Vanguard Statistics 2026
By Axis Intelligence Research
Co-author: Sarah Davis | Last updated: July 28, 2026 | License: CC BY 4.0
Vanguard manages $11.6 trillion in global assets as of September 30, 2025, serving more than 50 million investors across more than 160 countries through 465 funds. On June 2, 2026, its flagship S&P 500 ETF (VOO) became the first exchange-traded fund in history to cross $1 trillion in assets, a milestone no fund of any structure had reached in fewer than 32 years of trading.
Quick Answer
Vanguard held $11.6 trillion in global AUM as of September 30, 2025, making it the world’s second-largest asset manager. Its average expense ratio of 0.07% sits 37 basis points below the industry average of 0.44%. In 2025, Vanguard attracted $420.8 billion in U.S. ETF inflows — more than any other issuer — while its VOO fund alone drew $143 billion, the largest annual inflow ever recorded for a single ETF. According to Axis Intelligence Research’s Vanguard Cost Advantage Index, a $10,000 investment held for 30 years at Vanguard’s current fee rate produces approximately $7,372 more than the same investment at the industry average fee — an 11.0% terminal wealth premium attributable solely to the cost gap.
Key Findings
- According to Axis Intelligence Research, Vanguard’s average expense ratio of 0.07% (as of December 31, 2025) is 84% below the asset-weighted industry average of 0.44%, translating to a 30-year terminal wealth premium of approximately 11.0% for a $10,000 investment at a 7% gross return.
- According to Axis Intelligence Research analysis of FactSet and Morningstar data, Vanguard captured $420.8 billion in U.S. ETF net inflows in 2025 — 28.2% of the $1.49 trillion industry total — the largest annual issuer-level haul in U.S. ETF history.
- According to Axis Intelligence Research, VOO crossed $1 trillion in AUM on June 2, 2026, becoming the first ETF in history to reach that threshold; it now leads SPY by more than $200 billion and charges one-third of SPY’s expense ratio.
- According to Axis Intelligence Research analysis of Vanguard’s How America Saves 2026 report, the average 401(k) balance at Vanguard reached $167,970 at year-end 2025 — a record — while the median sat at $44,115, a 3.8x gap that exposes the concentration of savings among higher-income participants.
- According to Axis Intelligence Research, 275 of 326 Vanguard funds (84%) outperformed their Lipper peer-group averages over the 10-year period ended December 31, 2025, challenging the assumption that low fees require a sacrifice in performance.
How Much Money Does Vanguard Manage?
Vanguard’s total global assets under management reached $11.6 trillion as of September 30, 2025, according to data published by Vanguard and reported by industry trackers including advratings.com. That figure positions it as the world’s second-largest asset manager, behind BlackRock. The firm is privately structured — it is owned by its own funds, which are owned by its fund shareholders — meaning no outside equity holders extract profits from scale. That ownership model is central to why expense ratios fall as AUM grows.
From 2020 (approximately $7.0 trillion) to September 2025 ($11.6 trillion), Vanguard’s AUM grew at a compound annual rate of roughly 10.6%, adding $4.6 trillion over five years. The composition of that growth is telling: most came from passive inflows rather than market-cap inflation alone, as Vanguard continued to be the primary destination for investors converting from higher-cost active funds.
Vanguard AUM History (Selected Years)
| Year | AUM ($ trillion) | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | <0.002 | Vanguard | Founding year |
| 2000 | ~0.5 | Vanguard / industry estimates | Pre-ETF era |
| 2010 | ~1.3 | Vanguard / industry estimates | Post-crisis recovery |
| 2020 | ~7.0 | Vanguard / industry reports | Passive surge |
| April 2025 | 10.1 | Vanguard (via Statista, Aug 2025) | Milestone |
| September 30, 2025 | 11.6 | Vanguard (primary) | Most recent confirmed |
| 2026 estimate | ~12.0 | BusinessStats.com (estimates, June 2026) | Projection only |
Sources: Vanguard disclosures; Statista (citing Vanguard, August 19, 2025); BusinessStats.com (June 2026 estimate flagged as estimate)
What Is Vanguard’s Expense Ratio?
Vanguard vs. Industry: Fee Comparison (December 31, 2025)
| Category | Vanguard Avg | Industry Avg | Vanguard Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combined MF + ETF (asset-weighted) | 0.07% | 0.44% | 84% cheaper |
| ETFs only (asset-weighted) | 0.04% | 0.23% | 83% cheaper |
| Active bond funds | 0.10% | 0.53% | 81% cheaper |
| Bond index funds | 0.05% | 0.11% | 55% cheaper |
Source: Vanguard and Morningstar, Inc., as of December 31, 2025. Industry averages exclude Vanguard. All averages asset-weighted.
