1 - is there any benefit to buying Vanguard ETF to 100k in 10k parcels every few weeks or is it better to buy the shares in a lump sum?
Buying over a longer period of time is called dollar cost averaging. Basically, it protects you in the case of a falling market since the later buys will get you more shares for the same amount of money. On the other hand, a rising market will hurt you since the latter buys will get you lesser shares.
So, if you believe the market will rise or will stay the same in the period that you wish to buy, buy in a lump sum. If you believe the market is going down during the same period, then dollar cost average or wait till the end to invest.
No one has a crystal ball to know if the market will go up or down, so I would dollar cost average.
2 - is there any benefit to owning several Vanguard ETFs and rebalancing?
Holding of different asset classes and periodically rebalancing is called asset allocation. Yes, very very useful since it reduces the risk in your portfolio. If the correlation between asset classes are not high, then when one asset class drops, other may rise, reducing the wild gyrations.
There has been Nobel prize winning research on the optimum allocation (called the efficient frontier), but picking an optimum allocation is still hit or miss.
3 - which ETFs would you recommend:
This asset allocation works for me, your mileage may (and should) vary.
- VOO: SP500 fund 20%
- IVOO: SP Mid Cap fund 20%
- VTWO; Small Cap fund 20%
- VEA: International Developed Large Cap 5%
- VWO: International Emerging Large Cap 7%
- EPI: India fund 10%
- LQD: Corporate Bond 7%
- SHY: US treasury Short term 7%
- IEF: US Treasure Mid term 4%
This portfolio has beaten the SP500 6 times in the last 8 years.
A lot of the funds are Vanguard E.T.F.'s, some are not. The India play is much higher risk (and expenses) since I believe that it will grow at much higher rates than the developed world.
I have chosen the asset classes and have chosen the lowest expense ETF I can find in that class.
I do not believe in the "Buy stocks in the same percentage as your age". I have been using an 80% stock portfolio for quite some time.
Hope that helps, let me know if you need any clarifications.