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Vanguard Drops Average Fee to Just 0.06% With Latest Cuts
Yahoo Finance· 2026-02-02 20:24
Core Insights - Vanguard Group has initiated another round of fee reductions across its mutual funds and ETFs, reinforcing its position in an already low-cost industry [2][3] - The asset manager, overseeing approximately $12 trillion, is reducing costs for 84 share classes across 53 funds, resulting in an average asset-weighted expense ratio of 0.06%, a decrease of one basis point from the previous year's record cut [3][4] - Vanguard's fee cuts are part of its long-standing strategy to lower costs, which has pressured competitors to follow suit, although the average fees on new funds are beginning to rise [4] Fee Reductions - The recent fee cuts are estimated to save Vanguard's investors about $600 million over the past two years [5][6] - Vanguard's unique ownership structure allows it to mitigate margin pressures that competitors face, as fund shareholders elect board members who direct excess cash towards lowering costs [7] Revenue Comparison - Despite managing $12 trillion in assets, Vanguard generates significantly less fee revenue compared to its peers, earning about $1.5 billion from its US-listed ETFs last year, while BlackRock earned $5.4 billion from a slightly larger ETF lineup [8] - Vanguard's average fees continue to decline even as it expands into actively-managed funds, which typically have higher expense ratios [9]