jmho so take this all with a grain of salt.
For each fund, I look at the average annual returns for the 1 yr(past 12 mos, not calendar yr) the 5 yr, and 10 yrs and since inception. Some of these funds date back to the 1950s, the 20s. Amazing.
The tax exempt funds earn really crappy returns so those were out immediately.
In Jan, there were a few that were earning more than 30% (for 12 mos.) and of course that's rare but even the 10 yr outlook was still over 10%. This includes the timeframe of the ‘08/09 recession when everyone's investments were circling the drain so I think 10% is pretty good then.
I've had Primecap Admiral shares through work for 15+ years and it consistently outperforms most others but sadly it’s not open to new accounts. I can only add to my work account.
We ended up choosing US Growth fund (VWUSX) and Morgan Growth fund (VMRGX). Both have >10% avg annual return since inception from the 1950s & 60s so that’s a pretty long track record. Back in Jan they were both >30% avg annual return for 1 yr.
I was afraid to put it all into one fund. The Windsor looks good too and also has a decent rate since inception.
Vanguard offers a simple online quiz to help people gauge their level of risk tolerance.
https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/help-advice
Scroll down to where it says Do Your Own Research - Set your asset allocation with our investor questionnaire.
Nothing is carved in stone but generally those that earn more are also more volatile (subject to greater swings high and low). Stock funds are generally more volatile than bonds. Mutual funds are a collection of multiple stocks and bonds so that it's inherently more diversified than buying 1 stock.
We chose a higher earning fund thinking No guts, no glory. Do what your comfortable with. You can always change funds. We initially had a 3rd fund that was more conservative but the other 2 were doing so well it seems silly to keep it. I don't even remember the name of it since we only had it a few weeks.