Vanguard is adding T. Rowe Price as an advisor to three active equity funds, tasking its fellow asset manager known for its stock-picking expertise with overseeing a piece of each fund's portfolio.
Effective today, T. Rowe Price is serving as an advisor to the Vanguard Explorer Fund, Vanguard Variable Insurance Fund -- Small Company Growth Portfolio, and Vanguard Growth and Income Fund. It's the first time that T. Rowe Price will serve as an advisor to Vanguard funds.
"T. Rowe Price is a trusted name in active management, and we're excited to welcome them as an advisor to Vanguard funds for the first time," said Dan Reyes, Vanguard's global head of investment product.
Shares of T. Rowe Price were up 1% as of noon Monday. The benchmark S&P 500 index was up 0.84%. T. Rowe Price, like many active fund managers, has suffered outflows in recent years due to the popularity of indexing and exchange-traded funds.
With the addition of T. Rowe Price, fees on two of the funds will increase, a Vanguard spokesman confirms. The expense ratio for VVIF Small Company Growth is increasing from 0.29% to 0.32%. The expense ratios for the Growth and Income Fund are increasing from 0.39% to 0.40% for investor shares and 0.28% to 0.29% for admiral shares. Explorer Fund's fees are unchanged.
Vanguard has long relied on other asset managers, such as Wellington Management and Baillie Gifford, to help manage its active equity funds. It sometimes tasks multiple sub-managers with overseeing a single fund. For example, Wellington Management is one of five advisors, including T. Rowe Price, on the Explorer Fund, which invests in small and midsize companies with growth potential. Vanguard's active bond funds are managed by its in-house experts.
As Vanguard adds T. Rowe price, it is dropping two other managers from the funds. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings no longer serves as an advisor to the Explorer Fund and VVIF Small Company Growth Portfolio, according to Vanguard. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC no longer advises the Growth and Income Fund.
Founded in 1937, T. Rowe Price is known for its active stock-picking, retirement plan business, and target-date retirement fund lineup. The Baltimore-based company has $1.89 trillion assets under management; about two-thirds of its AUM are retirement-related.
Vanguard's Reyes says T. Rowe Price has a "longstanding commitment to fundamental research and consistent performance makes them a strong complement to our advisor lineup and supports our goal of delivering durable outcomes for investors."
Eric Veiel, president, co-head of global investments, and chief investment officer at T. Rowe Price, says his company looks forward to serving Vanguard investors. "For nearly 90 years, T. Rowe Price's active investment approach has been grounded in deep fundamental research, collaboration across asset classes, styles, and sectors, and the discipline to stay focused on long-term outcomes for investors," Veiel said.
Write to Andrew Welsch at andrew.welsch@barrons.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 29, 2026 14:08 ET (18:08 GMT)
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