Vanguard veteran departs from super trustee board

Vanguard Super has announced that Jeremy Duffield has retired as a director from its trustee board.

The fund said that Duffield, who was previously the founding chairman and managing director of Vanguard Investments Australia before he retired in 2010, was appointed to the board when the company was established in August 2020.

During this time, he has also served as chair of the remuneration committee.

“Jeremy has made an enormous contribution to Vanguard Super as one of our founding directors,” said chair Peggy O’Neal.

“It has been an absolute privilege and pleasure to work with him on the trustee board.

“Jeremy’s comprehensive knowledge of Australia’s superannuation and retirement landscape has been invaluable in helping the trustee board to implement Vanguard Super’s mission to deliver better retirement outcomes to all Australians.”

Also reflecting on Duffield’s time with the broader business, Vanguard Investments Australia’s managing director Daniel Shrimski said: “Jeremy has had a long history with the Vanguard Group, having first started with the company in the United States in 1980 as an assistant to our founder Jack Bogle.

“He was instrumental in bringing a low-cost indexing investment philosophy to Australia back in 1996, which represented the Vanguard Group’s first expansion outside of the US, growing our business here from a one-person start-up to what is now one of Australia’s biggest investment companies with around 900 employees and millions of investors.

“So, when we started planning the launch of Vanguard Super in 2020, it made perfect sense for Jeremy to be a director on the trustee board. We will sorely miss Jeremy’s input, and we wish him well for the future.”

Vanguard Super reported a return of 13.2 per cent from its MySuper Lifecycle investment option for the 2023–24 financial year. This is the default option for members under the age of 47.

Meanwhile, the fund’s Balanced and Growth options have returned 8.11 per cent and 10.6 per cent, respectively, while its High Growth and Ethically Conscious Growth investment options delivered 13.18 per cent and 12.23 per cent, respectively.

The results marked Vanguard Super’s first full financial year since its launch in November 2022, said Duncan Burns, Vanguard Asia-Pacific CIO.

“At Vanguard, our focus is on delivering long-term, steady investment value to our members. While it is still early days, we have certainly started strong,” Burns said in July.

It now holds nearly $1.5 billion in funds under management.