
You know that Vanguard has a new CEO named Salim Ramji, and that he’s the first outside hire for Vanguard’s top executive in its history. You also know that Ramji most recently worked for BlackRock, the epicenter of the ESG fad that puts the political agendas of money managers ahead of investors. But what else do you know about Ramji? Here’s his background from Bill Peters at MarketWatch:
Most recently, Ramji headed up BlackRock’s iShares and index investments, where he oversaw considerable growth. Vanguard, in announcing Ramji’s appointment, emphasized his efforts to roll out low-cost investment products.
“His contributions led to expanded investment access for tens of millions of investors, a more central role for [exchange-traded funds] in retirement and wealth portfolios and a more efficient bond market with ETFs as an enabling technology,” Vanguard said. “At BlackRock, he led the implementation of a voting choice platform, which democratizes client access to the proxy voting process.”
From 2015 to 2019, according to Ramji’s LinkedIn profile, he was also the head of BlackRock’s U.S. wealth-advisory segment, where he oversaw the company’s relationships with wealth-management firms. He began his time at BlackRock in 2014 as its global head of corporate strategy.
BlackRock, in a statement, congratulated Ramji. A spokesperson said the firm was “proud to have a track record of our firm’s alumni going on to lead multiple investment management companies and other financial Institutions.”
Prior to his time at BlackRock, Ramji worked at the consulting firm McKinsey for 16 years, leading duties related to asset and wealth management. He was a lawyer at Clifford Chance from 1994 to 1998, according to the profile.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of Ramji’s hiring doesn’t have anything to do with Ramji himself. It’s the strange circumstances that saw Tim Buckley, Vanguard’s former CEO, leave the company abruptly. Now Vanguard is trying to paint the transition like it was all part of the plan.
The more recent news stories about Salim Ramji’s hiring as the new CEO of Vanguard refer to the transition as “planned.” A July 11 piece in InvestorDaily is one example, writing:
Salim Ramji has assumed the role of chief executive officer and joined the Vanguard Group’s board of directors, effective 8 July 2024.
Ramji’s appointment was part of a planned transition announced on 14 May 2024.
He succeeds Tim Buckley, who is retiring from the Vanguard Group after more than 30 years of distinguished service, including a highly successful tenure as chairman and chief executive officer.
But stories about Buckley’s departure referred to it as “unexpected,” and he left without naming a successor, which surprised many from a CEO of Vanguard. Barron’s headline referring to Buckley’s choice called it a “Surprise Exit” that “Raises Big Questions for the Investment Giant.”
So, with prodding from Vanguard messaging, history is being rewritten a little when the handover to Ramji is described as a “planned transition.”
Action Line: Keep your eye on Vanguard, and on Tim Buckley, wherever he may land. When you want to talk about your investments, I’m here. In the meantime, please click here to sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.