Vanguard Reaches $4 Trillion for First Time
https://www.wsj.com/articles/vanguardre ... 1486745349The rise is largely the result of a rush by investors to embrace lower-cost index-tracking products such as exchange-traded funds. Vanguard started the first index-mutual fund for retail investors 40 years ago.
Fund-research firm Morningstar Inc. said in a report this week that by its tally net inflows at Vanguard in 2016 topped those of all of its rivals combined.
That rapid growth has led to an increase in client calls and some customer complaints about long wait times when calling the company. Vanguard doesn’t have a network of retail branches like some of its rivals.
Vanguard executives said in a client webinar early this year that the firm had received “unprecedented phone volumes” but that it doesn’t trade cost for service.