The Vanguard Group

The Vanguard Group

Four C Analysis

Company:

The Vanguard Group, headquartered in Valley Forge, PA, is the nation’s second-largest mutual fund and a leading provider of company-sponsored retirement plan services. Vanguard serves come 18 million shareholders accounts and manages approximately $850 billion in US mutual fund asssets, including more than $260 billion in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Vanguard offers 130 funds to US investors and 40 additional funds in foreign markets.

Vanguard’s corporate structure creates two major benefits for its shareholders:

· Tremendous cost savings

· Services with an unwavering client focus

Admiral Shares were introduced by Vanguard in November 2000 to recognize and encourage the cost savings associated with large and long-tenured accounts by passing along these savings to these shareholders in the form of lower fund expense ratios. Vanguard is simplifying the eligibility criteria for Admiral Shares and lowering the account balance requirements, effective May 10, 2005.

Under the new criteria, a Vanguard shareholder owning a regular or IRA account will qualify for Admiral Shares under the following circumstances:

· The fund account balance totals $100,000 or more. (Previously, a balance of $250,000 was required, or a $150,000 balance in a fund account established for at least three years.)

· The fund account balance totals $50,000 or more and the fund account has been established for at least ten years. (Registration for online account access on Vanguard.com® is also required.)

Competition:

· Fidelity

· American Funds

In August, Fidelity voluntarily capped expenses on its domestic equity index funds at 0.1 percent, undercutting fees on similar offerings from Vanguard. By making its index mutual funds the cheapest on the market, Fidelity has issued a challenge