Tim Buckley, CEO of Vanguard, the second-largest asset management company globally, announced today that he will retire at the end of the year. The company is currently searching for his successor. There has been speculation in the community that his stance against cryptocurrencies may be the reason for his departure, and there is speculation that the new leadership may have a different attitude towards cryptocurrencies.
Vanguard, which currently manages over $9 trillion in assets, is second in size only to BlackRock, which manages $10 trillion. In January, Vanguard faced widespread criticism and a wave of divestment from the cryptocurrency community after refusing to provide customers with Bitcoin spot ETF trading services and announcing that it would no longer accept purchases of cryptocurrency products.
Today, Vanguard announced a major personnel change, with CEO Tim Buckley announcing his retirement at the end of 2024, ending his more than six-year tenure as CEO. The company is currently searching for Buckley’s successor. Meanwhile, current CIO Greg Davis has been appointed president, with expanded responsibilities.
Vanguard’s stance against cryptocurrencies changing?
While other major financial institutions in the United States have accepted recently approved Bitcoin spot ETFs, including the largest competitor BlackRock, which has issued its own BTC spot ETF “IBIT,” with assets under management (AUM) surpassing $7.1 billion in just over a month since its listing.
However, Vanguard has stated that cryptocurrencies are “highly speculative,” “highly volatile,” and “lack regulation,” and do not align with the company’s core investment philosophy for the long term. Therefore, it refuses to provide cryptocurrency-related products on its brokerage platform and has no plans to launch Vanguard’s Bitcoin ETF or other cryptocurrency-related products.
Senior executives of the company have publicly responded that cryptocurrencies are more like speculation than investment, which is the root of the company’s decision not to offer cryptocurrency-related products.
With Buckley’s announcement of his impending departure on Thursday, netizens on social media speculate whether it is related to his stance against cryptocurrencies and whether the new Vanguard leadership will change its attitude towards cryptocurrencies. Some bold predictions suggest that the company’s next step may be to launch its own Bitcoin spot ETF.
Further reading:
Wall Street’s Resistance: Vanguard bans trading Bitcoin spot ETF, BTC is an immature asset with no intrinsic economic value.
BlackRock’s IBIT attracts inflows, ranking among the top three ETFs in the United States.
James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, commented that Vanguard’s flagship ETF, which tracks the S&P 500 Index, $VOO, has attracted $15.7 billion in net new funds so far this year, more than double the inflows of BlackRock’s Bitcoin spot ETF, IBIT.
However, he also pointed out that in terms of inflows, IBIT ranks third among ETFs in the United States, trailing only BlackRock’s iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and Vanguard’s $VOO. This has sparked ongoing discussions in the industry, including internal discussions within Vanguard.
The community is now watching to see if Vanguard’s new CEO will change the company’s previous stance against cryptocurrencies because if this second-largest global asset management giant does launch its own Bitcoin spot ETF, it is highly likely to be a major catalyst for Bitcoin.
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