Vanguard has launched Vanguard Custom Model Portfolios, a new offering that allows financial advisors to modify the asset manager's existing multi-asset and single-asset-class model portfolios to better reflect individual clients.
The rollout arrives as demand for personalized portfolio solutions is surging across the wealth management industry. According to Morningstar's US Model Portfolio Landscape report, assets in third-party model portfolios reached $943 billion as of March 31, 2026, a 46% jump year over year.
Custom models specifically attracted $258 billion of that total, representing a 40% annual increase.
"Vanguard Custom Model Portfolios leverage Vanguard's decades of experience managing multi-asset portfolios to help advisors scale portfolio management while retaining control over key investment choices," said Amma Boateng, managing director of Financial Advisor Services at Vanguard, the Malvern, Pennsylvania-based investment management firm.
The new offering lets advisors adjust existing Vanguard model portfolios to accommodate client preferences around specific products, asset classes, or management styles (active, passive, or a blend).
Vanguard's investment team constructs and maintains the underlying models, while advisors layer on their own modifications. The result is a middle path between fully outsourced model portfolios and the time-intensive work of building bespoke allocations from scratch.
Vanguard's own research indicates that model portfolios can reduce the time advisors spend on portfolio construction by approximately two-thirds, freeing capacity for client relationships and business development.
On cost, the offering stays true to Vanguard's long-standing value proposition. The firm's model portfolios carry a weighted average expense ratio of approximately 0.07%, compared with an industry average of roughly 0.40%, according to Morningstar data as of February 2026.
The Custom Model Portfolios are available through integrations with three portfolio management platforms: Vestmark, SS&C Black Diamond Wealth Solutions, and Orion. Each supports trading, rebalancing, and tax management functions. The Vestmark integration is specifically tailored for RIAs.
The technology partnerships reflect a broader pattern in the model portfolio space. As InvestmentNews has reported, similar customization collaborations are reshaping how advisors approach portfolio management with firms increasingly looking to combine institutional investment rigor with practice-level personalization.
The Custom Model Portfolios are the latest in a string of model portfolio moves by Vanguard in 2026. In May, the firm launched its Dynamic Active-Passive Model Portfolio series; seven risk-based configurations ranging from fixed-income-only to 100% equity after adding active ETFs to its model lineup as advisor demand for blended strategies grew.
Earlier this year, Vanguard also extended its fixed income model portfolio lineup and partnered with Wellington Management and Blackstone on public-private market funds, moves that signal an accelerating effort to give independent advisors a more complete toolkit built on Vanguard's cost-efficient foundation.
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