Vanguard Buys 25-Acre Property for 1,700 Staff
The fund giant continues to invest in its infrastructure in greater Philadelphia "to support our growing crew-base and clients," it says.
The Vanguard Group last week purchased a large office building on 25 acres in Malvern, Pennsylvania, a short drive from the company’s headquarters, and could eventually locate nearly 1,700 employees there.
“The five-story, 300,000 square foot building was built in 2012, and in the future, will allow space for close to 1,700 of our crew,” a spokeswoman said in a statement emailed to ThinkAdvisor on Monday.
The giant asset manager has been subleasing space in the property for nearly five years and already has about 300 staff members working there. Vanguard didn’t specify the purchase price.
The deal from Equus Capital Partners Ltd. closed last week and hadn’t been reported in county records as of mid-week, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal, which reported last week that Equus paid $70 million for the property in 2018.
“Vanguard has deep roots in the greater Philadelphia region,” and continues “to make investments in our infrastructure throughout the region to support our growing crew-base and clients,” the company’s statement said.
The company employed 18,800 people at year-end 2021 and served more than 30 million investors as of Oct. 31, according to its website.
“We’re excited to continue to invest in our infrastructure and the region, and importantly, ensure we’re equipped to continue offering a best-in-class work experience for our crew to serve our investors and their financial goals.”
With the purchase, Vanguard operates 31 buildings in greater Philadelphia, employing more than 12,400 crew in the region.
A 2018 GlobeSt article reported that the property — developed years earlier as a build-to-suit for Endo Pharmaceuticals — included a cafeteria, fitness center, coffee bar, training rooms, parking garage and data center. The Business Journal describes it as two connected buildings.
Vanguard last month saw $347 million in assets flow into its funds, with money pouring into its passive funds slightly exceeding the outflows from active funds, according to a Morningstar report. Assets in Vanguard funds totaled nearly $6.3 billion, the report noted.
The firm’s funds took in more than $110 billion in assets over the previous 12 months, according to Morningstar.