The Vanguard Group

In 1929, Vanguard introduced its first mutual fund, Wellington Fund, which invested in stocks and high-quality bonds with an emphasis on conservatism during a period of market speculation.

John C. Bogle conducted a study for his undergraduate thesis at Princeton University, where he found that most mutual funds did not earn more money compared to broad stock market indexes. This led to the formation of Vanguard.

John C. Bogle forged a merger with a fund management group based in Boston, becoming president in 1967 and CEO in 1970. However, the merger ended badly and Bogle was fired in 1974.

The Vanguard Group was founded in Malvern, PA on September 24, 1974 by John Bogle.

In 1975, following a corporate struggle at Wellington Management Company, John Bogle founded Vanguard to handle administrative and legal services for the mutual funds. The firm started with eleven funds, 28 employees, and 372,648 investor accounts.

Jack Bogle, the founder of Vanguard, emphasized the importance of structure in shaping strategy. He highlighted how Vanguard's structure, where the funds own the company, has been a driving force behind their client-centric approach.

Vanguard became the first fund group of its size to convert to no-load distribution in 1977. This move eliminated sales charges on purchases of Vanguard funds, significantly reducing the cost of investing.

Vanguard developed internal investment management capabilities in 1981 by creating the Fixed Income Group (FIG) to oversee active fund assets. This marked a shift from relying solely on external advisory firms.

In 1982, John J. Brennan, who joined Vanguard, becomes the company's second CEO.

Vanguard introduced a brokerage service to allow clients to invest in individual stocks and bonds alongside mutual funds, offering significant savings on stock trading commissions.

In November 1984, Vanguard collaborated with Primecap to launch the Vanguard Primecap fund, marking a significant development in the indexing model.

Vanguard suspended new share offerings for the Windsor and Explorer Funds to protect existing investors and maintain competitive long-term results. This decision reflected Vanguard's commitment to prioritizing investor interests.

In December 1986, Vanguard introduced the Total Bond Fund, the first bond index fund available to individual investors, expanding their range of investment options.

In December 1987, Vanguard launched the Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund, which included the entire stock market except for the S&P 500, diversifying their index fund offerings.

In 1989, Vanguard launched the Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund, derived from an earlier fund, to provide investors with exposure to small-cap stocks in the U.S. market.

Vanguard introduced the Vanguard Pacific and European Index Funds in 1990, offering investors low-cost access to the stock markets of the Pacific region and Europe.

In December 1991, assets managed by Vanguard had increased to $75 billion.

In 1992, Vanguard initiated the construction of its new corporate headquarters in Chester County, Pennsylvania, to centralize its operations and support future expansion.

Vanguard founder John C. Bogle announced his resignation as CEO and appointed John J. Brennan as his successor. Brennan, who had been with Vanguard since 1982, took on various leadership roles within the company.

In 1996, John J. Brennan took over as the CEO of Vanguard, continuing the legacy of leadership and financial stewardship within the company.

In 1997, Vanguard Online introduced new features that allowed clients to monitor their account balances and conduct transactions on their fund holdings, marking a significant advancement in online financial services.

In 1999, John J. Brennan took over as chairman of Vanguard after Bogle retired due to reaching the company's mandatory retirement age of 70.

Vanguard introduced Vanguard Calvert Social Index Fund (now Vanguard FTSE Social Index Fund) to cater to investors who want their portfolios to align with their values by tracking the performance of U.S. stocks based on environmental, social, and governance criteria.

Vanguard revolutionized the ETF market by offering exchange-traded shares of Vanguard index funds, starting with the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF. This innovative approach significantly reduced costs for investors seeking diversified investment options.

On July 31, 2002, Vanguard released its semiannual report detailing its financial performance and key metrics for the first half of the year.

In 2003, Vanguard introduced its target-date funds, the Vanguard Target Retirement Fund suite, providing investors with diversified investment options for retirement planning.

The 2004 Annual Report of Vanguard was published on January 31, 2004, providing insights into the company's yearly financial results and operations.

On January 10, 2005, The Vanguard Group made the decision to exit the term life insurance business, signaling a strategic shift in their offerings.

A publication by John Bogle discussing Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.

A study published in The Journal of Index Investing in Summer 2010 explores whether Vanguard's ETFs are negatively impacting the performance of the firm's index funds.

A comparison of the performance of funds from GMO and Vanguard was made on October 1, 2010, to evaluate their relative performance.

Vanguard once again reduces the cost of investing, making it more accessible to investors.

Vanguard introduced a new method for obtaining fixed annuities on October 13, 2010.

Vanguard expands its operations by launching a Canadian investment business.

In 2012, Vanguard made significant benchmark changes by transitioning several international and U.S. stock index funds to new benchmarks. These benchmarks were developed by FTSE Russell and the University of Chicago's CRSP, aiming to lower licensing costs, ensure high standards, and provide cost certainty for the funds in the future.

In October 2013, Vanguard announced a change in index providers for many of its US and international index funds, moving from MSCI benchmarks to CRSP and FTSE indexes to reduce costs.

In 2014, Vanguard's strong asset accumulation led to global assets under management reaching 3.1 trillion dollars. This growth positioned Vanguard as the second largest provider of exchange-traded funds, the largest provider of defined contribution plans in the U.S., and the largest provider of target date retirement funds.

In 2015, Vanguard introduced Personal Advisor Services, offering a combination of ongoing advisory services, online tools, and advanced investment modeling technology. This service made personalized advice more accessible and affordable to individual investors with a minimum of $50,000 in Vanguard investments.

As of September 30, 2017, Vanguard has expanded its fund offerings to over 175 United States mutual funds and 195 other funds in the international market.

On August 21, 2018, Vanguard provided unparalleled access to ETFs.

Vanguard expanded access to low-cost Admiral Shares on November 19, 2018.

Vanguard announced the discontinuation of their VanguardAdvantage Accounts on the Bogleheads forum.

Vanguard decided to discontinue its small cash-management service.

An analysis comparing the index funds and ETFs of Vanguard and Fidelity, the two largest mutual fund families, was conducted on April 5, 2019.

In June 19, 2019, Vanguard announced plans to shift the client service and account administration for the Vanguard Variable Annuity to Transamerica. Additionally, Vanguard discontinued the Vanguard Annuity Access® online platform.

On July 31, 2019, Vanguard ceased its VanguardAdvantage cash management program due to low usage. Less than 2% of eligible clients were utilizing the service, with only half being active users.

In October 2020, Vanguard returned about $21 billion in managed assets to government clients in China and faced criticism for its investments in Chinese companies.

In February 2021, Vanguard introduced a fractional share program for its exchange-traded funds, allowing investors to invest for as little as $1.

In March 2021, Vanguard joined other asset managers in aiming for net-zero emissions by 2060, aligning with the Paris Agreement goals and focusing on environmental sustainability.

In November 2022, Vanguard expanded its services by launching a superannuation fund in Australia under the name Vanguard Super.

The founder of Vanguard is stepping down from his role as chief at the company.