For decades, Vanguard Group appeared to exercise its voting rights, in companies where it holds shares, as a monolith. No longer. The mutual funds giant last week announced its most interesting shareholder voting development in years, spelling out how and why it votes on corporate governance, compensation, strategy, and other proxy matters at public companies. As of the end of 2019, Vanguard’s 25 external managers will have full voting power over shares in the mutual funds they manage. Wellington Management, for instance, the outside money manager that manages mutual funds for Vanguard, can now make independent voting decisions and engage with management of the companies in which it holds shares instead of referring back to the Malvern, Pa., mother ship for direction. In effect, the external managers who manage $471 billion worth of stocks in American corporations will soon have a say in matters like executive compensation, mergers and acquisitions, and electing directors at … [Read more...] about In major shift, Vanguard says it will allow active fund managers to vote independently
Stocks vs index funds
Manchester United vs. Brighton
Nevertheless, the players dug in deep to hold onto the three points, and although it wasn't pretty, at least we got the job done. I am smiling and this is one of these things I will remember for the rest of my life.Rashford's form has been integral to Solskjaer's fine start at the Old Trafford helm, with the Norwegian having now presided over seven wins from seven."I think it wasn't nice watching Manchester United over the previous year and knowing the players weren't happy, they weren't enjoying it and I think all he's done is say "go and play, go and express yourselves, and enjoy it", United's all-time leading scorer said."You can argue for many strikers but I'm glad he's in my team", said Solskjaer, himself a former United forward.Did his Man Utd team look and feel like a Sir Alex Ferguson's team at Old Trafford? I said a few years ago on Monday Night Football when Mata was signed that he was a wonderful player, but I thought it was a breach of philosophy."Enjoyment", said Rooney, … [Read more...] about Manchester United vs. Brighton
Jack Bogle: the father of The index Fund is died
John Bogle, founder of Vanguard Group and creator of index mutual fund, died on Wednesday in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, at the age of 89, according to a statement from Vanguard."Don't look for the needle in the haystack", Bogle wrote in 2007's "The Little Book of Common Sense Investing".After his firing following an unsuccessful merger, Bogle founded the Vanguard Company and, soon after, the First Index Investment Trust - the public's first index mutual fund. The 450-page book went into exhaustive detail explaining the advantages of index funds - in terms of tax exposure, low costs and performance - over stock picking. Buffett noted that early on, Bogle was "frequently mocked by the investment-management industry".Most notably he inspired an entire movement of individual investors, known as the Bogleheads, in whose founding and development Morningstar.com played no small part, who found him more messianic than Quixotic and regarded his investment philosophy as gospel and his every … [Read more...] about Jack Bogle: the father of The index Fund is died
A down year for mutual funds, especially at tax time
You will never go broke paying taxes. A good friend and fellow adviser likes to remind clients of that at this time of year. The idea, of course, is if you owe taxes on your investments, it's because they are making money. What is harder to explain is why some investors end up with a hefty tax bill in a year their investment portfolio has lost money. After a sharp sell-off this month, the major U.S. equity benchmarks are down 7-to-10 percent year-to-date. Even if Santa brings a late December stock rally, any investment gains are likely to be minimal. What may not be minimal is your 2018 tax bill, especially if you own mutual funds. Dissecting funds Here's how mutual funds are structured: Each fund is a collection of individual stocks bound together into a single product. As fund managers make changes and sell some of those stocks throughout the year, it creates a realized gain for the fund's shareholders. Most mutual funds distribute those realized gains, plus the stock dividends, at … [Read more...] about A down year for mutual funds, especially at tax time
Fidelity fires fee salvo vs. Vanguard, launching two new mutual funds with zero fees
The mutual fund giant Vanguard has led the way in cutting costs for retail investors — until last week. Now, it’s Fidelity’s turn to take on Vanguard — and Fidelity just went to zero fees first. As of Friday, Fidelity launched two mutual funds with no fees. Fidelity ZERO Total Market Index Fund (FZROX) and Fidelity ZERO International Index Fund (FZILX) are now available with no fees to individual retail investors who purchase shares through a Fidelity brokerage account. The Boston investment giant also slashed fees on some existing index-based stock and bond funds, according to a news release. Publicity stunt? Yes, but competitors such as the robo-adviser Betterment said these fee wars will continue raging. “There has been a consistent march toward lower fees between fund providers, and Vanguard has always been competitive,” Betterment senior portfolio researcher Adam Grealish said in response to questions about the Fidelity … [Read more...] about Fidelity fires fee salvo vs. Vanguard, launching two new mutual funds with zero fees