Vanguard, the second-largest U.S. issuer of exchange traded funds, has offered its own ETFs to clients on a commission-free basis since 2010, but the fund giant is broadening access to commission-free ETFs by offering rivals’ funds without commissions.
In a statement out Monday, Pennsylvania-based Vanguard said it will offer nearly 1,800 ETFs, including funds from rivals such as BlackRock iShares, State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) and Schwab, on a commission-free basis.
ETFs deemed overly complex or speculative will be excluded.
“Vanguard has led the industry in reducing the cost and complexity of investing for all investors for more than four decades. We’ve driven down the costs of funds. We’ve driven down the cost of advice. Now, we’re driving down the cost of investing in ETFs,” said Karin Risi, Managing Director of Vanguard’s Retail Investor Group, in the statement. “We believe giving investors access to a broad choice of low-cost, broadly diversified, commission-free investments is good for investors and good for the asset management industry.”
A Massive Suite of ETFs
Commission-free platforms for exchange traded funds are popular throughout the brokerage industry with some of the largest brokerage firms, including E*Trade, Schwab and TD Ameritrade, offering expansive of ETFs on a commission-free basis.
By offering close to 1,800 ETFs without commissions, Vanguard is now home to the brokerage industry’s largest commission-free ETF platform.
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Earlier this year, Firstrade Securities, Inc. made waves when it said it was offering more than 700 ETFs with no commissions. The Firstrade commission-free platform features 703 ETFs, more than three-quarters of which have received a Morningstar Rating three, four or five stars.
“Vanguard expects commission-free online transactions to be available in August and will include the majority of ETFs traded on the major exchanges, which constitutes the largest suite of ETFs available to investors without commissions,” according to the statement.
On a global basis, Vanguard ETFs have $937 billion in assets under management combined.
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