Vanguard ETF recommendations

[PP67]

I currently have most of my PP in a Fidelity taxable brokerage account (GLD, VTI, TLT, SHY)...

I am about to roll a big chunk of my 401k into a new Vanguard IRA and was wondering what ETFs would be best to set up there to make the best use of Vanguard's funds/low costs but also reduce risk somewhat if possible (and simple)...  I was thinking particularly about a different gold ETF...

Thanks

[clacy]

Vanguard has VGLT and EDV that would work for the LTT portions (and traded commission free with a Vanguard Brokerage account).  VGLT tracks TLT very well.  EDV is zero coupon bonds, so it has much more volatility, but I do hold quite a little EDV for that reason. Liquidity is much lighter in these two ETF's than say TLT, which is a consideration, but it's acceptable volume for my purposes.

They have plenty of stock ETF's that would work such as VTI (US total stock market) or VOO (s&p).

STT they offer VGSH, which is a great SHY substitute.

They have no gold or commodity ETF's, but you can still buy GLD, SGOL, etc through VGB services.

[craigr]

I would probably just use the Vanguard open end funds instead of their ETFs if you have the IRA at vanguard. So something like:

Stocks - VTSMX (or maybe VTWSX - Vanguard Total World - If you want total world stock exposure)
Bonds - VUSTX
Cash - VFISX (Treasury Money Market is currently closed, but would also be an option if you can access it)

For gold it may make sense to check out something like like GTU (Gold Trust of Canada) if you don't want to use the major players like IAU/GLD. SGOL is another option that is a little off the beaten path.

[Kriegsspiel]

Craig, quick question about the Vanguard bond fund.  After looking at it's annual report, it looks like VUSTX (Vanguard Long Term Treasury) has only 84% of the fund in long term treasuries, whereas their VGLT (Long Term Government Bond ETF) has 93% in LTTs.  Is there another aspect to which one of these funds is better that I don't know about, or is the VGLT ETF the better choice?  It also has a lower ER than the VUSTX.

[craigr]

They both can modify the composition to a degree as laid out by the prospectus. So whether one holds more now or later it will shift around.