VALLEY FORGE, Pa., May 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard today
launched its first actively managed environmental, social and
governance (ESG) fund, Global ESG Select Stock Fund (VEIGX). The
fund is now accepting investments during a two-week subscription
period concluding on June 4, 2019,
when it is expected to begin trading.
The fund's advisor, Wellington Management Company LLP, will
focus on enhancing long-term returns and controlling risks by
focusing on ESG practices that can materially impact shareholder
returns. The firm will employ an active portfolio integration
strategy that will identify and select about 40 companies that
demonstrate exemplary, long-standing ESG practices, strong business
fundamentals and prudent capital allocation. To fully align the
fund's corporate governance responsibilities with its investment
mandate, Wellington Management will also be responsible for voting
and engagement activities for the fund.
Intended to be used within an existing diversified portfolio,
the fund is designed for investors who wish to invest in companies
with leading ESG practices and strong business fundamentals, as
identified by Wellington Management. At times, the fund may hold
companies that would be omitted by some exclusionary ESG
strategies, so the fund may not be ideal for investors seeking to
exclude particular sectors or companies involved in activities that
are at odds with their individual values.
Offering both Admiral Shares (minimum initial investment:
$50,000) and Investor Shares (minimum
initial investment: $3,000), the
Global ESG Select Stock Fund is expected to have expense ratios of
0.45% and 0.55%, respectively. By comparison, the average
asset-weighted expense ratio of actively managed funds labeled as
socially conscious by Morningstar is 0.71%.
An active management leader
Vanguard has deep roots
in active management and partners with the world's top active
advisors to provide clients with a diverse range of active funds.
Today, Vanguard's actively managed funds represent $1.3 trillion in assets under management across
equity, bond, and balanced assets.
As Vanguard's longest-serving external advisor, Wellington currently manages more than
$360 billion on behalf of Vanguard
funds across a variety of mandates. The firm has a strong history
of ESG investing and its world-class ESG research and investment
teams seeks to incorporate analysis of ESG factors into many of its
investment and risk-management processes.
The portfolio managers for Vanguard Global ESG Select Stock Fund
each have more than 20 years of investment management
expertise:
- Mark D. Mandel, CFA, serves as
Wellington's vice chair, senior
managing director, partner, and equity portfolio manager. In
addition to Mr. Mandel's investment experience, he has an extensive
background in research and analysis. Mr. Mandel previously served
as Wellington's director of global
industry research and oversaw a team that follows thousands of
stocks and directly manages investments in diversified mandates,
sector portfolios, and hedge funds.
- Yolanda C. Courtines, CFA,
serves as Wellington's senior
managing director, partner, and equity portfolio manager. In
addition to her investment and ESG research experience, Ms.
Courtines brings deep international investment expertise to
Wellington's team, specializing in
international finance with a particular focus on European and Latin
American banks. Prior to joining Wellington, Ms. Courtines worked for JPMorgan
Chase, SG Cowen, Oppenheimer, and the World Bank.
New fund complements existing low-cost ESG offerings
In recent years, ESG investing has grown significantly and has
attracted a diverse set of investors. Vanguard has offered
ESG-focused funds for nearly 20 years, with 11 funds in the U.S.,
Australia, and Europe totaling more than $10.8 billion in assets (as of March 31, 2019). With the launch of Global ESG
Stock Select, Vanguard currently offers a range of both indexed and
active options for socially-conscious investors in the U.S.
- Vanguard FTSE Social Index Fund (VFTAX), introduced in 2000,
seeks to track the performance of large-and-mid-cap U.S. stocks
screened for certain social and environmental criteria.
- Vanguard ESG International Stock ETF (VSGX), launched in 2018,
seeks to track the performance of non-U.S., large-, mid-, and
small-cap companies screened for certain environmental, social, and
corporate governance criteria.
- Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (ESGV), launched in 2018, seeks to
track the performance of large-, mid-, and small-cap U.S. companies
screened for certain environmental, social, and corporate
governance criteria.
To help further educate investors about ESG investing, Vanguard
offers "ESG, SRI and impact investing: A primer for
decision-making."
About Vanguard
Vanguard is one of the world's largest investment management
companies. As of March 31, 2019,
Vanguard managed $5.4 trillion in
global assets. The firm, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, offers 415 funds
to its more than 20 million investors worldwide. For more
information, visit vanguard.com.
Asset figures as of March 31, 2019
unless otherwise noted.
For more information about Vanguard funds, visit
vanguard.com/fund prospectus to obtain a prospectus or, if
available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks,
charges, expenses, and other important information are contained in
the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before
investing.
Vanguard ETF Shares are not redeemable with the issuing
Fund other than in very large aggregations worth millions of
dollars. Instead, investors must buy and sell Vanguard ETF Shares
in the secondary market and hold those shares in a brokerage
account. In doing so, the investor may incur brokerage commissions
and may pay more than net asset value when buying and receive
less than net asset value when selling.
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of
the money you invest. Diversification does not ensure a profit or
protect against a loss. Investments in securities issued by
non-U.S. companies are subject to risks including country/regional
risk and currency risk. These are especially high in emerging
markets. Funds that concentrate on a relatively narrow market
sector face the risk of higher share-price volatility. Prices of
small- and mid-capitalization stocks often fluctuate more than
those of large-company stocks.
U.S. Patent Nos. 6,879,964; 7,337,138; 7,720,749; 7,925,573;
8,090,646; and 8,417,623.
Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor.
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