At a glance
- The final phase covers every trust and share class of the listed products, among them Balanced Index, FTSE Social Index and the LifeStrategy funds.
- For advisors who sit on plan committees or draft investment policy statements, the addition puts a proxy voting election inside the target-date sleeve as well as in directly held index funds.
- More than 500,000 investors were participating in the program at the end of September, according to Vanguard.
Vanguard said Nov. 9 it will extend its Investor Choice proxy voting program to its full U.S. equity index lineup in early 2027, adding the Target Retirement suite and Total Stock Market Index funds and taking eligible assets to $8.2 trillion.
The final phase covers every trust and share class of the listed products, among them Balanced Index, FTSE Social Index and the LifeStrategy funds. Vanguard said products launched later that meet the program's eligibility criteria will also qualify.
For advisors who sit on plan committees or draft investment policy statements, the addition puts a proxy voting election inside the target-date sleeve as well as in directly held index funds. Vanguard counts retirement plan sponsors, rather than individual accounts, as the parties that have signed on, which suggests adoption is a plan-level decision; nearly 80 sponsors representing a million participants were enrolled as of Sept. 30.
More than 500,000 investors were participating in the program at the end of September, according to Vanguard. John Galloway, the firm's global head of investor engagement, said the addition of Total Stock Market Index and the Target Retirement suite means "millions more investors can now make their voices heard on important shareholder topics."
Galloway said Vanguard launched Investor Choice three years ago to make proxy voting more accessible to all investors. The target-date and total-market funds become eligible in early 2027.
Reported by the Investments desk from 401(k) Specialist. Published . Corrections