The baton will soon be passed in the management of Vanguard's [profile] $750 billion fixed income arm.
The low cost fund giant reported that Robert Auwaerter, 58, principal and head of the Vanguard Fixed Income Group, today announced his intention to retire in March 2014, after 32 years with the firm.
He will be replaced by Gregory Davis, 43. Davis currently serves as chief investment officer of the Asia Pacific region and is a director of Vanguard Investments Australia. In his current job, he is primarily focused on Vanguard's investment management strategy and implementation, the continued development and refinement of Vanguard’s investment processes, and an expanding range of new products and tailored investment solutions for Australian and international clients.
Before that, he served as a senior portfolio manager and head of bond indexing in the Vanguard Fixed Income Group. He and his team then managed more than $200 billion in bond index fund portfolios.
The Vanguard Fixed Income Group is one of the largest fixed income managers in the world, managing nearly $750 billion invested in 70 taxable and tax-exempt bond, taxable and tax-exempt money market, and stable value funds. The Group oversees about $450 billion in actively managed funds and approximately $300 billion in bond index and exchange-traded funds.
Auwaerter joined Vanguard in 1981 when the company brought in house the investment management of its money market and municipal bond funds. These funds, which then had total assets of approximately $1.3 billion, had been managed by external advisory firms. He is responsible for the portfolio management, strategy, credit research, trading, and planning functions for the Fixed Income Group, which comprises 120 investment professionals and support staff. For many years, he served as the portfolio manager of several of Vanguard’s largest bond funds, including the $46.0 billion Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund and the $16.6 billion Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund.
VANGUARD ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT OF FIXED INCOME CHIEF ROBERT F. AUWAERTER
Gregory Davis to Assume Role as
Head of $750 Billion Vanguard Fixed Income Group
VALLEY FORGE, PA (November 4, 2013)—Robert F. Auwaerter, principal and head of the Vanguard Fixed Income Group, today announced his intention to retire after 32 years with the firm.
Mr. Auwaerter, 58, joined Vanguard in 1981 when the company brought in house the investment management of its money market and municipal bond funds. These funds, which then had total assets of approximately $1.3 billion, had been managed by external advisory firms.
Today, the Vanguard Fixed Income Group is one of the largest fixed income managers in the world, managing nearly $750 billion invested in 70 taxable and tax-exempt bond, taxable and tax-exempt money market, and stable value funds. The Group oversees about $450 billion in actively managed funds and approximately $300 billion in bond index and exchange-traded funds.
“Bob has been the backbone of our fixed income group for more than three decades. He helped to start our fixed income management function and was instrumental in building it into the world-class operation that it is today,” said Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb. “Bob’s record as a portfolio manager is outstanding, and we are deeply indebted to him for his dedication and service to our clients over a long and successful career.”
Mr. Auwaerter, who plans to step down in March 2014, is responsible for the portfolio management, strategy, credit research, trading, and planning functions for the Fixed Income Group, which comprises 120 investment professionals and support staff. For many years, he served as the portfolio manager of several of Vanguard’s largest bond funds, including the $46.0 billion Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund and the $16.6 billion Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund.
Gregory Davis, CFA, will assume the position of head of the Vanguard Fixed Income Group. Mr. Davis, 43, currently serves as chief investment officer of the Asia Pacific region and is a director of Vanguard Investments Australia. He is primarily focused on Vanguard's investment management strategy and implementation, the continued development and refinement of Vanguard’s investment processes, and an expanding range of new products and tailored investment solutions for Australian and international clients.
Mr. Davis joined Vanguard in November 1999 and, prior to his current position, served as a senior portfolio manager and head of bond indexing in the Vanguard Fixed Income Group. Mr. Davis and his team then managed more than $200 billion in bond index fund portfolios.
“Greg brings experience, skill, and strong leadership competencies to his new position,” said Vanguard Chief Investment Officer Tim Buckley. “And Greg, of course, will also benefit from our deep team of investment managers and analysts, our well-established investment process, and funds with clear investment objectives and risk parameters.”
Mr. Davis is a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia and has nearly 15 years of investment management experience. He served on the board of trustees for Philadelphia Futures, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping economically disadvantaged students succeed in college. Before joining Vanguard, he worked at Merrill Lynch as an associate in global debt markets.
Mr. Davis earned a B.S. in insurance from Pennsylvania State University and an M.B.A. in finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Auwaerter began his career in 1978 at Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company and has more than 35 years of fixed income management experience. He serves on the Fixed Income Forum Advisory Board and the Credit Roundtable Advisory Board, both of which represent the interests of large buy-side fixed income investors. He has testified before Congress on fixed income market and trading issues, and he is frequently quoted in the financial press about fixed income funds and markets. In 2012, the Fixed Income Analysts Society elected Mr. Auwaerter to its Fixed Income Hall of Fame.
Mr. Auwaerter earned a B.S. in finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University.
About Vanguard
Vanguard, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, is one of the world’s largest investment management companies and a leading provider of company-sponsored retirement plan services. Vanguard manages nearly $2.4 trillion in U.S. mutual fund assets, including more than $300 billion in ETF assets. The firm offers more than 160 funds to U.S. investors and more than 100 additional funds in non-U.S. markets. For more information, visit vanguard.com.
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All asset figures are as of October 31, 2013, unless otherwise noted.
For more information about Vanguard funds and ETFs, visit vanguard.com or call 800-662-7447 to obtain a 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 investments are subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. Bond funds are subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates, and credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner or that negative perceptions of the issuer’s ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline.
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