Products July 1, 2003

Vanguard Offers Fee Disclosure Report For Plans

January 31, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Vanguard has taken fee disclosure to a new level, offering the industry's first All-In Fee Report for plan sponsors.
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The report offers a quick analysis of expenses paid for all services rendered by Vanguard as a percentage of plan assets. It details all fees associated with plan administration during 2000.

The report will be produced annually, and takes various plan expense components into account, including investments, recordkeeping and participant education, combining them into a single number – the Total Expense Ratio.

The Vanguard All-In Fee Report details a plan’s operating expenses in five categories:

  • Asset-Based Fees, including the costs of investment management, administration and fund accounting.  It is determined by multiplying the investment fund’s expense ratio by the total plan assets invested in that option at year-end.
  • Service Fees, which include fixed per-participant fees covering primary administrative and recordkeeping functions.  It is determined by multiplying the number of participants by the per-participant fee.
  • Fees for Additional Services, representing fees related to other specialized or customized services such as education programs and administrative outsourcing.  It is determined on a plan-by-plan basis.

That information is combined to provide:

  • Total All-In Fees – a summary of all fees (Asset-Based, Service, Additional) within the plan.
  • Total Expense Ratio – determined by dividing the Total All-In Fee by the plan’s total assets at year-end.

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