Vanguard Global Equity Shuts its Doors

Fund giant Vanguard announced late Thursday that it has closed the $664 million Vanguard Global Equity fund to new investors.

In a prepared statement, the nation’s second largest mutual fund company said that the fund’s subadvisor Marathon Asset Management has stopped taking on new clients for global accounts with mandates similar to this particular fund’s. According to Valley Forge, Penn.-based Vanguard, Marathon took a similar step earlier this year because a rampup in new business had stretched its client service team thin.

"While the fund's asset size and cash inflows are currently not impeding the prudent management of the portfolio, we jointly determined that closing the fund was the fair and appropriate course of action," said Vanguard Chairman Jack Brennan.

The move marks the third closing in the last 18 months and is consistent with the firm’s mantra of protecting the interests of long-term shareholders. Vanguard routinely consults its external investment advisors to ensure cash flow and asset size remain at reasonable levels.

 

 

 

 

 
No timetable has been set for reopening the fund, but it will continue to accept money from existing shareholders. The no-load fund boasts a 36.8% return year-to-date and carries a modest expense ratio of 1.11%, according to Chicago-based fund tracker Morningstar. Jeremy Hosking, cofounder and director of investments in the Americas and Southeast Asia at Marathon, has managed the fund since August 1995.
For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Money Management Executive
MORE FROM FINANCIAL PLANNING