MRKCX vs VWINX Fund Comparison

A comparison between MRKCX and VWINX based on their expense ratio, growth, holdings and how well they match their benchmark performance.

Group Created with Sketch.

Minafi's Take on MRKCX vs VWINX

Here's an in depth look at the differences between AB All Market Income Portfolio Class C ($MRKCX) and Vanguard Wellesley® Income Fund Investor Shares ($VWINX).

To start off, here's a look at the basics of each fund. Keep an eye on the FI Score. That's a custom score from 0 to 100 that we generate based on how good this fund is for the casual investor. Most investors only need a handful of total funds in their portfolio. The higher the score, the more likely this is one of those few. Score alone isn't enough! Keep reading on to see how different (or perhaps similar) these two funds are.

18% FI Score
  • mrkcx
  • Mutual Fund
  • Allocation
  • All-In-One

AB All Market Income Portfolio Class C

Expenses: 1.53% (Better than 0% of similar funds)

This is a bad choice for a All-In-One Allocation fund. See why »

86% FI Score
  • vwinx
  • Mutual Fund
  • Allocation
  • All-In-One

Vanguard Wellesley® Income Fund Investor Shares

Expenses: 0.23% (Better than 1% of similar funds)

This is an OK choice for a All-In-One Allocation fund. See why »

Both $MRKCX and $VWINX are categorized as Mutual Funds. Mutual funds are often offered by 401(k) platforms and are essentially the same as ETFs. Mutual funds are generally offered by an investment platform – Fidelity has Fidelity mutual funds, Vanguard has Vanguard mutual funds. Mutual funds are ideal for retirement investing since you can invest any amount. That allows you to invest every last cent and benefit from the market.

The biggest disadvantage of mutual funds is that you're usually limited to the funds on your investment platform. If you're investing on Fidelity, you'll want to pick Fidelity mutual funds (or any ETF). Same with Vanguard. Some platforms offer mutual funds from other platforms, but they may charge a purchse or redemption fee. I'd recommend using the same platform as your funds – or stick to ETFs.

To learn more about the difference between these two, you can read about the difference between ETFs and Mutual Funds.

When evaluating a fund, the first things I look at are:

  • What it invests in
  • How much it charges in fees
  • How large the fund is

Let's look into these criteria one by one and see if either of these funds stands out.

Fund Holdings Comparison

Both of these funds are Allocation All-In-One funds – which means they're likely both investing in about the same investments behind the scenes.

Minafi's FI Score algorithm takes into account the category and market. The more niche a fund is, the lower the score. This doesn't mean it's a worse fund, but it does mean you should stop and make sure this a fund you need to diversify your portfolio.

MRKCX VWINX
Market Score 2.1 /10 9.8 /10
Category Score 5.0 /10 5.0 /10
Total 7.1 14.8

A score of 10 means this is a solid market and category that almost every investor will want to have investments in. The lower the score, the more specific the investment. These scores are based on when most investors would add these funds to their portfolio. A score of 10 means that this fund (or one like it) belongs in a three-fund portfolio. The lower the score, the farther down in your portfolio a fund would go.

Winner: $VWINX

Fee Comparison

Fees are one of the biggest killers of portfolio growth. The difference between a 2% fee and a 0.04% fee over 30 years can result in your portfolio having half the total value!

If you're just getting started investing and learning how fees impact your portfolio, I'd encourage you to read through my free investment course (specifically '2.2 - All About Fees') where I go over all the different types of fees you can be charged and how to lower them.

For these two funds, MRKCX has an expense ratio of 1.53% while VWINX has an expense ratio of 0.23%.

Winner: $VWINX

Fund Size Comparison

One place these two funds differ is in their total assets under management. This is a good indication of how many other investors trust this fund. A large fund by itself doesn't mean it's a good fund, but it is one thing to consider when figuring out how to choose the right fund.

In the case of these two funds, MRKCX is a small fund with 90.3 Million in assets under management. VWINX, on the other hand, is a large fund with 58.3 Billion in assets under management.

Winner: $VWINX, Vanguard Wellesley® Income Fund Investor Shares

Which Should You Choose? MRKCX or VWINX?

Since both of these funds are Allocation All-In-One funds, you'll most likely only need to invest in one of these funds – not both. Running both of these funds through Minafi's FI Score algorithm, gives MRKCX a score of 18 and VWINX a score of 86.

Neither of these funds has an FI Score above 90 – which is a red flag. I'd look into more funds to find one with a higher FI Score.

Winner: Neither, I'd research more funds if you're looking to invest for retirement.

$MRKCX

AB All Market Income Portfolio Class C

18

Read More
Ratings
Rating Type Rating
Expense Ratio Score 2 /10
Expense Rating 0 /10
Market Score 2 /10
Category Score 5 /10
Overview
Overview Details
Fund Type Mutual Fund
Inception Date Dec-18-2014
Exchange NMFQS
Expense Ratio 1.530%
Net Assets 90.3 Million
Yield 4.16%
Holdings
Description Info
Market Allocation
Category All-In-One
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 4.90%
  • Communication Services 7.96%
  • Consumer Cyclical 5.99%
  • Consumer Defensive 7.62%
  • Energy 0.96%
  • Financial Services 9.79%
  • Healthcare 15.67%
  • Industrials 4.87%
  • Real Estate 15.70%
  • Technology 21.91%
  • Utilities 4.64%
Regions
  • Africa/Middle East 0.36%
  • Asia Developed 2.05%
  • Asia Emerging 0.61%
  • Australasia 4.61%
  • Europe Developed 15.52%
  • Europe Emerging 0.01%
  • Japan 5.56%
  • Latin America 0.05%
  • North America 65.10%
  • United Kingdom 6.11%

$VWINX

Vanguard Wellesley® Income Fund Investor Shares

86

Read More
Ratings
Rating Type Rating
Expense Ratio Score 10 /10
Expense Rating 8 /10
Market Score 10 /10
Category Score 5 /10
Overview
Overview Details
Fund Type Mutual Fund
Inception Date Jul-1-1970
Exchange NMFQS
Expense Ratio 0.230%
Net Assets 58.3 Billion
Yield 2.90%
Holdings
Description Info
Market Allocation
Category All-In-One
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 0.00%
  • Communication Services 6.97%
  • Consumer Cyclical 4.79%
  • Consumer Defensive 13.35%
  • Energy 5.00%
  • Financial Services 15.67%
  • Healthcare 19.60%
  • Industrials 13.14%
  • Real Estate 2.43%
  • Technology 10.99%
  • Utilities 8.07%
Regions
  • Europe Developed 7.47%
  • North America 90.13%
  • United Kingdom 2.40%

Adam says: Learn how to confidently invest for retirement!

Join the Minafi Investor Bootcamp to see how.

This 10-course bootcamp starts at only $10 for everything!

Minafi - The intersection of FI, minimalism & mindfulness.

Don't miss out on new posts, courses, interactive articles and more!

Join & Get Your First Course Free

© 2024   Adam Fortuna

Site Map
Triangle Graduation Cap Angle Down Book regular Phone laptop regular fire regular fire regular search regular Acorn duotone Seedling duotone thumbs down duo thumbs up duo