Who is behind Vanguard 500 Index Fund?
Shows documented founders, leaders, board members, funders and owners.
Not who made decisions, or why.
A connection is not evidence of wrongdoing.
On the record
Sourced links that no one presents as their own account, as recorded so far. Others may exist.
Founded by
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The Vanguard Group
founded
1976
Primary record
1
Launched as First Index Investment Trust.
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John C. Bogle
founded
31 Aug 1976
Primary record
2
Launched with a public offering on 31 August 1976 that raised a little more than $11 million.
Going further
Proof 2 sources
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Vanguard's history, The Vanguard Group.
Primary record
Vanguard democratizes mutual fund indexing with its First Index Investment Trust (now Vanguard 500 Index Fund) offering lower costs and broad diversification to individual investors for the first time.
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50 years. 50 facts. Indexing since 1976., The Vanguard Group, 2 Apr 2026.
Primary record
When John C. Bogle launched Vanguard 500 Index Fund on August 31, 1976, as First Index Investment Trust, he gave individual investors access to a strategy previously available only to institutional investors.
How this answer is built
Lines on the record come first: sourced links that no one presents as their own account, each with its strongest source. Then every account recorded here gets its own column, A to Z, none ranked above another. A column quotes only that account's own words and shows the strength of its own sources. Disputed lines are listed apart, with the reason, and lines still being verified come last. Neither is counted. Withdrawn lines are never shown.
When a list is longer than the page shows, the links the public methodology ranks strongest stay (methodology 0.3), and the rest open in the explorer.
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