Sauter Off the Books as Vanguard Skipper

Vanguard Group has taken George U. "Gus" Sauter's name off of filings as a manager of its index funds, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company now lists Michael H. Buek as day-to-day manager of the flagship 500 Index, which tracks the S&P 500 stock index.

Although Vanguard also said that Buek has been running the fund since 1991, this came as a surprise to Sonya Morris, an analyst with Morningstar, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Buek's long-term role as manager was "news to us," Morris said. "I wish Vanguard had disclosed it sooner."

Vanguard is just now disclosing the information to comply with a new SEC rule, according to John Demming, a Vanguard spokesperson. Demming explained that, although he is no longer listed as a manager of the 500 Index and other funds, Sauter "maintains oversight responsibilities for these funds, and will continue to do so."

And while manager changes are usually noteworthy events for fund investors, this is not the case with the Vanguard index funds, said Dan Wiener, who writes an independent newsletter for investors in Vanguard funds.

"Anyone who thought Gus was managing the index funds day to day didn't understand how big Vanguard has gotten," he said.

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