Investment stewardship
We have a clear mandate to safeguard and promote long-term investment returns at the companies in which our funds invest.
Tens of millions of individuals have chosen to invest in Vanguard funds. What these investors have in common is that each of their funds, steered by its distinct investment objective, seeks to preserve or grow their assets over time. As a steward, we seek to promote governance practices that drive long-term investment returns for Vanguard-advised funds and their investors.1
Our approach
Vanguard’s Investment Stewardship program is carried out by a global team of experienced professionals, aligned by region, sector, and area of responsibility.
Stewardship in action
Our approach to engaging with portfolio company leaders and executing proxy voting is firmly grounded in our objective to safeguard and promote long-term investment returns for our funds and fund investors. Our funds’ passive investment strategies also inform our approach to investment stewardship—we do not seek to dictate portfolio company strategy or operations.
Investment Stewardship Insights
We share our perspectives on corporate governance practices we associate with long-term investment returns for Vanguard-advised funds with portfolio companies and other market participants.
Reports and policies
We provide regular disclosure of our Investment Stewardship program and proxy voting policies and outcomes to give our investors, portfolio companies, regulators, and other key stakeholders an understanding of the activities we conduct on behalf of the Vanguard-advised funds.
Vanguard Investor Choice
Vanguard's Investor Choice pilot program enables individual investors in certain equity index funds to express their perspectives on shareholder matters at the companies held in their funds.
Contact us
1 Vanguard’s Investment Stewardship program is responsible for proxy voting and engagement on behalf of the quantitative and index equity portfolios advised by Vanguard (together, “Vanguard-advised funds”). Vanguard’s externally managed portfolios are managed by unaffiliated third-party investment advisors, and proxy voting and engagement for those portfolios are conducted by their respective advisors. As such, throughout this document, “we” and “the funds” are used to refer to Vanguard’s Investment Stewardship program and Vanguard-advised funds, respectively.
