Topic

Quick Take

A collection of 38 posts

Quick Take

Vanguard’s Active Managers Cry Uncle

Vanguard is throwing in the towel on two of its active strategies: Alternative Strategies (VASFX) and Managed Allocation (VPGDX). The firm hasn’t given up on active entirely, but this is a big admission that, as I’ve said many times, adding complexity doesn’t lead to better investment outcomes.

| 4 min read
Quick Take

Proxy Pilot

An update on Vanguard's pilot proxy voting program.

| 2 min read
Quick Take

Out of the Oven

Vanguard has decided that after 15 months in the oven, Multi-Sector Income (VMSIX and VMSAX) is ready to eat. Vanguard seeded the global income fund with $25 million when they launched it in October 2021 but didn’t allow outside investors to participate—until now. Yesterday, I was scratching my

| 2 min read
Quick Take

Weathering Government Shutdowns

With the U.S. government’s finances bumping up against the debt ceiling, I’m (not surprisingly) hearing from concerned investors on both sides of the political aisle asking what this means for our investments. First, we’ve been here before. And it’s important to recognized that we’ve

| 2 min read
Quick Take

Alternative Costs

Did Alternative Strategies (VASFX) run into some trouble earlier this year? Some time between November 2021 and April 2022 Vanguard paid $637,000 into the fund to cover “higher-than-anticipated costs associated with short sale transactions.” As you may recall, the fund uses a variety of strategies to achieve a goal

| 2 min read
Quick Take

No More Cuts

Prices of goods and services of all shapes and sizes shot higher last year. Not even Vanguard, historically a cost-cutting machine, was able to buck the trend. Yes, costs (read, expense ratios) rose at Vanguard in 2022.

| 2 min read