Vanguard CEO Salim Ramji poaches talents from Wall Street rivals Goldman, BlackRock to boost asset management firm

Vanguard Group CEO Salim Ramji is shaping the world’s second-largest asset manager by attracting talent from Wall Street firms to fill strategic positions.

According to a Bloomberg report, in recent months he has been hired by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., including his former employer BlackRock Inc. and hired at least 10 senior people from companies including rival Fidelity Investments.

Eve Cout, previously a senior executive in BlackRock’s U.S. wealth division, joined Vanguard this month to oversee advisor solutions across the company’s financial advisory services. Additionally, Ramji hired Goldman Managing Director Pete Spera as head of digital and analytics for advice and asset management and Fidelity veteran Kathryn Condon as chief marketing officer.

Ramji’s goal to strengthen its core business

The current hiring trend reflects Ramji’s goal of strengthening Vanguard’s core business of low-fee mutual funds and exchange-traded funds while also expanding into higher-margin industries such as asset management and financial advisory. The CEO also appointed Nuveen’s Bill Stout to oversee private market strategy; This area was not previously the primary focus of Vanguard, based in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

“We are proud that the best talent in the industry continues to be attracted to Vanguard’s mission,” a company spokesperson said in the report.

Ramji, the first outsider to lead the $12 trillion asset manager, was clear about his goal of bringing in senior staff from rival firms as well as promoting from within, which is the company’s traditional approach, according to the report. Greg Davis, Vanguard’s president and chief investment officer, said in an interview last year that Ramji’s outside network will help attract outside candidates.

Ramji, once seen as a possible successor to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, assumed the leadership in July 2024. He has since led the 50-year-old company to reduce fund fees while prioritizing more profitable sectors. This month, Ramji announced that Vanguard is making further fee cuts across its ETFs and mutual funds, dropping the average asset-weighted expense ratio to 0.06%.

Under the leadership of former Fidelity executive Joanna Rotenberg, Ramji launched an asset and advice division that charges higher fees than passive funds but is more affordable than rivals in advisory fees. Vanguard also has long-time partners Wellington Management and private equity giant Blackstone Inc. to develop private wealth funds for retail investors. formed a partnership with. In May, three companies announced that they were working on their first products.