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Established on May 1, 1975, Vanguard oversees a portfolio exceeding $8.2 trillion in assets and caters to over 50 million investors. Under CEO and chairman, Tim Buckley Vanguard functions within a unique investor-owned structure where funds shareholders have ownership of the funds, which in turn possess ownership of Vanguard itself. This setup is designed to eliminate any potential conflicts of interest and ensure that the focus remains on maximizing value for investors.

Vanguard mutual funds offer a wide range of investment options ranging from index funds to actively managed funds and are all managed with a disciplined focus on long-term growth. Vanguard's commitment to low-cost, no-load funds ensures no charges for investors during the buying or selling of fund shares. These funds aim for stability and sustainability, helping to achieve financial goals. With its transparent structure and diverse investment choices, Vanguard emerges as a reliable choice for investment.

Investing in low-cost Vanguard mutual funds seems to be judicious as of now. Also, mutual funds, in general, diversify portfolios without several commission charges that are mainly associated with stock purchases and trim transaction costs.

We have, thus, chosen three Vanguard mutual funds that investors should buy now for the long term. These funds possess a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), have positive three-year and five-year annualized returns, minimum initial investments within $5000, and expense ratios considerably lower than the category average. So, these funds have provided comparatively strong performance along with lower fees.

Vanguard Windsor Investor Shares (VWNDX - Free Report) fund invests most of its net assets in common stocks of large and mid-cap domestic companies, which, according to its advisors, are undervalued. VWNDX advisors consider undervalued stocks as those that are out of favor with investors and are trading at prices below average in relation to measures such as earnings and book value.

Richard S. Pzena has been the lead manager of VWNDX since Aug 2, 2012. Most of the fund’s exposure was in companies like Chubb (1.8%), Edison International (1.8%) and Metlife (1.8%) as of Jan 31, 2024.

VWNDX’s three-year and five-year annualized returns of almost 7.4% and 11.8%, respectively. Its annual expense ratio is 0.42%. VWNDXhas a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1.

Vanguard Energy (VGENX - Free Report) fund invests most of its net assets in common stocks. VGENX advisors generally invest in companies that are principally engaged in the energy industry, like exploration, production, and transmission of energy or fuels, manufacturing and servicing of products required for energy research, energy conservation, and pollution control.

G. Thomas Levering has been the lead manager of VGENX since Jan 15, 2020. Most of the fund’s exposure was in companies like Shell PLC (9.2%), Exxon Mobil (6.9%) and Phillips 66 (4.9%) as of Jan 31, 2024.

VGENX’s three-year and five-year annualized returns are 18.1% and 4.8%, respectively. Its annual expense ratio is 0.44%. VGENX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2.

Vanguard Growth and Income Fund (VQNPX - Free Report) invests most of its net assets in stocks that provide dividend income as well as the potential for capital appreciation. VQNPX advisors use quantitative approaches to select a broadly diversified group of stocks that have investment characteristics like companies listed on the S&P 500 Index but are expected to provide a higher total return than that of the index.

Hal W. Reynolds has been the lead manager of VQNPX since Sep 30, 2011. Most of the fund’s holdings were in companies like Microsoft (7%), Apple (5%) and Amazon.com (4.6%) as of Dec 31, 2023.

VQNPX’s three-year and five-year annualized returns are 8.5% and 13.3%, respectively. Its annual expense ratio is 0.32%.VQNPX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1.

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