To: Vanguard Veterans and Principals
From: John C. Bogle
Date: July 23, 2015
Re: Vanguard History
As the years roll on, I have come to realize that too much of our proud history inevitably fades away. So I’ve taken on the responsibility of building a first-person chronicle of the events surrounding our major mutual funds.
My first initiative was to tell the story of Wellington Fund, which appeared as Chapter 8 of my 2012 book The Clash of the Cultures.
My second initiative was the history of Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund (attached to this memo), which I completed a year ago in celebration of its 30th Anniversary. Memories fade, so I enlisted the cooperation of PRIMECAP’s co-founder Mitch Milias to assure that the history reflects the actual events surrounding our creation of this extraordinary mutual fund that has done so much to burnish our reputation in low-cost active management.
My third initiative will turn to the creation of Windsor II, recently celebrating its 30th Anniversary. The formation of Windsor II is a fascinating story, in which we ignored “the rules of the game” in the fund industry, and even smashed a few of them. Result: another great Vanguard success.
In many, if not most, of these histories, there are few remaining living links to the creation of Wellington, PRIMECAP, Windsor II, and other jewels in our crown. I plan to continue writing these chronologies as long as I’m able, so that future generations of Vanguard crew members can understand the genesis of our remarkable history.
Jack