Q: Hi,
I am somewhat surprised by VRIF's poor return. I thought one was "assured" of safety and can withdraw 4% a year.
Should one look at Vanguard's VIC series ETFs? I don't know much about VIC series ETFs at all. Any words of wisdom?
VRIF does have a yield of 4.65% right now. It is down 8.5% in the past year. It has 35% equity exposure, so with the weak stock market last year it was not immune. In addition, bonds were also weak last year. But overall we would consider it a fairly conservative fund, with a good mix of securities. It should do better in a different market environment (once interest rates stop rising). Most of Vanguard's funds are solid, and typically conservative. Fees are generally amongst the lowest in the industry. There are so many VIC funds, however, that it is hard to give a specific answer here.