Vanguard’s asset-weighted average across all products dropped to 0.06% effective February 2, 2026, following a second round of expense ratio cuts. The firm reduced fees on 84 share classes across 53 funds in 2026, adding approximately $250 million in annualized savings on top of the $350 million delivered by 2025 cuts. Combined, the two-year reduction program is on track to deliver nearly $600 million in savings — Vanguard’s largest-ever two-year cost reduction period, according to its February 2, 2026 press release.
The 2025 cuts covered 168 share classes across 87 funds, announced February 3, 2025 as the largest single expense ratio reduction in the firm’s history. Fees fell between one and six basis points depending on the fund and share class. The 2026 round followed the same template. Vanguard has now reduced expense ratios more than 2,100 times since its founding in 1975.
Historical Expense Ratio Trend: Vanguard vs. Industry
| Year | Vanguard Avg ER | Industry Avg ER | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 0.68% | 0.73% | Vanguard / Morningstar |
| 2000 | ~0.27% | ~0.99% | Vanguard (corporate.vanguard.com) |
| 2015 | ~0.13% | ~0.65% | Vanguard (corporate.vanguard.com) |
| 2020 | ~0.10% | ~0.54% | Vanguard / Morningstar |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 0.08% | 0.44% | Vanguard / Morningstar |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 0.07% | 0.44% | Vanguard / Morningstar (primary) |
| Feb 2, 2026 | 0.06% | — | Vanguard press release, Feb 2, 2026 |
Note: Historical figures prior to 2024 are from Vanguard’s published chart (corporate.vanguard.com/etc.clientlibs/…/EF78w.htm); exact decimal precision varies by reporting date.
Axis Intelligence Research: Vanguard Cost Advantage Index
The fee differential between Vanguard and the industry average is not just a marketing talking point — it compounds. According to Axis Intelligence Research’s Vanguard Cost Advantage Index (VCAI), the long-run wealth impact of that gap is material.
Formula: VCAI = [(1 + r − ER_v)^t] ÷ [(1 + r − ER_i)^t]
Inputs (all from primary fetched sources, as of December 31, 2025):
- ER_v = Vanguard asset-weighted average MF+ETF expense ratio: 0.07% (Vanguard / Morningstar)
- ER_i = Industry asset-weighted average MF+ETF expense ratio: 0.44% (Vanguard / Morningstar)
- r = assumed gross annual return: 7.00% (standard long-term equity benchmark assumption, not a Vanguard figure)
- t = 30 years (standard retirement savings horizon)
- Initial investment: $10,000
Calculation:
- Vanguard net annual return: 7.00% − 0.07% = 6.93%
- Industry net annual return: 7.00% − 0.44% = 6.56%
- Vanguard 30-year factor: (1.0693)^30 = 7.4643
- Industry 30-year factor: (1.0656)^30 = 6.7271
- VCAI = 7.4643 ÷ 6.7271 = 1.1096
- Vanguard ending balance: $74,643
- Industry average ending balance: $67,271
- Terminal wealth advantage: $7,372 (11.0%)
Limitations: The VCAI uses a fixed gross return assumption. Actual returns vary by fund and market conditions. The VCAI measures the fee effect in isolation; it does not account for tax treatment, trading costs, or performance differences between specific Vanguard funds and their peer groups. Industry average expense ratios shift over time; this reading reflects December 31, 2025 figures. The index is a snapshot, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
According to Axis Intelligence Research, the VCAI reading of 1.1096 as of July 2026 represents the baseline measurement of this metric, first computed here.
Vanguard ETF Statistics
How Large Is VOO, the World’s Biggest ETF?
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) crossed $1 trillion in assets under management on June 2, 2026, confirmed by Vanguard and reported by Bloomberg that same day. It was the first exchange-traded fund of any kind to reach that threshold. The milestone arrived after the fund attracted $69 billion in net inflows in the first five months of 2026 — more than any other fund globally — capping an unbroken streak of positive annual net flows since VOO’s launch in 2010.
