Vanguard has added a seventh sub-advisor to its Explorer Fund. Century Capital Management will join Granahan Investment Management; AXA Rosenberg Investment Management; Kalmar Investment Advisers; Wellington Management Company; Chartwell Investment Partners; and Vanguard Quantitative Equity Group. The Vanguard Explorer Fund has been closed to new investors since February 2006
Company Press Release
VALLEY FORGE, PA, June 12, 2008— The Board of Trustees of the Vanguard® Explorer™ Fund has named Century Capital Management, LLC, as the seventh advisor to the $11 billion fund. This will be the first mandate that Century Capital, an independent, Boston-based investment advisory firm, has managed for Vanguard.
Vanguard Explorer Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation using a multi-manager approach that provides exposure to a broad universe of small-company growth stocks. Century Capital will initially manage a relatively modest portion of the fund’s assets.
“Explorer Fund has long benefited from the multi-manager approach,” said Vanguard Chairman and CEO John J. Brennan “We’re pleased to welcome Century Capital as an advisor to the fund and add them to our roster of outstanding investment advisory firms.”
Century Capital uses a fundamental, bottom-up investment approach that seeks to identify companies that will grow faster than the overall market, with independent research a core tenet of their process. The Century Capital portfolio is expected to be fairly concentrated, holding 65-80 names, with meaningful positions of up to 4% in their highest conviction ideas.
Lanny Thorndike, Chief Investment Officer of Century Capital, will serve as portfolio manager. Mr. Thorndike has 17 years of investment experience, and holds an A.B. from Harvard University, and an M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Century Capital’s investment approach will complement the fund’s six existing traditional and quantitative advisors. As of the fund’s April 30, 2008 semi-annual report, the breakdown of assets among the other advisors was: Granahan Investment Management, Inc., 22%; AXA Rosenberg Investment Management LLC, 13%; Kalmar Investment Advisers, 14%; Wellington Management Company, LLP, 14%; Chartwell Investment Partners, 9%; and Vanguard Quantitative Equity Group, 25%; with the remaining 4% in cash.
The Vanguard Explorer Fund has been closed to new investors since February 2006, and additional purchases by current shareholders are capped at $25,000 annually per fund account.
The addition of the new advisor is not expected to impact the fund’s 0.41% expense ratio (for Investor Shares).
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 more than $1.3 trillion in U.S. mutual fund assets, including nearly $390 billion in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Vanguard offers more than 150 funds to U.S. investors and more than 50 additional funds in non-U.S. markets.
All asset figures are as of May 31, 2008, unless otherwise noted.
For more information, visit www.vanguard.com, or call 800-662-7447 to obtain a fund 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.
Mutual funds are subject to risks. Prices of small-cap stocks often fluctuate more than those of large-company stocks.
Subscribe to MFWire.com's News Alerts [click]
Email & Route 
Print 
Raw XML
