Investment Advisor Vanguard's CEO Tim Buckley To Step Down, Search For Successor Underway

Thursday, Vanguard Chairman and CEO Tim Buckley disclosed that he will retire from his current position by the end of 2024. 

After more than three decades of service, Buckley leaves a legacy marked by remarkable growth and innovation. 

Vanguard’s Board of Directors has already initiated a thorough process to select a new CEO, considering candidates both within and outside the organization. 

Concurrently, the investment giant announced that Chief Investment Officer Greg Davis has been appointed as President, effective immediately.

Buckley, reflecting on his decision, stated, “In my seventh year as CEO, we have scaled our mission to more than 50 million investors, and our team is just getting started. It has been an absolute privilege to lead Vanguard and help advance the company’s mission of giving clients the best chance for investment success.” 

During his tenure, Vanguard experienced exceptional momentum, expanding its client base globally to over 50 million investors and growing assets under management by over 80% to $9 trillion.

Bloomberg notes that Vanguard has thrived over the past decade due to the widespread popularity of index investing, particularly in the United States. 

Clients have increasingly favored low-cost passive funds, a trend significantly benefiting Vanguard. 

The shift from actively managed funds, where portfolio managers make individual investment decisions, has gained momentum, particularly in Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). 

Vanguard has strategically entered the ETF market and is now the second-largest issuer in the United States, trailing only behind BlackRock Inc BLK.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Buckley navigated Vanguard through a challenging political landscape for asset managers, where criticism from both the left and right has been directed at how they leverage their growing influence in shareholder votes. 

Despite this, Vanguard sidestepped much of the controversy surrounding environmental, social, and governance (ESG investing that affected its major rivals. 

Buckley specifically distanced the company from ESG, asserting that Vanguard’s research indicated no significant advantage of ESG over more comprehensive investment strategies.

Photo via Shutterstock