s just that the majority of the money invested is in stocks.
  • Bond funds: if you don’t want your portfolio to fluctuate in value as stocks do, then you should consider bond funds.
  • Money market funds: money market funds are funds that you invest in if you tend to tap into your investment in the short term.
  • Sector funds. As the name suggests, sector funds are funds that invests in one particular sector or industry. For example, a fund that invests only in the health care industry is a sector fund. These mutual funds lack diversification. Therefore, you should avoid them or use them in conjunction to another mutual fund.

Additional funds

  • Index funds. Index funds seek to track the performance of a particular index, such as the Standard & Poor’s 500 index of 500 large U.S. company stocks or the CRSP US Small Cap Index. When you invest in the Vanguard S&P 500 Index fund, you’re essentially buying a piece of the 500 largest publicly traded US companies. Index funds don’t jump around. They stay invested in the market. 
  • Income funds: These funds focus invest primarily in corporate bonds. They also invest in some high-dividend stocks.
  • Balance funds: The portfolio of these funds have a mixed of stocks and bonds. Those funds enjoy capital growth and income dividend.

Related Article: 3 Ways to Protect Your Portfolio from the Volatile Stock Market

The advantages of mutual funds

Diversification. You’ve probably heard the popular saying “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” Well, it applies to mutual funds. Mutual funds invest in stocks or bonds from dozens of companies in several industries.

Thus, your risk is spread. If a stock of a company is not doing well, a stock from another company can balance it out. While most funds are diversified, some are not.

For example, sector funds which invest in a specific industry such as real estate can be risky if that industry is not doing well.

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Professional Management.

Mutual funds are professionally managed. These fund managers are well educated and experienced. Their job is to analyze data, research companies and find the best investments for the fund.

Thus, investing in mutual funds can be a huge time saver for those who have very little time and those who lack expertise in the matter.

Cost Efficiency. The operating expenses and the cost that you pay to sell or buy a fund are cheaper than trading in individual securities on your own. For example, the best Vanguard mutual funds have operating expenses as low as 0.04%. So by keeping expenses low, these funds can help boost your returns.

Low or Reasonable Minimum Investment. The majority of mutual funds, Vanguard mutual funds, for example, have a reasonable minimum requirement. Some funds even have a minimum of $1,000 and provide a monthly investment plan where you can start with as little as $50 a month.

Related Article: 7 Secrets Smart Professionals Use to Choose Financial Advisors

The disadvantage of mutual funds.

While there are several benefits to investing in mutual funds, there are some disadvantages as well. 

Active Fund Management. Mutual funds are actively managed. That means fund mangers are always on the look out for the best securities to purchase. That also means they can easily make mistakes.

Cost/expenses. While cost and expenses of investing in individual stocks are significantly higher than mutual funds, cost of a mutual fund can nonetheless be significant.

High cost can have a negative effect on your investment return. These fees are deducted from your mutual fund’s balance every year. Other fees can apply as well. So always find a company with a low cost. 

How you make money with mutual funds.

You make money with mutual funds the same way you would with individual stocks: dividend, capital gain and appreciation.

Dividend: Dividends are cash distributions from a company to its shareholders. Some companies offer dividends; others do not. And those who do pay out dividends are not obligated to do so. And the amount of dividends can vary from year to year.

As a mutual fund investor, you may receive dividend income on a regular basis.

Mutual funds offer dividend reinvestment plans. This means that instead of receiving a cash payment, you can reinvest your dividend income into buying more shares in the fund.

Capital gain distribution: in addition to receiving dividend income from the fund, you make money with mutual funds when you make a profit by selling a stock. This is called “capital gain.”

Capital gain occurs when the fund manager sells stocks for more he bought them for. The resulting profits can be paid out to the fund’s shareholders. Just as dividend income, you have the choice to reinvest your gains in the fund.

Appreciation: If stocks in your fund have appreciated in value, the price per share of the fund will increase as well. So whether you hold your shares for a short term or long term, you stand to make a profit when the shares rise. 

Best mutual funds.

Now that you know mutual funds make excellent investments, finding the best mutual funds can be overwhelming. 

Vanguard mutual funds.

Vanguard mutual funds are the best out there, because they are relatively cheaper; they are of high quality; a professional manage them; and their operating expenses are relative low. 

Here is a list of the best Vanguard mutual funds that you should invest in:

  • Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Funds
  • Vanguard 500 Index (VFIAX)
  • Total International Stock index Fund
  • Vanguard Health Care Investor

Vanguard Total Stock Market Fund 

If you’re looking for a diversified mutual fund, this Vanguard mutual fund is for you. The Vanguard’s VTSAX provides exposure to the entire U.S. stock market which includes stocks from large, medium and small U.S companies.

The top companies include Microsoft, Apple, Amazon. In addition, the expenses are relatively (0.04%). It has a minimum initial investment of $3,000, making it one of the best vanguard stock funds out there.

Vanguard S&P 500 (VFIAX)

The Vanguard 500 Index fund may be appropriate for you if you prefer a mutual fund that focuses on U.S. equities. This fund tracks the performance of the S&P 500, which means it holds about 500 of the largest U.S. stocks.

The largest U.S. companies included in this fund are Facebook, Alphabet/Google, Apple, and Amazon. This index fund has an expense ration of 0.04% and a reasonable minimum initial investment of $3,000.

Vanguard Total International Stock Market

You should consider the Vanguard International Stock Market fund of you prefer a mutual fund that invests in foreign stocks.

This international stock fund exposes its shareholders to over 6,000 non-U.S. stocks from several countries in both developed markets and emerging markets. The minimum investment is also $3,000 with an expense ratio of 0.11%.

Vanguard Health Care Investor

Sector funds are not usually a good idea, because the lack diversification. Sector funds are funds that invest in a specific industry like real estate or health care. However, if you want a fund to complement your portfolio, the Vanguard Health Care Investor is a good choice.

This Vanguard mutual fund offers investors exposure to U.S. and foreign equities focusing in the health care industry. The expense ration is a little bit higher, 0.34%. However, the minimum initial investment is $3,000, making it one of the cheapest Vanguard mutual funds.

Bottom Line

Mutual funds are great options for beginner investors or investors who have little time to research and invest in individual stocks. When you buy into these low cost investments, you’re essentially buying shares from companies.

Your money are pooled together with those of other investors. If you intend to invest in low cost investment funds, you must know which ones are the best. When it comes to saving money on fees and getting a good return on your investment, Vanguard mutual funds are among the best funds out there.

They provide professional management, diversity, low cost, income and price appreciation.

What’s Next: 5 Mistakes People Make When Hiring A Financial Advisor

Speak with the Right Financial Advisor

  • If you have questions beyond knowing which of the best Vanguard mutual funds to invest, you can talk to a financial advisor who can review your finances and help you reach your goals (whether it is making more money, paying off debt, investing, buying a house, planning for retirement, saving, etc).
  • Find one who meets your needs with SmartAsset’s free financial advisor matching service. You answer a few questions and they match you with up to three financial advisors in your area. So, if you want help developing a plan to reach your financial goals, get started now.
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