With a BlackRock CEO, $9 Trillion Vanguard Braces for Turbulence

It’s official at last: the Age of Bogle is over.

A half-century after John “Jack” Bogle founded Vanguard Group, the roughly $9 trillion fund giant is doing what once would’ve been unthinkable: hiring an outsider as its chief executive officer. And from archrival BlackRock Inc., no less.

To many, the House of Bogle handing the reins to Salim Ramji, a longtime BlackRock executive once considered a possible successor to BlackRock chief Larry Fink, sends a clear message: Vanguard, great popularizer of the low-cost index fund, has reached a pivotal moment in its storied history. On one hand, Vanguard has never been a ...