Vanguard Group added M&G Investment Management to its advisory team on two multibillion-dollar funds and replaced GMO on three funds with its own Vanguard quantitative equity group, according to a news release.
M&G will join Schroder Investment Management North America and Baillie Gifford Overseas in managing the $18.3 billion Vanguard International Growth fund and the $1.9 billion Vanguard Variable Insurance Fund-International Portfolio. Spokeswoman Rebecca Cohen said new flows to those funds will be directed to M&G. Schroder and Baillie Gifford currently manage 59% and 39% of both funds, respectively. M&G remains subadviser of the $4.6 billion Vanguard Precious Metals and Mining Fund. M&G has subadvised the fund since its inception nearly 25 years ago.
The Vanguard quantitative equity group will assume responsibility for the roughly $1.7 billion portion of the $10.5 billion small-cap growth equity Vanguard Explorer Fund that GMO had managed, together with the $478 million portion of the $975 million Vanguard U.S. Value Fund that also was run by GMO. Ms. Cohen didn’t immediately have information on the portion of the $695 million VVIF-Small Company Growth Portfolio that GMO had been managing. Asked why Vanguard replaced GMO on the funds, Ms. Cohen said the board typically makes changes after considering a broad array of factors. GMO spokesman Tucker Hewes declined to comment.
