Vanguard has finally crossed the $1 trillion mark in client assets outside the United States. This comes after years of tiptoeing around global markets and treating crypto like it was radioactive.
Now, they want double the international clients and assets within five years. From 17 million clients outside America today, they want 40 million by 2031.
The asset manager currently handles more than $12 trillion globally, making it the second-largest in the world. And it’s not slowing down.
Salim Ramji, the firm’s new CEO, said there are “incredible opportunities” abroad as more governments start begging people to invest their savings instead of hoarding them in bank accounts.
Vanguard joins UK push as it cuts fees and shifts toward global stocks
Ramji said too many people in the UK and Europe keep their money in cash because investing is too expensive, too complex, and full of roadblocks.
Governments are now trying to change that. In fact, Vanguard is one of 19 firms backing a UK government push to get savers off the sidelines and into the markets.
Last week, Vanguard slashed fees on its £52 billion LifeStrategy fund range, a favorite among its retail users. They also pulled back on UK assets and added more international stocks into the mix, saying clients clearly wanted more global exposure.
Chris McIsaac, who heads Vanguard’s international operations, said the firm has already doubled international assets in just three years, and at this pace, “it will take us another five to attract the next $1 trillion.”
He added, “We see incredible opportunities in international markets. People are under-participating in capital markets. Index funds and ETFs are under-represented in investor portfolios in international markets.”
It’s clear the playbook is working. Index funds and ETFs have exploded globally. That growth has been great for both Vanguard and BlackRock, who’ve been the main winners of the passive investing boom.
But unlike BlackRock, Vanguard isn’t owned by shareholders. The people who own its funds are its owners. So when costs go down, it’s the investors who benefit. “The average Vanguard fee in Europe is 14 basis points,” Ramji said. “The average fee that the industry charges is 65 basis points.” In a race to the bottom on costs, that’s a big gap.
Vanguard struggles to keep ignoring crypto after explosive ETF launches
Here’s the part that’ll make crypto fans roll their eyes. Vanguard has always hated crypto. Flat-out refused to play. But they’re boxed in now. After watching crypto ETFs blow up across the market, even the giants have to pay attention.
Back in late October, crypto ETFs tied to Solana and Hedera launched on other platforms. One of them, Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL), became the most successful ETF launch of 2025 across all sectors, according to Eric Balchunas at Bloomberg Intelligence.
And the crypto wave started earlier. Since 2024, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have seen record inflows. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) alone holds around $66 billion in Bitcoin right now. The demand is there. The trading volume is massive. And Vanguard’s old anti-crypto stance looks more outdated by the day.
For now, Vanguard hasn’t released its own crypto products. But that wall is starting to crack. With retail pressure and rising ETF competition, even the old-school index giant might have to cave.
That would mark a hell of a U-turn.
