Vanguard Group reported $2.93 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, up from $2.5 trillion a year earlier, maintaining its position as the world's second-largest manager and increasing its lead over Allianz Global Investors.
As of June 30, the money management arm of Allianz, owner of Pacific Investment Management Co., was the world's third-largest money manager, with €1.8 trillion ($2.4 trillion), the company reported Friday.
BlackRock Inc. maintained its position as the world's largest money manager, with $4.59 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, the company has reported.
Vanguard attributed much of the popularity of their index funds to increased investor awareness of cost. “We view it as greater acceptance of low-cost investing, not indexing alone,” said Vanguard spokesman David Hoffman.
Data from the Pensions & Investments/Towers Watson World 500 for the year ended Dec. 31, 2012, placed Vanguard third with $2.22 trillion, behind Allianz, which managed $2.45 trillion at that time.
Vanguard's AUM has increased at a faster rate during the past two years than other top managers. Vanguard's $1.85 trillion in 2011 was nearly level with State Street Global Advisors' $1.86 trillion. But Vanguard's AUM rose $366.7 billion in 2012 while SSgA rose $229.3 billion in the same period.
Vanguard's $613.47 billion in total defined contribution assets made it the largest DC manager in 2013, surpassing longtime leader Fidelity Investments, with $612.39 billion. Fidelity's AUM rose 16.9% from 2012 but Vanguard's AUM jumped 27.9%, according to P&I data.
Vanguard sees its approach as a message that will continue to resonate with investors despite added competition in the low-cost arena. “Investors recognize Vanguard as the standard bearer of the (low-cost) message,” Mr. Hoffman said.
