Fund giant Vanguard attracted fevered online criticism after refusing to offer investors access to the recently launched bitcoin ETFs, saying it “doesn’t fit with Vanguard’s investment philosophy”. The outraged mood was encapsulated by investor Mike Alfred, who told his 146,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter) that Vanguard is part of an “evil empire” and is “on its way to the dustbin of history”.
Vanguard was “unrecognisable” from the innovative and investor-friendly firm founded by John Bogle, he added.
In reality, the decision of Vanguard, a non-profit firm owned by its investors, was both principled and unsurprising. Vanguard says a responsible portfolio should consist of assets like stocks, bonds and cash. Vanguard investors cannot access leveraged ETFs or gold ETFs, so a bitcoin ETF was never likely.
And as for the late John Bogle, he was wary of ETFs in general, believing they fostered trading. And bitcoin? Bogle said to avoid it “like the plague”.
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