Mutual Funds Spotlight – Vanguard Wellington Fund

The Vanguard Wellington Fund (MUTF: VWELX ) is one of the biggest mutual funds
from one of the biggest names in 401k investing. Founded in 1929, the Wellington
Fund was the first balanced mutual fund in the U.S. and one of the oldest
surviving funds. Vanguard Wellington invests primarily in dividend paying
stocks, undervalued stocks and to a lesser extent, fixed income securities such
as corporate bonds, government bonds and treasuries and mortgage backed
securities. It is well suited for retirees and investors who are looking for a
source of income without having to sell their investment holdings. Here are the
specifics for the Vanguard Wellington n Fund for today's mutual funds
spotlight: Investing Strategy : 60% to 70% of the fund's cash is invested in
dividend-paying stocks, and 30% to 40% will be put in fixed income assets. The
current allocation is 66% stocks, 28% bonds, and 6 % cash. Expense Ratio: At
0.30%, the expense ratio for the Vanguard Wellington Investor Class Fund is
extremely cheap. There is, however, a transaction fee of $75. Top 5 Holdings:
The top stocks in the Vanguard Wellington Class Fund include telecommunications
giant AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T ) at 2.40%, oil mega-caps ExxonMobil Corporation
(NYSE: XOM ) at 2.33% and  Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX ) at 1.96%,
information technologies powerhouse International Business Machines Corp (NYSE:
IBM ) at 1.90% and financial services giant Wells Fargo Company (NYSE: WFC ) at
1.86%. Returns: Wellington has slightly lagged the market recently. The one-year
return of the fund is about 11% compared with 16.5%2 returns for the S&P 500 in
the last 12 months. Its five-year return of 4.1% is on par with the S&P 500's
4.5% return, but lower than the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 11.6%. Other
Fund Statistics Net Asset Value: $56.8 billion Minimum Investment: $10,000 for
an IRA Fund managers: Edward Bousa and John Keogh Managers' Tenure: Since
December 2000 and December 2003, respectively