Vanguard suspends purchases of Russian securities

The Vanguard Group Inc. has updated its position on investing in Russian securities.

The asset manager said Monday that it has suspended purchases of Russian securities “across our internally and externally managed active funds and are actively working to further reduce our exposure to Russia and exit the positions across our index funds.”

In a statement, Vanguard stated that its exposure to Russia accounts “for less than 0.01% of client assets — and the vast majority of that exposure is in our index funds.”

On March 4, the Vanguard Group Inc.’s chief investment officer had stated that “investment decision-making will not be restricted” for actively managed funds.

Vanguard’s move follows that of BlackRock Inc., which suspended the purchase of all Russian securities in its active and index funds as of Feb. 28.

In Canada, at least nine asset managers and pension funds have committed to divesting their Russian holdings.

Melissa Shin

Melissa is the editorial director of Advisor.ca and leads Newcom Media Inc.’s group of financial publications. She has been with the team since 2011 and been recognized by PMAC and CFA Society Toronto for her reporting. Reach her at mshin@newcom.ca. You may also call or text 416-847-8038 to provide a confidential tip.