U.S. Investment Giant Brings Its Low-Cost Revolution to China
- Firm plans China expansion as asset management market opens up
- Plans to more than double headcount in Shanghai office
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Vanguard Group amassed $5.2 trillion of client assets and revolutionized the U.S. investment industry by offering low-cost funds to millions of Americans. Now it wants to do something similar in China, even if the strategy takes years to bear fruit.
More than four decades after Vanguard founder Jack Bogle opened the first S&P 500 Index fund, the firm is laying the groundwork for a China expansion made easier by the nation’s opening to foreign asset managers. Vanguard is on track to more than double the size of its Shanghai office this year and may seek approval to sell products to wealthy investors as a first step before seeking a foreign-owned mutual fund license when regulators allow it in 2021, said Charles Lin, the firm’s China head.