Quantcast
The MFWire
Manage Email Alerts | Sponsorships | About MFWire | Who We Are

Subscribe to MFWire.com's News Alerts [click]

Rating:Vanguard Will Adopt a $178MM Fund Not Rated 0.0 Email Routing List Email & Route  Print Print
Thursday, January 20, 2022

Vanguard Will Adopt a $178MM Fund

Reported by Neil Anderson, Managing Editor

The team at the Low-Cost Leviathan is preparing to adopt a British firm's $178-million, four-year-old ESG mutual fund and merge it into a newly created one.

Kate Fox
Baillie Gifford & Co.
Partner, Portfolio Manager
Yesterday, Tim Buckley, chairman and CEO of Vanguard [profile], revealed plans to adopt the Baillie Gifford Positive Change Equities Fund later this year, pending shareholder approval. The Vanguard folks also filed to launch the Vangaurd Baillie Gifford Global Positive Impact Stock Fund. They expect to debut the new fund in Q2 2022, then adopt the predecessor fund, then make the combined fund "available for public investment" in Q3.

"We'll continue to thoughtfully expand our ESG lineup, introducing funds and ETFs with enduring investment merit that reflect clients' needs and preferences," Buckley states, lauding the Baillie Gifford folks for their "significant expertise in fundamental equity research and impact analysis."

Vanguard will sponsor its new fund, while keeping Baillie Gifford [profile] on as the fund's investment advisor. Kate Fox, a partner and portfolio manager at Baillie Gifford, and Lee Qian, a portfolio manager at Baillie Gifford, have PMed the predecessor fund since inception at the end of 2017 and will PM the successor fund. The new fund will be a series of the Vanguard Valley Ford Funds trust. (The predecessor fund is a series of the Baillie Gifford Funds trust.)

Vanguard's successor fund will come with an expense ratio of 59 basis points, compared to 65 bps (after a fee waiver) for the predecessor fund's class K shares and 68 bps (also after a fee waiver) for the predecessor fund's institutional class shares.

"We hope that this fund adoption will broaden access to impact investing at a very competitive cost," states Andrew Telfer, joint senior partner at Baillie Gifford.

Jeff DeMaso, editor and research for the Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors, writes that "Vanguard is going all-in in their partnership with Baillie Gifford," noting that the latter firm already subadvises six Vanguard funds. He also notes that it'll only be one of four Vanguard funds with a subadvisor's name in the fund name.

After expressing skepticism about ESG investing (especially around difficulties in defining ESG investing), DeMaso praises the launch and adoption as "a step in the right direction for want-to-be ESG investors."

"It's concentration, distinct style and clear philosophy, gives it the potential to outperform while allowing investors to decide if they agree with Baillie Gifford's approach to having a positive impact on the world," DeMaso concludes.

Vanguard will serve as the new fund's distributor, dividend-paying agent, and transfer agent, while Bank of New York Mellon will be its custodian. An independent accounting firm has not yet been named. (The predecessor fund's service providers include: Baillie Gifford Funds Services LLC (BGFS) as distributor and underwriter; BNY Mellon as administrator, custodian, and transfer agent; Cohen & Company, Ltd. as independent accounting firm; Ropes & Gray LLP as counsel; and Vedder Price P.C. as counsel to the independent trustees.) 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE

0.0
 Do You Recommend This Story?



GO TO: MFWire
Return to Top
 News Archives
2025: Q3Q2Q1
2024: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2023: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2022: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2021: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2020: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2019: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2018: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2017: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2016: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2015: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2014: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2013: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2012: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2011: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2010: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2009: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2008: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2007: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2006: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2005: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2004: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2003: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2002: Q4Q3Q2Q1
 Subscribe via RSS:
Raw XML
Add to My Yahoo!
follow us in feedly


    Sorry, no records in the database matched your search parameters. Clich back and try again.



  1. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, July 9
  2. MFDF webinar - Mid-Year Tax Update for Registered Investment Companies, July 10
  3. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum (Philadelphia), July 15
  4. 2025 MMI Women in Advisory Solutions Forum, Jul 15-16
  5. Nicsa webinar - How Trusted GenAI is Transforming Data Access in Asset Management, July 16
  6. MFDF webinar - M&A and Consolidation in Asset Management, July 16
  7. MFDF webinar - ETF Conversions, July 17
  8. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum (New York), July 22
  9. MFDF Ask Anything webinar - AI Edition, July 24
  10. MFDF webinar - Use of Derivatives by RICs, July 29
  11. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum (Columbus, Ohio), August 20
  12. Samfund Soiree Boston 2025, August 21
  13. MFDF webinar - The Audit Committee Chair's Guide to Balancing Duties and Emerging Issues, September 3
  14. ICI ETF Conference, Sep 8-10
  15. Nicsa webinar - Reimagining Reconciliation: AI, Regulation, and Capital Markets Transformation, September 10
  16. MFDF webinar - Series Trust Funds - Compliance and Board Reporting, September 10
  17. MFDF In Focus - Board Oversight of DEI in Current Landscape, September 11
  18. MFDF webinar - MFDF 15(c) White Paper Webinar Series: Part 4 – Enforcement Action Takeaways, September 16
  19. MFDF webinar - Latest in Closed-End Funds Litigations, September 23
  20. MFDF webinar - Fixed Income Insights: Navigating Market Trends & Opportunities, September 24
  21. MFDF webinar - Risk Management Essentials for RICs and Boards, September 29
  22. MFDF webinar - Diligent - Tools for Fund Board Book, October 1
  23. 10th annual Fuse Forum, October 8
  24. MFDF webinar - Essential Strategies in Board Oversight of Operational Risk Management, October 14
  25. 2025 MMI Annual Conference, Oct 15-17
  26. MFDF webinar - Series Trust Funds - Effective Board Relationships with Advisers, October 15




©All rights reserved to InvestmentWires, Inc. 1997-2025
14 Wall Street | 20th Floor | New York, NY 10005 | P: 212-331-8968 | F: 212-331-8998
Privacy Policy :: Terms of Use