Vanguard Receives First Exemplary Stewardship Award From Morningstar

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May 10, 2019, 09:14 ET

CHICAGO, May 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley yesterday accepted the 2019 U.S. Morningstar Award for Investing Excellence for Exemplary Stewardship at the Morningstar Investment Conference—one of the three top honors presented by the firm. Vanguard is the inaugural recipient of the award, which recognizes the asset manager that has shown an unwavering focus on serving the best interests of investors.

"We are pleased to receive this honor from a firm we respect and admire, and one who is like-minded in the service to investors," said Mr. Buckley. "The award is a testament to Jack Bogle's vision: Creating a company owned by its clients¹and operated solely in their interests. This same spirit of insurgency and client focus that inspired the formation of Vanguard four decades ago will continue to guide our work today and in the future."

Vanguard has sought to serve investor interests by espousing long-term, balanced, low-cost investing; offering sound and sensible investments; serving as a voice for investors in Washington and in corporate boardrooms; and providing thoughtful research and perspective. Since its founding on May 1, 1975, the firm has emerged as a leading global asset manager with more than $5.4 trillion in assets.

Vanguard has continuously embodied its mission of taking a stand for all investors, treating them fairly, and giving them the best chance for investment success. The firm recently won praise for lowering the cost of investing by expanding its commission-free² ETF platform, while eliminating risky inverse and leveraged products that it deemed "incompatible with long-term investing" and out of concern for the potential misuse by the average investor. Vanguard has also expressed strong support for an SEC proposal to help investors make more informed investment decisions efforts through more clear and succinct fund disclosures. Most recently, the company advocated for greater boardroom diversity and other governance "best practices."

In addition to these recent examples, Vanguard has a long history of client centricity. Vanguard has closed top-performing funds and turned away "hot money." The firm frequently cautions consumers about the risks of investing and warns them about questionable investments and industry practices. Vanguard is also a vocal proponent of investor education and supportive of several investor literacy efforts.

Exemplary Stewardship Award Methodology

Morningstar conducts in-depth qualitative analyses in order to select nominees and, subsequently, vote to determine the award winner. To qualify for the award, the firm must have received a Parent pillar rating of "positive." The Parent pillar rating measures the quality of a firm's care of investors' capital. The firms must demonstrate an investor-focused corporate culture and an alignment of interests between investors and the people who control the destiny of the investment strategies.

About Vanguard
Vanguard is one of the world's largest investment management companies. As of March 31, 2019, Vanguard managed $5.4 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.

¹ Vanguard is client-owned. As a client owner, you own the funds that own Vanguard.

² Commission-free trading of Vanguard ETFs applies to trades placed both online and by phone. Commission-free trading of non-Vanguard ETFs excludes leveraged and inverse ETFs and applies only to trades placed online; most clients will pay a commission to buy or sell non-Vanguard ETFs by phone. Commission-free trading of non-Vanguard ETFs also excludes 401(k) participants using the Self-Directed Brokerage Option; see your plan's current commission schedule. Vanguard Brokerage reserves the right to change the non-Vanguard ETFs included in these offers at any time. All ETFs are subject to management fees and expenses; refer to each ETF's prospectus for more information. Account service fees may also apply. All ETF sales are subject to a securities transaction fee. See the Vanguard Brokerage Services commission and fee schedules for full details.

For more information about Vanguard funds or Vanguard ETFs, visit vanguard.com or call 800-997-2798 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.

Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor of the Vanguard Funds.

Morningstar's Manager Research Group consists of various wholly owned subsidiaries of Morningstar, Inc. including, but not limited to, Morningstar Research Services LLC. Analyst Ratings are subjective in nature and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. Analyst Ratings are based on Morningstar's Manager Research Group's current expectations about future events and therefore involve unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause such expectations not to occur or to differ significantly from what was expected. Analyst Ratings are not guarantees nor should they be viewed as an assessment of a fund's or a fund's or separately managed account's underlying securities' creditworthiness. This press release is for informational purposes only; references to securities or a separately managed account investment strategy in this press release should not be considered an offer or solicitation by Morningstar to buy or sell those funds .

SOURCE Vanguard