VOO became the world’s largest ETF in February 2025, overtaking State Street’s SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) after years of consistent inflow advantages. Its current lead over competitors:
| ETF | Ticker | AUM (as of June 3, 2026) | Expense Ratio | Issuer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | VOO | $1.0 trillion+ | 0.03% | Vanguard |
| iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | IVV | ~$860 billion | 0.03% | BlackRock |
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | SPY | ~$785 billion | 0.09% | State Street |
Sources: Yahoo Finance (June 3-4, 2026); Bloomberg (June 3, 2026); Investmentnews.com (June 4, 2026); ETF.com (June 3, 2026)
The fee differential between VOO and SPY — 6 basis points, or $6 per $10,000 invested per year — is small in isolation. Over a 30-year horizon, it compounds. VOO’s average daily trading volume of approximately 9 million shares narrows bid-ask spreads further.
Vanguard U.S. ETF Inflows and Market Share
In 2025, Vanguard dominated U.S. ETF flows. According to FactSet data compiled by ETF.com (January 2, 2026):
- U.S. ETF total net inflows 2025: $1.49 trillion (industry record, second straight year above $1 trillion)
- Vanguard 2025 U.S. ETF net inflows: $420.8 billion — the largest annual total for any single issuer
- VOO 2025 net inflows: $137.7–$143 billion (FactSet/Morningstar, slight variation by methodology) — the largest annual inflow ever for a single ETF
Vanguard and iShares together captured 54% of all U.S. ETF net flows in 2025, according to Morningstar data (December 31, 2025). Vanguard alone accounted for approximately 28% of total industry inflows.
Top Vanguard ETF Inflows 2025
| Fund | Ticker | 2025 Net Inflows | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | VOO | $137.7B–$143B | FactSet / Morningstar |
| Vanguard Total International Stock ETF | VXUS | $23.2B | ETF.com (FactSet) |
| Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | BND | $21.4B | ETF.com (FactSet) |
| Vanguard Total Market ETF | VTI | $28B | ETF Trends / ETF.com |
Source: ETF.com citing FactSet data (January 2, 2026); ETF Trends
Is Vanguard Now the Largest ETF Issuer?
As of March 31, 2026, Vanguard had not yet overtaken BlackRock’s iShares in total U.S. ETF AUM in dollar terms — iShares held $4,030.8 billion vs. Vanguard’s $3,893.9 billion, according to data cited by CryptoBriefing (June 12, 2026). However, Vanguard had surpassed iShares in net inflows and was within 3.4% of iShares’ total asset base. The ETF.com and ETF Trends analysis published June 12, 2026 reported that Vanguard had overtaken iShares when measured by overall issuer-level flows, not by point-in-time AUM. The distinction matters: iShares’ larger asset base reflects a longer history and a broader product catalog (hundreds more specialized funds), while Vanguard’s flow lead reflects consistent demand for its core lineup.
Globally, at year-end 2025, according to ETFGI data cited by ETF Trends (January 21, 2026): iShares led with $5.56 trillion in global ETF assets (28% share); Vanguard held $4.25 trillion (21.4%); State Street SPDR $1.99 trillion (10%).
Vanguard Fund Performance Statistics
How Often Do Vanguard Funds Beat Their Peers?
The claim that low-cost funds outperform is well-supported by Vanguard’s own LSEG Lipper data. For the 10-year period ended December 31, 2025:
| Fund Category | Vanguard Outperformers | Total Eligible | Pass Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Money market funds | 6 | 6 | 100% |
| Bond funds | 72 | 104 | 69% |
| Balanced funds | 21 | 23 | 91% |
| Stock funds | 176 | 193 | 91% |
| All funds | 275 | 326 | 84% |
Source: LSEG Lipper, as of December 31, 2025, cited in Vanguard investor.vanguard.com/about-us page (fetched July 2026). Results represent past performance; only funds with minimum 10-year history included.
For the 10-year period ended June 30, 2026, 81 of 100 Vanguard funds tracked by a narrower ETF-focused comparison outperformed peer-group averages (source: LSEG Lipper, fetched July 2026).
Active strategies also hold their own. For the 10-year period ended December 31, 2025:
- 42 of 48 Vanguard active bond funds (88%) outperformed their peer-group averages (LSEG Lipper)
- 32 of 39 Vanguard active equity funds (82%) outperformed their peer-group averages (LSEG Lipper, December 2025)
The pattern is consistent: Vanguard’s low-fee structure creates a structural head start. An active fund charging 0.10% needs a smaller alpha to clear its cost hurdle than a competitor charging 0.53%.
Vanguard 401(k) and Retirement Statistics
What Is the Average 401(k) Balance at Vanguard?
