Vanguard Announces Advisory Appointments To Three Value Funds

VALLEY FORGE, Pa., Dec. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard today announced changes to the multi-manager structures of three value funds: the $47.5 billion Vanguard Windsor II Fund, the $8.0 billion Vanguard Selected Value Fund, and the $951.5 million Diversified Value Portfolio of Vanguard Variable Insurance Fund.  

Two new advisory firms will join Vanguard's distinguished lineup of 24 external investment advisors, bringing a wealth of experience and talent that Vanguard believes will result in stronger long-term performance for the funds and better outcomes for clients moving forward. The changes are detailed below.

Vanguard Windsor II Fund

Aristotle Capital Management, LLC (Aristotle Capital) has been added to Windsor II Fund, joining existing advisors Lazard Asset Management, LLC, Hotchkis and Wiley Capital Management, LLC, and Sanders Capital, LLC.

Aristotle Capital is a 100% employee-owned investment manager with $19.6 billion in assets under management. The firm employs a value-oriented investment style founded on fundamental research and investing in high-quality businesses. The 17-member Global Investment Team conducts bottom-up fundamental company research. Howard Gleicher, CFA, and Greg Padilla, CFA, will co-manage Aristotle Capital's portion of Windsor II Fund. Mr. Gleicher serves as the chief executive officer and chief investment officer. He has 35 years of industry experience and earned an M.B.A. from Harvard University. Mr. Padilla serves as a portfolio manager and has 14 years of industry experience. He earned an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.

Vanguard Selected Value Fund

Cooke & Bieler, L.P. (Cooke & Bieler) has been added to Selected Value Fund, joining existing advisors Donald Smith & Co., Inc., and Pzena Investment Management, LLC.

Cooke & Bieler is a Philadelphia-based investment manager founded in 1949, noted for its unique structure and approach. The employee-owned partnership manages only U.S. domestic value equites totaling $6.2 billion, mainly on behalf of institutional clients. The firm's investment philosophy is to buy high-quality businesses at attractive prices while its analyst-driven process eliminates information loss and creates clear accountability. Mehul Trivedi, CFA, and William Weber, CFA, who are partners and career analysts, will manage Cooke & Bieler's portion of the Selected Value Fund on behalf of the eight-person team. Mr. Trivedi earned an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and has been a portfolio manager at Cooke & Bieler since 1998. Mr. Weber earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and has been a portfolio manager at Cooke & Bieler since 2010.

Vanguard Diversified Value Portfolio of Vanguard Variable Insurance Fund

Lazard Asset Management, LLC, and Hotchkis and Wiley Capital Management, LLC, two of the current managers of Windsor II Fund, have been added to Vanguard Diversified Value Portfolio.

These restructurings also result in Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss (BHMS) no longer serving as an advisor to the three funds. Vanguard Quantitative Equity Group, which has managed less than 1% of Windsor II Fund's assets for the last 10 years, has also been removed from the advisory team.

"We are pleased to add Aristotle Capital and Cooke & Bieler to the exceptional array of investment firms managing Vanguard funds, and are confident that their management approaches will benefit clients over the long-term," said Dan Newhall, head of global oversight and manager search for Vanguard Portfolio Review Department. "We are grateful for BHMS' contributions to the long-standing success of these funds and their commitment to our investors."

Mr. Newhall noted that to protect the funds' shareholders and minimize trading impact, Vanguard has repositioned the portfolios and transferred assets to the new advisory firms.

Vanguard Windsor II Fund's expense ratios are expected to change to 0.26% from 0.25% for Admiral™ Shares and to 0.34% from 0.33% for Investor Shares. Vanguard Selected Value Fund's expense ratio is expected to change to 0.33% from 0.36%. The expense ratio for Vanguard Diversified Value Portfolio is expected to change to 0.28% from 0.25%.

Vanguard's active management approach

Vanguard has delivered consistent and sustained outperformance over its more than 40 years of active management. ^[1] Vanguard's philosophy on active management is rooted in its commitment to partnering with top-tier advisors—both internal and external—and taking a long-term, disciplined approach to investing.

Global scale and a low-cost ethos drive Vanguard to relentlessly pursue the deep expertise and selection skill needed to attain these objectives. To do so, Vanguard's Portfolio Review Department employs an objective, multi-year search process to identify quality managers. Current and potential advisors are evaluated by a team of more than 20 full-time investment experts in five key areas: firm, philosophy, process, people, and performance. These characteristics are constantly monitored, and Vanguard takes appropriate measures when needed in order to improve investor outcomes.

Today, Vanguard's actively managed mutual funds represent $1.4 trillion; $635.1 billion is managed by external advisors, including traditional active equity, bond, and balanced assets; $673 billion is managed by the Vanguard Fixed Income Group, including taxable and tax-exempt bonds, and money market funds; and $43.3 billion is managed by the Vanguard Quantitative Equity Group.

About Vanguard

Vanguard is one of the world's largest investment management companies. As of October, 2019, Vanguard managed $5.9 trillion in global assets. The firm, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, offers more than 423 funds to its more than 30 million investors worldwide. For more information, visit vanguard.com.

¹ For the 10 years ended September 30, 2019, 86 of 96 Vanguard active funds outperformed their peer group averages (source: Lipper, a Thomson Reuters Company). Results will vary for other time periods. Only funds with a minimum 10-year history were included in the comparison. Note that the competitive performance data shown represent past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results, and that all investments are subject to risks. For the most recent performance, visit our website at vanguard.com/performance.

For more information about Vanguard funds, visit www.vanguard.com, or call 800-662-7447, to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information about a fund are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before investing.

All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.

Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor of the Vanguard Funds.

SOURCE The Vanguard Group