What is the TickerHound's opinion of the Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX) & Vanguard Wellington (VWELX) Funds?
Answers
421 points
WayneMulligan answered 2 years ago …
Hi Lee, just an official word from TickerHound - we don't give opinions on stocks or other securities. You'd be better off addressing your question to the entire TickerHound community next time. As for some advice on funds in general - I'd recommend using morningstar.com to research a fund's historical performance. Then make sure you visit the fund's homepage and find out who the fund manager is. Learn more about his approach to the market, his personal track record, etc. If this information isn't readily available on the site try Googling the manager's name. What you're trying to find out is how solid the fund's track record is and how solid the manager's track record is - the longer/strong the track record the more comfortable you should feel about putting your money into the fund.
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2769 points
Oldman answered 2 years ago …
I have had ContraFund in my 403(b) account for more than 20 years. It is completely different from Wellington, in holdings, style, etc. I know this may seem awkward for Wayne M., but there's an easy site to do a first run comparison (superficial, but a start): SmartMoney.com has a "Price Check Calculator". The other things to consider are the costs to initiate a position, the fact that Contra is closed to new investors: the constraints on deposits and exchanges, etc. Fidelity and Vanguard have some good funds ... but to match the particular style of Contra or Wellington, you might also want to seek out T.Rowe Price funds, because most of those are also no or low load, have reputable and respected management, and most are still open to new investor accounts.
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