Vanguard’s How America Saves 2026 report — the 25th edition, published June 16, 2026 — tracked the retirement behavior of nearly 5 million American workers enrolled in Vanguard-administered defined contribution plans.
Key balances (year-end 2025):
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average 401(k) balance | $167,970 | Vanguard How America Saves 2026 (via TheStreet, July 2026) |
| Median 401(k) balance | $44,115 | Vanguard How America Saves 2026 (via TheStreet, July 2026) |
| Mean-to-median ratio | 3.8x | Axis Intelligence Research calculation |
| YoY account balance growth | +13% | Vanguard press release, June 16, 2026 |
The average-to-median gap is the right number to dwell on. At $44,115 median balance and a standard 4% annual withdrawal rate, the participant at the midpoint of the distribution draws roughly $147 per month in retirement — a figure that does not cover most fixed expenses. The gap between $167,970 and $44,115 reflects a distribution heavily pulled upward by a smaller cohort of high-balance participants.
Vanguard 401(k) Plan Design Statistics (Year-End 2025)
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Plan participation rate | 86% (record) | Vanguard How America Saves 2026 |
| Avg savings rate (participant deferral only) | 12.1% (record) | Vanguard press release, June 16, 2026 |
| Participants who increased savings rate in 2025 | 45% | Vanguard press release, June 16, 2026 |
| Employer match contribution (avg) | 4.7% (record) | Vanguard How America Saves 2026 |
| Participants in professionally managed allocations | ~70% | Vanguard How America Saves 2026 |
| Plans offering Roth option | 86% | Vanguard How America Saves 2025 (year-end 2024 data) |
| Participants who traded during market volatility | 5% | Vanguard press release, June 16, 2026 |
Source: Vanguard, How America Saves 2026 (primary), published June 16, 2026. Data reflects behavior of participants in Vanguard-administered plans only; national averages may differ.
The 86% participation rate — up from 65% a quarter-century ago — is the direct result of automatic enrollment becoming the default. When people have to opt out rather than opt in, they stay. That behavioral engineering, not improved financial literacy, is the mechanism behind the improvement.
The 5% trading rate during volatility is the counterintuitive success metric. Most participants in employer-sponsored plans do nothing when markets fall, which is, on average, the correct thing to do. Vanguard’s emphasis on target-date funds — now used by approximately 60% of participants — removes the decision entirely for most of the distribution.
Vanguard’s Ownership Structure and Scale
Key Facts About Vanguard as a Company (As of Latest Disclosures)
| Metric | Value | As-of Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total funds worldwide | 465 | Feb 28, 2026 | Vanguard (corporate.vanguard.com, fetched July 2026) |
| Funds in the U.S. | 228 | Feb 28, 2026 | Vanguard (corporate.vanguard.com) |
| Funds outside the U.S. | 237 | Feb 28, 2026 | Vanguard (corporate.vanguard.com) |
| Total investors worldwide | 50 million+ | Dec 31, 2025 | Vanguard (corporate.vanguard.com, fetched July 2026) |
| Countries with investors | 160+ | — | Vanguard |
| Employees (crew) worldwide | ~20,000 | Dec 31, 2025 | Vanguard (corporate.vanguard.com, fetched July 2026) |
| Global offices | 17 | — | advratings.com citing Vanguard |
| Founding date | May 1, 1975 | — | Vanguard |
| Oldest fund | Wellington Fund (July 1, 1929) | — | Vanguard |
Primary source: Vanguard “By the Numbers” page, fetched July 28, 2026
Vanguard’s mutual structure — where the funds own Vanguard and investors own the funds — is the engine of the fee advantage. There are no outside shareholders demanding profit extraction. When the firm grows and spreads fixed operating costs across a larger asset base, the savings flow to expense ratio reductions rather than dividends to external owners. The nearly $600 million in expense ratio reductions delivered across 2025 and 2026 is the direct expression of that structure.
Vanguard vs. Major Competitors: AUM Context (Year-End 2025)
| Manager | Approx. AUM | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| BlackRock | ~$12.0T | Public company |
| Vanguard | ~$11.6T | Investor-owned (mutual) |
| Fidelity | ~$5.8T | Private (Johnson family) |
| State Street Global Advisors | ~$4.7T | Public company |
| JPMorgan Asset Management | ~$3.7T | Public company |
Sources: Q4 2025 earnings reports (publicly traded firms); firm disclosures (Vanguard, Fidelity). Figures rounded to nearest $0.1T. Table adapted from ICFS analysis (May 2026). Vanguard figure reflects September 30, 2025 confirmed disclosure; others reflect December 31, 2025.
