Vanguard Charitable boosts donors' charitable giving power by nearly doubling size of trusted investment lineup

Vanguard Charitable's average weighted investment fee is 87% lower than the donor-advised fund industry average

MALVERN, Pa., July 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard Charitable, a leading nonprofit and trusted sponsor of donor-advised funds (DAFs), today proudly introduced the addition of 16 new investments to expand its curated, high-performing DAF investment lineup. The expansion builds on what was already a distinguished lineup and provides donors with new actively managed funds and more options within U.S. equity markets, enabling even greater portfolio customization. Backed by its 25-year legacy of providing donors with solutions and resources that maximize philanthropy over time, Vanguard Charitable now offers a total of 36 high-quality, cost-effective investments to bolster its donors' wide-ranging philanthropic goals.

"Through conversation with our donors, we identified an appetite for an even greater number of high-value, low-cost investment options that allow donors to customize their investment blend and continue to grow their charitable impact," said Rebecca Moffett, president of Vanguard Charitable. "Providing a curated, diverse investment lineup enables our donors to unlock additional giving power, which is more important than ever to support the near- and long-term needs of charities everywhere. We're proud of this enhancement and view it as yet another way we can serve as a strategic, innovative partner for donors, helping them increase philanthropy and maximize its impact over time."

Low-cost, high-impact investments enhance strategic giving
The expanded lineup reinforces Vanguard Charitable's reputation for having the industry's lowest all-in fees, amplifying donors' charitable impact by offering the potential for investment growth and more dollars to grant to charity in return. Vanguard Charitable's investment funds have an average weighted investment fee (expense ratio) of 5.5 bps, which is 87% lower than the DAF industry average.

"To underscore the benefit of low-cost, high-quality investment options for philanthropic giving, I like to benchmark the performance of two of our most popular investments – Growth and Moderate Growth – against the performance of nonprofit institutions with large endowments, such as colleges and universities," said Mark Froehlich, chief financial officer of Vanguard Charitable. "Over the past 10 years, both of these investments have on average outperformed college and university endowments of all sizes, except the largest with assets of $1 billion or more. This is notable because endowments generally employ dedicated personnel and investment strategies that are nearly impossible for the average donor to replicate without significantly higher fees. We're proud to offer our donors high-quality, low-cost investment options to effectively and efficiently maximize their charitable giving."

More options to facilitate more dollars for giving
This update further enhances Vanguard Charitable's proven lineup that supports all levels of investment expertise. Donors can customize their investment options based on personal preferences and giving goals, accessing new levels of flexibility.

Vanguard Charitable's investment menu includes two categories:

• Portfolio Solutions: Pre-allocated, ultra-cost-effective investment options offering broad market coverage that are professionally monitored and rebalanced on a regular basis. They provide a strong foundation for near- and long-term giving, and help donors save time and energy managing charitable assets so they can focus on their broader giving strategy.
• Portfolio Builders: Individual building blocks representing a variety of asset classes and risk levels. These fund options can be used - in tandem with Portfolio Solutions or on their own - by donors and financial advisors to incorporate more customized strategies into their charitable giving investment portfolios.

To access the full investment offering and to learn more about donor-advised funds as effective philanthropic tools, please visit our website.

About Vanguard Charitable 

Vanguard Charitable is a leading U.S. nonprofit organization that fulfills its mission to increase philanthropic giving by administering a donor-advised fund—a tax-effective way to consolidate, accrue, and grant assets to charity. Since it was founded by Vanguard¹ in 1997 as an independent 501(c)(3) organization, Vanguard Charitable has granted more than $16 billion to charity. More information is available at www.vanguardcharitable.org.

SOURCE Vanguard Charitable