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Vanguard Is Entering a New Era. Can It Keep Winning for Another 50 Years?

Plus, what to know about three of the firm’s new active equity ETFs.

Daniel Sotiroff and Ivanna Hampton Apr 10, 2026

Vanguard Is Entering a New Era. Can It Keep Winning for Another 50 Years?

Securities in This Article

Will Vanguard’s next 50 years live up to its first half-century?

Why it matters: The popular investment firm counts millions of everyday investors among its clients. Vanguard CEO Salim Ramji joined the firm from its rival, BlackRock. Ramji is influencing Vanguard’s direction while keeping the overall mission intact. But the company continues to evolve under the new leadership, with a greater emphasis on advice and the launch of new funds.

This episode is the first of a two-part series examining what’s going on with Vanguard in 2026.

Dan Sotiroff, Vanguard analyst and the associate director of US passive strategies research for Morningstar, joined Investing Insights.

8 Questions on Vanguard in 2026

It’s almost Salim Ramji’s second anniversary as CEO of Vanguard. How has he influenced the firm’s direction since taking the helm?
One of the big changes underway is splitting the company into two investment advisors: Vanguard Capital Management and Vanguard Portfolio Management. What are the responsibilities of each unit, and who’s leading them?
Why do this now after 50 years, and how will it benefit everyday investors?
Vanguard has found itself under SEC scrutiny. Can you describe why, and tell us whether the case brought against Vanguard hurt its investor-first reputation?
Following that SEC fine, there was a leadership shakeup in the legal department. Ramji brought in a new chief legal officer with a federal prosecution background. What do you make of that?
Vanguard pioneered exchange-traded fund share classes for mutual funds. It started with index-tracking investments. It has been applied to expand it to actively managed mutual funds. What is the advantage of this structure? Will it work as well with active funds?
The firm recently launched three new active equity ETFs. What are they, and what should everyday investors know about them?
Any word on when Morningstar analysts will bring these under coverage?

It’s all about tax efficiency. The ETF, it’s no secret, is just much more tax-efficient in that it defers capital gains until an investor actually sells out of the fund. That’s the carrot that’s hanging in front of Vanguard and a lot of other asset managers right now. A lot of people are leaving mutual funds, and that’s triggering a lot of capital gains distributions. The ETF is just much better at handling those types of situations. It’ll work the same for actively managed mutual funds as it does for index funds. The mechanism is baked into the ETF structure, and that continues to exist as long as it’s well managed. Vanguard knows how to manage ETFs, so I have no concerns there.

Dan Sotiroff, associate director of US passive strategies research, Morningstar

More From Morningstar on Vanguard in 2026 and Top Funds

Vanguard is splitting into two investment advisors: Vanguard Capital Management and Vanguard Portfolio Management. According to Sotiroff, the larger unit, Capital Management, is housing bond funds, broad index funds, and passive multi-asset funds like target-date retirement funds. Rodney Comegys, head of global equity, and Sara Devereux, global head of fixed income, are both serving as CIOs. The Portfolio Management unit is holding actively managed funds and smaller index funds. John Ameriks is the unit’s CIO and continues to lead quantitative and strategic equity. Sotiroff says he’s not worried about the division because it appears to be a technicality. Each entity will have the same resources, same operations, and same processes, and their leaders will report to global CIO Greg Davis.

Devereux recently joined The Long View podcast, where she discussed why bonds are still ballast and the outlook for fixed-income markets. Read about how Morningstar’s Dan Culloton found a top-performing Vanguard fund by accident. Buy-and-hold investors can check out top-rated Vanguard ETFs and mutual funds. Watch Investing Insights to learn about eight funds that could steady portfolios during rough markets.

Securities Mentioned in This Episode

Vanguard Wellington US Value Active ETF VUSV

Vanguard Wellington US Growth Active ETF VUSG

VDIG Vanguard Wellington Dividend Growth Active ETF VDIG

Coming up: Part two of the Vanguard in 2026 series will examine how the behemoth asset manager is seeking to develop an edge in new areas like active bond ETFs. Sotiroff will discuss the firm’s push into active fixed income and more on Investing Insights on Friday, April 17.

The author or authors do not own shares in any securities mentioned in this article. Find out about Morningstar’s editorial policies.

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