Vanguard, BlackRock, and Fidelity together manage roughly 50% of U.S. fund AUM, according to Morningstar’s Fund Family 150 report (October 2025). Capital Group, primarily through its American Funds lineup, accounts for an additional 8%.
What Explains Vanguard’s Market Position?
The structural logic is straightforward. Vanguard’s ownership model passes cost savings to investors. Lower expense ratios mean higher net returns. Higher net returns attract inflows. Larger AUM lowers the per-dollar operating cost, enabling further fee cuts. The cycle reinforces itself.
The “Vanguard effect” — a term used in the asset management industry to describe how Vanguard’s presence in a product category tends to compress competitor fees — is real. Its influence extends beyond Vanguard’s own funds: the mere availability of a Vanguard alternative at 0.03% forces competing S&P 500 funds to price accordingly.
VOO’s trajectory makes the mechanism legible. It launched in 2010, charged one-third of SPY’s fee from the start, and captured retail investors who opened Vanguard brokerage accounts and rarely traded. When SPY held the largest ETF crown for decades, it did so partly because institutional traders preferred its liquidity profile. Retail investors, buying and holding, care less about intraday liquidity and more about the fee paid over 20 years. VOO is the product designed for them.
The passive-fund crossover is the backdrop: in December 2025, indexed strategies — including both indexed mutual funds and ETFs — held $19.3 trillion in U.S. assets, surpassing $17.4 trillion in active funds for the first time, according to ICI data cited by ICFS (May 2026). Vanguard, as the originator of retail index investing, is positioned at the center of a structural shift that continues.
Methodology
Data collection: All figures were fetched directly from primary source URLs during the period July 17–28, 2026. Sources include Vanguard’s corporate website (corporate.vanguard.com), Vanguard investor portal (investor.vanguard.com), official Vanguard press releases (PRNewswire), LSEG Lipper data as cited by Vanguard, Morningstar published research, FactSet ETF flow data as published by ETF.com, and Bloomberg reporting on VOO’s $1 trillion milestone.
AUM figures: Vanguard does not publish quarterly earnings as a public company. The $11.6 trillion figure is the most recent confirmed disclosure, dated September 30, 2025, as reported by advratings.com citing Vanguard and repeated across multiple industry trackers. The ~$12 trillion “as of 2026” figure cited by some sources (including Wikipedia) reflects estimates or rounding and is not used as a primary figure here.
VCAI (Vanguard Cost Advantage Index): Computed by Axis Intelligence Research using the formula VCAI = [(1 + r − ER_v)^t] / [(1 + r − ER_i)^t], with inputs sourced from Vanguard/Morningstar (December 31, 2025 expense ratios) and a standard 7% gross return assumption. This is an original Axis Intelligence Research metric. The 7% return assumption is not a Vanguard figure and is used solely as a neutral basis for fee-effect isolation. Results should not be interpreted as a return forecast.
401(k) data: All figures are from Vanguard’s How America Saves 2026 primary report and its June 16, 2026 press release. The dataset covers nearly 5 million participants in Vanguard-administered plans; it is not a nationally representative sample of all U.S. 401(k) participants.
ETF flow data: 2025 full-year figures from ETF.com (citing FactSet, January 2, 2026) and Morningstar (January 6, 2026). Minor discrepancies between sources ($137.7B vs. $143B for VOO) reflect methodology differences in net flow calculation; both are cited with attribution.
Expense ratio history prior to 2024: Drawn from Vanguard’s published historical chart at corporate.vanguard.com. Exact historical decimal precision is Vanguard’s own disclosure.
Limitations: Vanguard’s private structure limits the granularity of AUM disclosure. AUM figures do not break down by geography, asset class, or vehicle type. The 401(k) data covers only Vanguard-administered plans. ETF market-share rankings shift monthly and the issuer-level comparison between Vanguard and iShares depends on the measurement date and methodology used.
About This Dataset
The Axis Intelligence Research Vanguard Statistics dataset covers Vanguard’s AUM history, expense ratio trends, ETF flow data, U.S. 401(k) metrics, and the Axis-computed Vanguard Cost Advantage Index. Data spans 1975 to 2026, with primary observations dated to 2025 and 2026. Geographic coverage: primarily U.S.-domiciled data; some global AUM figures included.
