My husband and I are looking to fully fund our 2016 Vanguard IRAs in the next few days. 90% of my retirement stock holdings are in VTSAX, but last night my husband pointed out another option- VIGAX (large cap growth instead of blend). In looking at the fund comparison, I came across something I don't understand, and I'm hoping you fine folks can help me out.
The attached file shows the average annual performance portion of Vanguard's fund comparison tool. In every metric from YTD to 10-year, the VIGAX has outperformed VTSAX. However, the since inception is lower than VTSAX (same inception date), so it seems like the fund got off to a rocky start those first few years. Is there a way to research why or what the returns were prior to 10 years ago?
Also, the SEC yield is lower on the VIGAX; I believe this is partially due to the expense ratio being 0.09% compared to VTSAX's 0.05%, but I'd like to understand this better.
Our situation, in case it's relevant: We are in our early 30s, and even though we will likely be FI in about 5 years, he plans to finish his 20 years of military service for the pension and healthcare (11 years to go). We are currently DINK, but plan to start a family soon. We have a reasonably high risk tolerance due to job security, time horizon, 60% savings rate, and over $100K in liquid assets (savings and taxable accounts). We have both maxed out our IRAs and 401(k)s (TSPs) for the past two years and expect to do so again this year.
Thank you in advance for your help!