Earlier this year I started Vanguard Global Capital Cycles Fund Investor Sha (VGPMX) and Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fd Admi (VTIAX)
The Vanguard Global Capital Cycles Fund Investor Shares (VGPMX) is an actively managed mutual fund that seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Brief Description- Investment Strategy: The fund invests in U.S. and foreign equity securities. It aims to generate above-average returns by purchasing securities in companies and industries where capital spending is declining and avoiding businesses that can be easily replicated. This strategy is centered around the belief that periods of low capital expenditure can precede higher profitability.
- Portfolio: It typically invests across a range of sectors and market capitalizations, including both developed and emerging markets.
- Concentration: A distinctive feature is that the fund will concentrate its investments (25% or more of net assets) in securities of issuers in the precious metals and mining industry, making it a non-diversified fund with significant sector-specific risk.
Top 5 Holdings (as of September 30, 2025)The top holdings for a mutual fund can change, but based on the most recent available data, the top 5 holdings were:
| Company Name | Sector/Industry | Weight (% of Total Portfolio) | | Barrick Mining Corp. | Basic Materials | 5.48% | | Anglo American PLC | Basic Materials | 4.57% | | Teck Resources Ltd Class B | Basic Materials | 3.74% | | Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | Technology | 3.29% | | Valterra Platinum Ltd | Basic Materials | 2.86% |
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The Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTIAX) is a massive and extremely popular passively managed mutual fund that offers broad, low-cost exposure to non-U.S. equity markets.
Brief Description- Investment Strategy: The fund is an index fund that seeks to track the performance of the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index. This index includes stocks from both developed and emerging international markets, with the major exclusion being the United States.
- Goal: To provide investors with a simple, broadly diversified way to gain exposure to the total international stock market outside of the U.S. It includes a blend of large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks.
- Key Metrics (as of the most recent data):
- Expense Ratio: 0.09% (Very low)
- Total Net Assets (Fund-wide): Approximately $558.2 Billion
- Number of Holdings: Approximately 8,700
Top 5 Holdings (as of October 31, 2025)As an index fund, its top holdings are simply the largest companies in the non-U.S. global market, weighted by market capitalization.
| Company Name | Country/Region | Weight (% of Total Portfolio) | Sector/Industry | | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. | Taiwan | 3.04% | Technology | | Tencent Holdings Ltd. | China | 1.30% | Communication Services | | ASML Holding NV | Netherlands | 1.08% | Technology | | Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. | China | 0.99% | Consumer Discretionary | | Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. | South Korea | 0.91% | Technology |
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Both funds have out-performed the $SPX
Here is the approximate Year-to-Date Total Return for each fund and the S&P 500 Index ($SPX).
| Investment | Ticker | YTD Total Return (Approx.) | Type/Market Focus | | Vanguard Global Capital Cycles Fund | VGPMX | 49.7% - 51.2% | Active / Global Stock (Focus on Mining/Basic Materials) | | Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fd Admi | VTIAX | 28.8% - 29.4% | Passive / Total International Stock (Ex-US) | | S&P 500 Index | $SPX | 17.6% - 18.8% | Passive / US Large-Cap Stock |
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