Young's World Money Forecast

Vanguard Wellesley is a fund we have long admired at Young Research. It was once a go-to fund for clients, readers, close friends, and even dear family members. What gave Vanguard Wellesley Income so much appeal? Wellesley is the more conservative and younger cousin of the Vanguard Wellington Fund—the nation’s oldest balanced mutual fund. Over its almost 51-year history, Wellesley has invested an average of 65% in bonds and 35% in stocks. The bonds are primarily intermediate-term investment-grade corporates; the stocks are dividend-paying blue-chip names. Wellesley’s Baptism by Fire Wellesley was started in July of 1970. Not great timing for a fund with a bond-heavy … [Read More...]

I developed the Dynamic Maximizers® strategy to serve as an alternative to fixed-income portfolios in an era of historically low and manipulated interest rates. The Dynamic Maximizers® is a maximum safety portfolio, ideal for IRAs, ultra-conservative retired investors, and education savings programs. So far this century, stocks have cratered over 50% twice, with a third crash virtually baked into the cake because of total incompetence in Washington. My Dynamic Maximzers® strategy was a port in the storm during both the dotcom bust and the financial crisis. And while past performance is never a guarantee of future results, I expect similar relative stability from the Maxis during the next … [Read More...]

Hard to believe it has been nearly 30 years since I walked away from dealing with investing clients, prospects, or the financial media. I also stopped speaking at capacity-filled investment conferences around the world from New Orleans to Switzerland to Hong Kong. About that same time, Debbie and I bought two Harley-Davidson motorcycles along with a little pink Conch cottage in Key West, Florida. In the following decades, we racked-up 125,000 miles on the bikes with not a single mishap (or road beer) along the way. Today, dodging road obstacles and traffic or riding through passing thunderstorms is not as attractive as it once was, so we have put the bikes away. Now that we aren’t riding … [Read More...]

I started in the institutional research and trading investment business at Model Roland & Co. on Federal St. in Boston in August 1971. Just up the street from Model were Fidelity Investments, and Wellington Management, both of whom I called on from my very first hours on the job. Over five decades ago, Ned Johnson, aka “Mister Johnson,” ran the show at Fidelity. At Wellington, Jack Bogle, “Mr. Mutual Fund,” had not yet left Wellington to start Vanguard.    My focus in the initial going was international research and trading, and remains so today all these decades later.  I still consider Fidelity and Wellington the industry leaders. Both firms feature great cultures, industry-leading … [Read More...]