In 1976, Vanguard pioneered the concept of index investing by launching the first index fund for individual investors. That concept has come a long way since. Indeed, the rise in its popularity has been impressive. Amidst their widespread and growing appeal, It's tempting to regard indexing vehicles as mere commodities, with fund selection based purely on securing exposure to markets at the lowest possible cost.
Not at Vanguard. We've built a sustainable, scaled and successful global index offering that is built on an uncompromising commitment to quality that recognizes that although it's important, quality isn't just about cost, it's about long term value. It's why we offer exposure to reliable and diversified benchmarks through major, recognizable and transparent core indices across developed and emerging markets. It's why we count the world's most respected index providers as our main partners.
FTSE, MSCI, S&P and Bloomberg Barclays. It's why we only use physical replication in our portfolios, opting for full replication, the purest form of indexing wherever practical and sampling where it delivers more value for investors. It's why we combine our portfolio management and trading teams so that we can better manage index changes, rebalances corporate actions and cash flows, which in turn can improve replication and lower trading costs.
It's why we have one of the largest global index portfolio management teams in the industry and why we continuously invest in our team, process and technology to ensure we keep adding value as the market evolves. And it's why we use our global scale to promote good corporate behaviour, driving long term value at the companies we invest in through our investment stewardship program.
Why do we do all of this? Because representing the interests of our investors means doing all we can to provide index funds and ETFs that can be relied on to track precisely and deliver consistent, dependable performance. At Vanguard, we're committed to remaining at the forefront of indexing. Our unmatched experience over 40 plus years means that when you select a Vanguard index fund or ETF, you know exactly what you're going to get.
Low cost, high value, transparent access to a broad market exposure. Our 30 million investors worldwide trust us with their investments and rely on our ability to deliver long term value. We believe that it's our unerring commitment to quality, not commodity, that will help us give our index investors the best chance of investment success.
