The Vanguard Group Essay -- essays research papers

The Vanguard Group Four C Analysis Company: The Vanguard Group, headquartered in Valley Forge, PA, is the nation’s second-largest mutual fund and a leading provider of company-sponsored retirement plan services. Vanguard serves come 18 million shareholders accounts and manages approximately $850 billion in US mutual fund asssets, including more than $260 billion in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Vanguard offers 130 funds to US investors and 40 additional funds in foreign markets. Vanguard’s corporate structure creates two major benefits for its shareholders:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tremendous cost savings  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Services with an unwavering client focus Admiral Shares were introduced by Vanguard in November 2000 to recognize and encourage the cost savings associated with large and long-tenured accounts by passing along these savings to these shareholders in the form of lower fund expense ratios. Vanguard is simplifying the eligibility criteria for Admiral Shares and lowering the account balance requirements, effective May 10, 2005. Under the new criteria, a Vanguard shareholder owning a regular or IRA account will qualify for Admiral Shares under the following circumstances:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fund account balance totals $100,000 or more. (Previously, a balance of $250,000 was required, or a $150,000 balance in a fund account established for at least three years.)  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fund account balance totals $50,000 or more and the fund account has been established for at least ten years. (Registration for online account access on Vanguard.com ® is also required.) Competition:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fidelity  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American Funds In August, Fidelity voluntarily capped expenses on its domestic equity index funds at 0.1 percent, undercutting fees on similar offerings from Vanguard. By making its index mutual funds the cheapest on the market, Fidelity has issued a challenge to Vanguard, and thrown up a significant hurdle for the indexing expert. And the change may well keep some assets under the Fidelity roof. The firm has added $2 billion in new index assets since its initial reduction in fees. However, Fidelity's $10,000 minimum may put off some new investors. Condition: With Wall Street entering an era of slower earnings growth, every penny o... ... market has also been rocked lately by several scandals involving improper mutual fund trading. Over the past year, a dozen mutual-fund companies have agreed to pay nearly $2 billion in fines. (not Vanguard) Fact Sheet Company name: The Vanguard Group Corporate headquarters: Valley Forge, Pennsylvania Founded: May 1, 1975 First fund: Wellington Fund (inception date: July 1, 1929) Offices: Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Scottsdale, Arizona; Charlotte, North Carolina; Melbourne, Australia; Brussels, Belgium; Singapore; Tokyo, Japan Total assets: Approximately $850 billion in U.S. mutual funds (as of 05/31/2005) Number of funds: 130 domestic funds (including variable annuity portfolios); 35 additional funds in international markets Number of investors: 18 million institutional and individual shareholder accounts Chairman and CEO: John J. Brennan Number of employees (crew): More than 10,000 U.S.-based Largest fund: Vanguard ® 500 Index Fund—$104 billion (Admiralâ„ ¢ and Investor share classes, as of 5/31/2005) Aggregate expense ratio: 0.23% (expenses as a percentage of 2004 average complex net assets) Mailing address: P.O. Box 2600, Valley Forge, PA 19482 Website address: www.Vanguard.com