VALLEY FORGE, PA — Vanguard recently announced sweeping cost cuts across its investment lineup, lowering expense ratios on dozens of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in a move that will return nearly $250 million to investors in 2026 alone.
The reductions apply to 84 mutual fund and ETF share classes across 53 funds and build on what the firm described as its largest-ever two-year cost-cutting effort. Over the past two years, Vanguard has reduced fees across most of its fund lineup, generating close to $600 million in combined investor savings and reinforcing its position as one of the industry’s lowest-cost providers.
Following the latest round of cuts, Vanguard said its product lineup across all asset classes and investment styles now carries an average expense ratio of 0.06 percent, a level the firm argues directly supports stronger long-term performance by allowing investors to keep more of their returns.
“Vanguard is investor-owned—we have no outside stockholders or private owners profiting from our clients,” said Salim Ramji, Vanguard’s chief executive officer. “These fee reductions—set to deliver more than half a billion dollars in savings across 2025 and 2026—are a clear expression of our purpose and commitment to our clients as owners.”
Vanguard said its emphasis on low costs spans both index and active strategies, covering equity, fixed income, money market, and multi-asset offerings. The firm pointed to performance data showing that 84 percent of Vanguard funds outperformed their peer group averages over the past decade, including 88 percent of its active fixed income funds, underscoring what it describes as the long-term advantage of lower expenses.
Greg Davis, Vanguard’s president and chief investment officer, said the latest reductions reflect the same principles that guided the firm’s early role in popularizing index investing.
“Broad diversification, transparency, and disciplined, long-term investing remain core to our approach today,” Davis said, adding that low-cost active and index strategies can deliver durable outcomes for investors.
The latest fee cuts include reductions across Vanguard’s U.S. equity “9-box” ETF lineup, including growth, value, and blend strategies spanning large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks. Fees were also lowered on the firm’s emerging markets ETF and several dividend-focused U.S. equity ETFs.
Vanguard said the expense ratio reductions take effect immediately, extending a long-running strategy that has made cost leadership a defining feature of the firm’s investment philosophy.
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