Fund Evaluator:
Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv (VWINX)
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Best Performing in Moderately Conservative Allocation Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv Overview
Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv (VWINX) is an actively managed Allocation Moderately Conservative Allocation fund. Vanguard launched the fund in 1970.
The investment seeks to provide long-term growth of income and a high and sustainable level of current income, along with moderate long-term capital appreciation. The fund employs an active management approach, typically investing 60% to 65% of its assets in investment-grade fixed income securities, including corporate, U.S. Treasury, and government agency bonds, as well as mortgage-backed securities. The remaining 35% to 40% of fund assets are invested in common stocks of companies that have a history of above-average dividends or expectations of increasing dividends.
About Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv (VWINX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.09 years: Loren Moran (2017), Matthew Hand (2021). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 3 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%, FTSE High Dividend Yield TR USD index with a weighting of 35% and Bloomberg US Credit A+ TR USD index with a weighting of 65%. Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv has 1530 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 9.8% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv has 15.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 33.3%. There is 3.9% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 61.1% (49.9% domestic bond, 11.2% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv has 1.7% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $7 billion in total assets, which is above the $563 million average for the Moderately Conservative Allocation category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
VWINX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Moderately Conservative Allocation category. Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv has an expense ratio of 0.22%, which is 78% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv has a portfolio turnover rate of 63%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 43% for the Moderately Conservative Allocation category.
Recently, in the month of June 2026, Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv returned -0.2%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Moderately Conservative Allocation category had an average return of 0.1%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv has a trailing yield of 3.47%, which is above the 3.33% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 3.3%, 1.9 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 8.6% over the past year (grade of F), 8.4% over the past three years (grade of F) and 4.1% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 5.7% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).
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VWINX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 6/30/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| VWINX Return (NAV) | -0.2% | 3.0% | 8.6% | 8.4% | 4.1% | 5.7% |
| VWINX Grade | F | F | F | F | D | D |
| +/- Category | -0.2% | -2.3% | -2.7% | -1.7% | -0.8% | -0.5% |
| Moderately Conservative Allocation Avg | 0.1% | 5.3% | 11.3% | 10.1% | 4.9% | 6.2% |
| VWINX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.4% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 1.7% |
VWINX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 6/30/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| VWINX Return (NAV) | 3.3% | 11.0% | 5.9% | 7.0% | -9.1% | 8.5% | 8.5% | 16.4% | -2.6% | 10.2% | 8.1% |
| VWINX Grade | F | D | F | F | B | C | C | B | A | C | C |
| +/- Category | -1.9% | -0.5% | -2.4% | -3.0% | 2.7% | -1.5% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 1.7% | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| Moderately Conservative Allocation Avg | 5.1% | 11.5% | 8.3% | 10.0% | -11.8% | 10.0% | 8.0% | 15.6% | -4.3% | 9.8% | 8.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 7.1% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.59 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.98 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | B (37% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.71 |
| R-Squared: | 86% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 3.5% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Quarterly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $48057 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $7,455 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inv |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 63% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 9.4 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 7.1 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Moran Loren (2017), Hand Matthew (2021) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 3/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 1530 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 9.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 15.1% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 33.3% |
| Foreign Stock: | 3.9% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 49.9% |
| Foreign Bond: | 11.2% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 1.7% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Vanguard |
| Phone Number: | 800-662-7447 |
| Website: | www.vanguard.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | July 1, 1970 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $3,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.22% ( Rating : Below Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.01% |
| Share Class: | Vanguard Wellesley® Income Inv |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 1 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
