Many Vanguard Managers Don't Have Skin in the Game

At least 42 portfolio managers at Vanguard Group do not have a personal stake in at least one of the funds they manage, an analysis of fund prospectuses by Dan Weiner, editor of the Independent Advisor for Vanguard Investors, shows.

Among those who don't have a stake in their funds are managers at two outside sub-advisors, Hansberger Global Investors and Sanford C. Bernstein, The Wall Street Journal reports. However, most of the managers who don't have a personal stake work within Vanguard.

According to Vanguard spokesman John Demming, many of these managers "oversee multiple, highly specialized index funds, so it may be impractical for them to own the funds based on their own investment needs and goals."

Although the Securities and Exchange Commission began requiring fund managers to reveal whether they have a personal stake in their own funds Feb. 28, 2005, Roy Weitz, publisher of fundalarm.com, says it's more important for investors to scrutinize this information for actively managed funds than for index funds.

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Money Management Executive
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