Vanguard was established in 1975 by Jack Bogle, who believed that a mutual fund company should not have outside owners. Instead, shareholders of the Vanguard Group own the company’s different funds. Thus, the shareholders are the actual owners of Vanguard.
Blackrock may not be as well known as Vanguard, but the company has more assets under management with more than $9.5 trillion. Their assets under management include equity, fixed income, cash management, alternative investment, real estate, and advisory strategies.
Before we get into some of the differences in Vanguard vs. Blackrock funds, let’s first cover some of the terminologies. Even in the personal finance space, I occasionally remind myself of the differences between index funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and mutual funds.
An index fund is a type of mutual fund or ETF, though the unique aspect always matches the components of an index or specific financial market. Index funds represent a theoretical segment of the market and aim to match the risk and reward of a specific need.
An exchange-traded fund (ETF) typically matches an index similar to index investing. However, an ETF can trade on an exchange, one of the most significant differences between an ETF and an index fund.
With actively managed funds, fund managers deviate from a particular index attempting to outperform that index with their security selection. Some mutual funds will combine stocks, bonds, and even other assets into certain funds in their attempt to outperform the market.