Aniket PujariVanguard Group CEO Salim Ramji is shaping the world’s second-largest asset manager by attracting talent from Wall Street firms to fill strategic positions.
In recent months, he has made at least 10 senior hires from companies including his former employer, BlackRock Inc, as well as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and rival Fidelity Investments, according to a Bloomberg report.
Eve Cout, who was previously a top executive at BlackRock’s US wealth division, joined Vanguard this month to oversee adviser solutions within the company’s financial adviser services. Additionally, Ramji hired Goldman Managing Director Pete Spera as head of digital and analytics for advice and wealth management, and Fidelity veteran Kathryn Condon as chief marketing officer.
Ramji’s goal to strengthen core business
The current hiring trend reflects Ramji’s goal to strengthen Vanguard’s core business of low-fee mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, while also expanding into higher-margin sectors such as wealth management and financial advice. The CEO also appointed Nuveen’s Bill Stout to oversee private markets strategy, an area that previously wasn’t a primary focus for Vanguard, the Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Firm.
“We’re proud that top talent across the industry continues to be drawn to Vanguard’s mission,” the report quoted a company spokesperson’s statement.
According to the report, Ramji, the first outsider to lead the $12 trillion asset manager, has been clear about his goal to bring in senior staff from competing firms, in addition to promoting from within, which had been the company’s traditional approach. Greg Davis, Vanguard’s president and chief investment officer, said in an interview last year that Ramji’s external network would aid in attracting external candidates.
Ramji, once seen as a possible successor to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, assumed leadership in July 2024. Since then, he has steered the 50-year-old company to prioritise more profitable sectors while still reducing fund fees. This month, Ramji announced further fee reductions across Vanguard’s ETFs and mutual funds, lowering the average asset-weighted expense ratio to 0.06%.
Ramji has established a wealth and advice division, led by former Fidelity executive Joanna Rotenberg, which charges higher fees than passive funds but remains more affordable than competitors in advisory fees. Vanguard also partnered with longstanding collaborator Wellington Management and private equity giant Blackstone Inc. to develop private assets funds for retail investors. In May, the three firms announced they were working on their first product.
