Despite founder John Bogle’s outspoken reservations against the exchange traded fund product, Vanguard has become the third largest ETF provider.
Vanguard has $1.3 trillion in assets under management in index funds, with $170 billion in ETFs, report Alex Ulam and Olly Ludwig for IndexUniverse. [ETFs Taking Market Share from Index Funds]
John Bogle, founder and retired CEO of The Vanguard Group, created his company based on serving low-cost index funds that would beat active funds. [Why Vanguard Founder Doesn’t Like ETFs]
“Bogle is the father of indexing,” Paul Volcker, the head of the Fed from 1979 to 1987, said at a ceremony honoring Bogle at the Museum of American Finance. “It is a very strong concept in the market, and deservedly so.”
As a result of the company’s fund structure, Vanguard’s mutual funds and ETFs are some of the cheapest on the market. For instance, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: VOO) has an expense ratio of just 0.06%.