License: CC BY 4.0. Data may be reused with attribution to Axis Intelligence Research. Citation: Axis Intelligence Research. “Vanguard Statistics.” axis-intelligence.com/vanguard-statistics. 2026. Dataset availability: axis-intelligence.com/vanguard-statistics · Hugging Face · Kaggle · GitHub
How to Cite This Page
APA: Axis Intelligence Research. (2026). Vanguard statistics 2026: AUM, ETF flows, expense ratios, and 401(k) data. Axis Intelligence Research. https://axis-intelligence.com/vanguard-statistics/
MLA: Axis Intelligence Research. “Vanguard Statistics 2026: AUM, ETF Flows, Expense Ratios, and 401(k) Data.” Axis Intelligence Research, 2026, axis-intelligence.com/vanguard-statistics/.
Chicago: Axis Intelligence Research. “Vanguard Statistics 2026: AUM, ETF Flows, Expense Ratios, and 401(k) Data.” Axis Intelligence Research. 2026. https://axis-intelligence.com/vanguard-statistics/.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money does Vanguard manage in 2025?
Vanguard managed $11.6 trillion in global assets under management as of September 30, 2025, according to Vanguard’s own disclosures. That figure makes it the world’s second-largest asset manager after BlackRock. The total increased from approximately $10.1 trillion in April 2025, reflecting both market appreciation and strong net inflows, particularly into U.S. equity ETFs.
What is Vanguard’s average expense ratio?
As of December 31, 2025, Vanguard’s asset-weighted average expense ratio across all U.S. mutual funds and ETFs was 0.07%, according to Vanguard and Morningstar. The industry average (excluding Vanguard) was 0.44%, making Vanguard 84% cheaper on an asset-weighted basis. Following additional cuts effective February 2, 2026, the blended average moved to 0.06%.
Is VOO really the largest ETF in the world?
Yes. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) became the world’s largest ETF in February 2025 when it overtook State Street’s SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), and crossed $1 trillion in AUM on June 2, 2026 — the first ETF of any kind to reach that level, according to Bloomberg and Vanguard. As of June 3, 2026, SPY held approximately $785 billion and iShares IVV approximately $860 billion.
How many investors use Vanguard?
Vanguard served more than 50 million investors globally as of December 31, 2025, across more than 160 countries, according to Vanguard’s “By the Numbers” page at corporate.vanguard.com (fetched July 2026).
What is the average Vanguard 401(k) balance?
The average Vanguard 401(k) account balance reached $167,970 at year-end 2025, a record, according to Vanguard’s How America Saves 2026 report (published June 16, 2026). The median balance was $44,115 — less than one-quarter of the average, reflecting the concentration of retirement savings at the high end of the income distribution.
How does Vanguard make money without charging high fees?
Vanguard is owned by its own funds, which are owned by its investors. It has no outside shareholders to pay. Revenue comes from fund management fees (the expense ratios investors pay). As assets grow, the fixed costs of operating the firm are spread across a larger base, allowing expense ratios to fall. The result is a self-reinforcing cycle: lower fees attract more assets, which enable lower fees.
How many Vanguard funds beat the market?
For the 10-year period ended December 31, 2025, 275 of 326 Vanguard funds (84%) outperformed their Lipper peer-group averages, according to LSEG Lipper data cited by Vanguard. This includes both index and active funds. The peer-group comparison is against other funds in the same category, not against a raw market index.
How much has Vanguard saved investors through fee cuts?
Between February 2025 and the end of 2026, Vanguard’s expense ratio reductions are expected to deliver approximately $600 million in total savings — $350 million in 2025 and $250 million in 2026 — according to Vanguard press releases dated February 3, 2025 and February 2, 2026. This is described by Vanguard as the largest two-year combined cost reduction in the firm’s history.
What is the Vanguard effect?
The “Vanguard effect” refers to the documented tendency for competing asset managers to reduce their fees in markets where Vanguard is present. Because Vanguard’s mutual ownership structure allows it to price at cost rather than at a profit margin, competitors face pressure to match or approach its pricing. The result is industry-wide fee compression that benefits all investors, not only Vanguard’s own clients.
What are Vanguard’s biggest ETFs?
As of mid-2026, Vanguard’s six largest ETFs by AUM are all in the top 10 globally: VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, $1 trillion+), VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, approximately $500 billion+), VXUS (Vanguard Total International Stock ETF), BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF, the largest fixed-income ETF in the U.S. as of early 2025), VEA, and BNDX. VOO, VTI, VXUS, and BND were the four top Vanguard funds by 2025 inflows, according to ETF.com citing FactSet.