News release
VALLEY FORGE, PA (August 1, 2017)—Vanguard today announced the addition of TimesSquare Capital Management, LLC, to the advisory team of Vanguard International Explorer Fund. The firm will join Schroder Investment Management North America Inc. and Wellington Management Company LLP, in overseeing the $3.4 billion small- and mid-cap international equity fund.
“Vanguard continuously scours the globe for world-class investment talent, forging relationships with firms that bring particular expertise and experience to specific mandates,” said Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb. “Our long-term approach and in-depth engagement with firms ensures strong and stable advisory teams that offer differentiated, but complementary investment approaches to the benefit of our clients. We welcome TimesSquare as a valuable addition to our talented roster of investment management partners.”
TimesSquare Capital, headquartered in New York City, was founded in 2000 and specializes in small- and mid-cap growth equity. The firm manages approximately $17.2 billion in assets across both domestic and international equity mandates.
Magnus Larsson, Senior Vice President, will serve as portfolio manager of the TimesSquare sleeve of the International Explorer Fund. With more than 22 years of investment experience, Mr. Larsson leads the firm’s international small-cap team, comprised of four additional investment analysts and two traders. The team’s fundamental equity growth research process emphasizes the assessment of management quality, an in-depth understanding of superior business models, and valuation discrepancies. This approach enables the team to build a diversified portfolio of stocks that aims to generate superior risk-adjusted returns.
The International Explorer Fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation, investing in smaller companies that are expected to grow at a faster rate than the overall market, primarily in the developed European and Pacific markets. The investment objective and principal investment strategies of the fund will remain the same, and the expense ratio of 0.41% is not expected to change.
Following the transition, TimesSquare Capital will initially manage a modest portion of the fund (less than 5%), with its allocation expected to grow over time. Schroders, which has managed the fund since its inception in 1996, will oversee approximately 66% of the fund. Wellington, which was added as an advisor in 2010, will manage approximately 29% of the fund with the remainder in equitized cash investments.
Vanguard: an active leader
Vanguard is among the largest managers of active funds in the world, managing more than $1 trillion in active assets across a range of fundamental fixed income strategies, quantitative equity strategies, and external and multi-managed equity mandates. With the addition of TimesSquare Capital, Vanguard now partners with 28 external advisory firms overseeing more than $570 billion across a range of market segments and disciplines.
The multi-manager approach was first adopted by Vanguard in 1987, and 18 of Vanguard’s actively managed U.S.-domiciled equity funds currently employ this structure. Vanguard combines complementary managers with different approaches and provides rigorous oversight to ensure effective, long-term results. Across all active strategies, Vanguard’s criteria for successful investing has endured: low-cost, exceptional managers, and rigorous oversight.
About Vanguard
Vanguard is one of the world’s largest investment management companies. As June 30, 2017, Vanguard managed $4.4 trillion in global assets. The firm, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, offers 369 funds to its more than 20 million investors worldwide. For more information, visit vanguard.com.
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Asset figures as of June 30, 2017, unless otherwise noted.
For more information about Vanguard funds and ETFs, visit vanguard.com or call 800-662-7447 to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information about a fund are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before investing.
International investing involves additional risks, including currency fluctuations and the potential for adverse developments in specific countries or regions.
Prices of small- and mid-cap stocks often fluctuate more than those of large-company stocks.
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