Which Vanguard Mutual Funds do you recommend?

[Roboturner]

Or any links?

I say mutual funds because I have an i401k with vanguard and apparently you are only allowed to invest in mutual funds, currently I have 100% in Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares (VTSMX) looking to diversify a bit and have no clue what I am doing.

[FIREandMONEY]

VTSAX or VTSMX is good and is where a good chunk of your money should be.

Personally, for spice, I like VHT and VDC.  VHT is the healthcare ETF.  I just look around me and see more people growing to an older age than ever before and all the drugs and healthcare costs that are associated with it.  Seems like a no-brainer that this ETF will continue to do well in the future. 

I also like VDC, it is the vanguard consumer staples.  Invests in things like Soap, Toilet paper, walmart, costco, etc...

REITs are also interesting.  I have a very small portion of my portfolio in them...but if you want to "own" some real estate/real estate companies, it's a really easy way. 

Just want to reiterate that IMHO, the above "spice" in your portfolio shouldn't ever really be too much more than 10-20%.  You're doing good with your VTSMX. 

[seattlecyclone]

Or any links?

I say mutual funds because I have an i401k with vanguard and apparently you are only allowed to invest in mutual funds, currently I have 100% in Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares (VTSMX) looking to diversify a bit and have no clue what I am doing.

You're currently investing in essentially every publicly traded company in the US. That's pretty diverse already! If you want to branch out, check out VGTSX (Vanguard Total International Stock Fund) which invests in most of the non-US publicly traded companies, or VBMFX (Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund) to invest in bonds.

[Roboturner]

Great thanks for the responses!

[Roboturner]

VTSAX or VTSMX is good and is where a good chunk of your money should be.

Personally, for spice, I like VHT and VDC.  VHT is the healthcare ETF.  I just look around me and see more people growing to an older age than ever before and all the drugs and healthcare costs that are associated with it.  Seems like a no-brainer that this ETF will continue to do well in the future. 

I also like VDC, it is the vanguard consumer staples.  Invests in things like Soap, Toilet paper, walmart, costco, etc...

REITs are also interesting.  I have a very small portion of my portfolio in them...but if you want to "own" some real estate/real estate companies, it's a really easy way. 

Just want to reiterate that IMHO, the above "spice" in your portfolio shouldn't ever really be too much more than 10-20%.  You're doing good with your VTSMX.

exactly, was looking for a 10-20% chunk of "spice" (or rather spices) thanks for the suggestions

[Jack]

Your question is not actually "which specific funds should I get," your question is actually "what should my asset allocation be?" To answer that, I suggest reading the Bogleheads wiki and J. L. Collins' Stock Series (I linked to the asset allocation article, but read the whole series) and then writing up an Investment Policy Statement.

Once you figure that out, you just pick the Vanguard index fund in that category (there's generally only one -- the only exception I know of is VXUS vs. VEU), then pick the share class (ETF vs. investor shares vs. admiral shares) that's most appropriate for your situation.

By the way, 100% VTSAX/VTSMX/VTI (same thing, just different fund minimum and expense ratio) is a perfectly reasonable asset allocation already. In fact, it's what I currently use. I'm planning to add some VTIAX/VGTSX/VXUS (total international stock fund) eventually, though.