Which of these Vanguard options is best for a first-time investor?

GeoffTF

EthicsGradient said:

The notable thing about Vanguard Target Retirement funds is that they change their balance towards bonds as the target date approaches - the 2030 fund is currently about 40% bonds, 60% shares, and this will change to about 50-50 by 2030. Investing in this now is basically a decision if they want that.

I have not checked the numbers, but, in principle, of course, that is right.

It may make sense if you have 5 years to retirement. If you retire at that point, the percentage of shares will fall further if you continue to hold the fund or go into drawdown. That may make sense too.

What if a youngster buys the fund? Why would he want the percentage of shares to continue to fall so steeply up to and after 5 years? Perhaps it makes some sense if he is definitely going to sell after 5 years. Most people would prefer to buy LifeStrategy 40 if that was their level of risk tolerance.

GeoffTF

user67340348 said:

By 'testing the waters' I mean that I'm basically just choosing a shorter time period incase things don't go very well really

That does not make sense. A bad five years is often followed by a good five years and vice versa. In fact, a period of good performance increases the price, which increases the chance that the following period will be not be good. Nonetheless, past performance is practically useless for predicting future performance. You have to accept that the performance that you will achieve is a matter of chance. It could be good or bad.