Congratulations to Vanguard, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary today.
Vanguard is well-known for making investing more accessible, affordable, and efficient for investors over the past 50 years. The $10 trillion firm offers 215 funds to U.S. investors as of May 1.
“Vanguard has long been a champion for the retail investor, building a timeless legacy of low-cost index investing and a well-earned reputation for always putting the client first,” Kirsten Chang, senior industry analyst at VettaFi, said. “Ever since Jack Bogle founded the firm in 1975, Vanguard has proven a dominant force in the realms of both active and index investing, thanks to a steadfast, prudent approach to client service and product innovation.”
The year after Jack Bogle established Vanguard, the asset management giant introduced the investor-owned structure and launched the first index mutual fund – marking a significant milestone for the industry.
“We installed our investors as our owners to focus on their investment outcomes and got to work building a still-growing lineup of diversified, low-cost, and high-quality index and active investment options,” Vanguard president and CIO Greg Davis said in a statement.
Additionally, Bogle founded the firm with the emphasis that costs matter in investing. High fees and expenses can eat away at long-term returns, and, in Bogle’s opinion, low-cost options, like index funds, are more effective for building wealth over time.
“Everything we do is grounded in the belief that investing should be lower cost and more accessible, and we are profoundly grateful that our unique approach has earned the trust of fifty million investors,” Vanguard CEO Salim Ramji said.
Vanguard’s asset weight average U.S. combined mutual fund and ETF expenses is 0.07%, compared to the industry average 0.44%.
ETF in Focus: Vanguard Offers Compelling Solutions to Investors
Vanguard’s ETFs play significant roles in portfolios The firm’s average ETF expense ratio is just 0.05%, 77% less than the industry average of 0.22%. This, as well as the firm’s high-quality reputation, has led to widespread adoption of Vanguard’s ETFs.
“Vanguard has truly democratized access to markets with its commitment to low cost, well-built products for long-term investing,” Cinthia Murphy, investment strategist at VettaFi, said. “It’s exciting to celebrate this milestone, and look back on how Vanguard’s investor-centric approach, simple as it looks, set the bar for the ETF industry.”
The firm’s largest ETFs by assets under management include the $608 billion Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO ), the $443 billion Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI ), the $150 billion Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA ), the $150 billion Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG ), the $129 billion Vanguard Value ETF (VTV ), and the $127 billion Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND ).
Notably, each of these six ETFs charges just three or four basis points.
“Vanguard has transformed the asset management industry by providing low cost well constructed ETFs and mutual funds,” Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, said. “Despite a long history, they continue to innovate and support the advisor community. Their recent award for best ETF of 2024 is a testament to their continued success.”
VOO was recently recognized as ETF of the Year for 2024. Last year was a record-breaking one for the ETF, as VOO had net inflows of $116 billion – more than twice the amount any ETF pulled in previously. Furthermore, Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF became the largest U.S- listed ETF earlier this year.
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