Office address: 100 Vanguard Blvd Valley Forge, PA 19482
Website: www.vanguard.com
Year established: 1975
Company type: investment advisor firm
Employees: 20,000+
Expertise: mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, asset management, sub-advisory services, finance, investment management, technology, IT, healthcare, employee wellness, sustainability, ESG, human resources, talent management
Parent company: N/A
Key people: Salim Ramji (CEO), Greg Davis (president), Matthew Benchener (MD), Joseph Brennan (CRO), Lauren Valente (CHRO), Michael Rollings (CFO), Nitin Tandon (CIO)
Financing status: N/A
The Vanguard Group, based in Pennsylvania, offers investments, advice, and retirement services to over 50 million investors. Owned by its member funds and their shareholders, Vanguard serves individual investors, institutions, and financial professionals worldwide. With over 20,000 employees and $9.3 trillion in assets as of May 2024, the company operates globally, providing a broad range of financial services.
The Vanguard Group was founded in 1975 by John C. Bogle to create an investor-owned mutual fund company focused on long-term value. Their origins go back to the Wellington Fund, launched in 1929 by Wellington Management, which later became part of Vanguard. In 1976, Vanguard introduced the first index mutual fund, revolutionizing low-cost investing.
The company expanded in the 1990s, opening offices in Arizona and North Carolina, and its first international office in Australia in 1996. In 2001, the firm launched ETFs, offering affordable access to index funds, and in 2015 introduced Personal Advisor Services for tailored advice. The Vanguard Group joined the World Economic Forum's Global Parity Alliance to advance DEI in 2022 and appointed their first outsider CEO in 2024. (Vanguard was previously known for promoting from within its ranks.)
Vanguard offers a wide range of investment products and services designed to meet the diverse needs of its clients. Key offerings include:
The Vanguard Group’s mission is to provide low-cost, client-focused products that support long-term financial goals. From advice to investments, the company emphasizes clear insights and a commitment to helping clients succeed.
The Vanguard Group fosters a culture of participation, inclusion, and innovation, where diverse teams thrive and new ideas are encouraged. The company offers opportunities for professional development and recognizes individual contributions.
Vanguard supports long-term employee success with a comprehensive rewards package that includes these benefits:
The company’s sustainability efforts include reducing its carbon footprint and managing climate-related risks through a comprehensive strategy. It aims to minimize its environmental impact by reducing emissions, electricity and water usage, and diverting waste from landfills by 2025. The Vanguard Group also engages its employees in these efforts and pursues sustainable business practices:
The Vanguard Group is committed to creating an inclusive workplace where employees can thrive and contribute. The company has expanded its DEI efforts with stronger processes and accountability. Vanguard also promotes equity within its community, supply chain, and client services through:
Vanguard focuses on supporting the communities where its employees and clients live, prioritizing early childhood development and financial well-being. The company works with nonprofit and corporate leaders to address key community needs. Their philanthropic efforts reflect its long-term mission to create lasting, positive impacts.
Salim Ramji was appointed CEO of Vanguard in 2024. He has held leadership roles throughout his 25 years of experience, including:
Ramji holds a BA in economics and politics from the University of Toronto and an MA in law from the University of Cambridge.
These are some of the key leaders overseeing The Vanguard Group divisions and their specific responsibilities:
The Vanguard Group is expanding its fixed-income offerings by introducing two new actively managed municipal bond ETFs, focusing on tax-exempt investments. These funds aim to offer low-cost, diversified exposure to high-quality municipal bonds, appealing to investors seeking stability and long-term growth. This move strengthens Vanguard's position in the fixed-income ETF market, complementing its existing lineup of municipal bond products.
Vanguard Charitable recently achieved a major milestone in its support for nonprofit organizations since its founding in 1997. This achievement highlights the growing role of donor-advised funds, which help donors support charitable causes over time. By facilitating philanthropy, The Vanguard Group continues to advance its mission of maximizing donors' impact and expanding its influence in the charitable sector.
Exchange traded funds have fared relatively well during the financial crisis, but haven’t been immune to market volatility.
Led by the iShares exchange traded fund group, exchange traded funds are poised to break the stranglehold that mutual funds have on 401(k) retirement plans.
While supporting improved retirement plan fee disclosure, the head of the Investment Company Institute said yesterday that congressional criticism of 401(k) plan fees has been inflated by critics.
The day of reckoning has come for the financial services industry.
In a customer service satisfaction survey of 17 brokerage firms, discount-brokerage firms scored better in terms of navigating clients through the market downturn last year, compared with larger, full-service brokers, according to Consumer Reports.
The Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap Exchange Traded Fund (VSS), which seeks to track the performance of the FTSE Global Small-Cap ex-US Index, began trading today, The Vanguard Group Inc. of Malvern, Pa., announced.
Advisers are being pelted with a dizzying array of new insurance products. But as quickly as products develop, so, too, do the challenges, which include evaluating carriers’ financial health and deciding which product might be favorable in a given economic environment.
Public pensionN executives are accelerating a move into indexed assets in the face of disappointing returns from active managers and to get a better handle on their risks.
Reacting to asset declines from the market downturn, The Vanguard Group Inc. is increasing expense ratios.
The possibility that Barclays' iShares exchange traded fund business could be sold to another big ETF provider, reducing competition by creating an industry behemoth, is worrying advisers.
The Vanguard Group Inc. is offering what it says is the first of its kind: a fund that offers exposure to small-cap stocks in both emerging and developed markets outside the United States.
The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it will spend up to $300 billion over the next six months to buy long-term government bonds, a new step aimed at lifting the U.S. out of recession by lowering rates on mortgages and other consumer debt.
The Investment Company Institute is proposing sweeping changes to restore confidence in the $3.9 trillion money market mutual fund industry.
The Vanguard Group Inc. led all mutual fund companies in sales last year, according to new data from Financial Research Corp.
