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.
Investors often ask me why an exchange traded fund they own paid a big gains distribution. The answer is simple, but the lessons can affect the advice you give your clients.
Two mutual funds that offer set payouts and principal guarantees have been launched, with more expected, but financial advisers think the guarantee is flimsy.
The Investment Company Institute has created a committee for exchange traded funds in what some say is an effort to head off the possibility that ETF providers will create their own trade association.
Two of the Section 529 college savings plan industry's most sought-after contracts up for renewal this year have been taken off the table, leaving Michigan as the biggest prize for ambitious program managers in 2008.
New Jersey and Iowa 529 college savings plan contracts, up for renewal this year, are now out of play.
Putnam Investments is paying the price for calling the bottom in financial stocks too early.
Now that annuities are becoming accepted as part of an overall retirement income program, fee-only planners are wondering whether they should sell the products themselves or refer sales to outside agents.
The mutual fund industry will let its hair down this year, introducing ever more exotic, hedge-fund-like products that make even greater use of complicated vehicles such as derivatives, according to some industry experts.
The inflows slowed substantially as investors poured more money into exchange traded funds.
The Vanguard Group has launched ETFs on the NYSE Arca today, which seek to track three MSCI Indexes.
Despite once having been seen as betraying financial advisers, The Vanguard Group Inc. of Malvern, Pa., continues to ratchet up efforts to court them.
Extending the practice of fair-value pricing to indexes is being proposed to create better benchmarks, but some index providers aren't buying that idea.
Top funds operated by Fidelity Investments stopped voting against shareholder resolutions that urge disclosure of corporate political spending for the 2007 proxy season, according to a study by a group that advocates for transparency in political spending.
