50 years. 50 facts. Indexing since 1976.

Vanguard

Article

5 Pages

Vanguard shared 50 facts from 50 years of index investing.

Share certificate for the first index mutual fund, later renamed Vanguard 500 Index Fund.

Key Takeaways

Bogle’s Folly: Bogle hoped to raise $50 million–150 million in initial underwriting to launch Vanguard First Index Investment Trust. The offering raised a little more than $11 million—“an abject failure,” he later put it.
US Retirement Savings: As of year-end 2024, 96% of defined-contribution retirement plans offered target-date funds, which rely on indexing as a core building block.
Benchmarks: From an initial focus on a single benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, equity index fund investing has transformed into a vibrant ecosystem of more than 6,700 benchmarks globally.
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