Still, it’s highly unlikely the #BoycottVanguard movement will even make a dent in the company’s business, according to industry expert Dave Nadig.
“They won’t loose a single 401k plan over it, and an infinitesimally small number of brokerage clients,” Nadig said.
Meanwhile, cash continues to pour into Vanguard’s lineup. Roughly $4.4 billion has been added to Vanguard’s stable of 84 ETFs in the past week alone, after luring $157 billion in 2023, Bloomberg data show, more than any other asset manager. Vanguard has grown its share of the $8 trillion ETF market for 21 consecutive years, putting it on the cusp of dethroning industry leader BlackRock.
Despite drawing the crypto community’s disdain, Vanguard — with its rock-bottom fees and unique corporate structure in which fund investors elect its board members and effectively own the company — has still attracted something of a cult following online. On forum Bogleheads.org, any posts related to “investment strategies based on securities or physical assets that have no underlying value or negative expected long term returns” (hint: crypto) are banned.
While shunning crypto ETFs could be a long-term risk should it ultimately put off younger investors, it’s a small one relative to Vanguard’s loyal base, according to Bloomberg Intelligence’s Eric Balchunas.
“To be honest, Vanguard can’t keep money from coming in,” said Balchunas, Bloomberg Intelligence’s senior ETF analyst and the author of The Bogle Effect. “Even if Vanguard said, ‘Please stop investing with us,’ it wouldn’t do anything. They have banked so much trust and goodwill with their customers.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.