Investment portfolio options for a parent with low investment balance

 

The 60/40 portfolio

This portfolio contains 60% stocks and 40% bonds and has been one of the major standards of investing for decades.  

It could be built with mutual funds or ETFs. 

ETFs - VTI, VXUS, and BND

Mutual Funds: 

VBIAX: Vanguard Balanced Index Fund Admiral Shares

Expense ratio: 0.07% (only $7 for every $10,000 invested. About as low as it gets!)

Investment minimum: $3,000

Allocation: 60% stocks, 39% bonds, and 0.88% to short term reserves

Number of stocks: 3,385 (almost no foreign holdings -- less than 1%)

What does a current lifecycle fund for retirees contain from Vanguard?

VTTVX: Vanguard Target Retirement 2025 Fund

Expense ratio: 0.08%

Min. investment: $1,000

Allocation: ~54% stocks, ~45% bonds, and 1.2% short term reserves.

Of the entire portfolio, about 22% of the holdings are in international stocks.

Dividend ETFs

SCHD

VYM

VIG

NOBL

Value ETFs

VTV - Vanguard value

MGV - Mega Cap Value