Spartan U.S. Bond Index Investor (FBIDX)
Expense Ratio: 0.22%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $7,107.65
The Spartan U.S. Bond Index Investor fund (FBIDX) is a Intermediate-Term Bond fund started on 03/8/1990 and has $14.80 billion in assets under management. The current manager has been running Spartan U.S. Bond Index Investor since 02/22/2009. The fund is rated by Morningstar. This fund does not charge 12b-1 fees.
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV)
Expense Ratio: 0.11%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $3,595.26
The Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV) is an Exchange Traded Fund. It is a "basket" of securities that index the Intermediate-Term Bond investment strategy and is an alternative to a Intermediate-Term Bond mutual fund. Fees are very low compared to a comparable mutual fund like Spartan U.S. Bond Index Investor because computers automatically manage the stocks.
Mutual Fund Name | Ticker Symbol | Turnover | Assets (M) | Annual Fees |
---|---|---|---|---|
BlackRock Bond Allc Tgt Shares Ser C | BRACX | 41.0% | 349 | 0.00% |
BlackRock Bond Allc Tgt Shares Ser M | BRAMX | 523.0% | 321 | 0.03% |
BlackRock Bond Allc Tgt Shares Ser S | BRASX | 192.0% | 134 | 0.01% |
BlackRock Bond Index K | WFBIX | 122.0% | 145 | 0.20% |
Dreyfus Bond Market Index Basic | DBIRX | 30.0% | 2,400 | 0.15% |
Fidelity Spartan US Bond Index Fund Fidelity Advantage Class | FSITX | 106.0% | 14,800 | 0.11% |
Northern Bond Index | NOBOX | 129.3% | 2,400 | 0.16% |
Vanguard Interm-Term Bond Index Signal | VIBSX | 61.0% | 15,600 | 0.11% |
Vanguard Interm-Term Investment-Grade Ad | VFIDX | 49.0% | 17,400 | 0.10% |
Vanguard Interm-Term Invmt-Grade Inv | VFICX | 49.0% | 17,400 | 0.20% |
Vanguard Interm-Tm Corp Bd Idx Signal | VICSX | 80.0% | 2,400 | 0.14% |
Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Sec Idx Signal | VMBSX | 344.0% | 209 | 0.15% |
Vanguard Total Bond Market Idx Instl Pls | VBMPX | 73.0% | 110,100 | 0.05% |
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Inst | VBTIX | 73.0% | 110,100 | 0.07% |
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Signal | VBTSX | 73.0% | 110,100 | 0.10% |
Turnover
Turnover represents how much of a mutual fund's holdings are changed over the course of a year through buying and selling. Active mutual funds have an average turnover rate of about 85%,
meaning that funds are turning over nearly all of their holdings every year. A high turnover means you could make lower returns because: 1) buying and selling stocks costs money through
commissions and spreads and 2) the fund will distribute yearly capital gains which increases your taxes. Look for funds with turnover rates below 50%. For comparison, ETF turnover rates
average around 10% or lower.
Assets
Generally, smaller funds do better than larger ones. The more assets in a mutual fund, the lower the chance that it will beat its index. Managers outperform an index by choosing stocks
that are undervalued. In order to find these undervalued stocks, the manager has to know more than his competitors to develop an "edge." There are only a finite number of stocks a mutual
fund manager can reasonably analyze and actively track to gain such a competitive edge. When the fund has more assets, the manager must analyze large companies because he needs to take
larger positions. Large companies are more efficiently priced in the market and it becomes increasingly difficult to get an edge.