About Vanguard Affiliate

Built by advisors who got tired of hedging their own answers

We started Vanguard Affiliate in 2011 after watching too many households get one opinion on their 401(k), a different opinion on their brokerage account, and no opinion at all on the crypto and forex positions they'd started building on their own.

Our philosophy

We don't believe in separating "traditional" and "alternative" assets into different conversations. A household's balance sheet is one balance sheet. Whether a dollar sits in a municipal bond, an S&P 500 index fund, a Bitcoin wallet, or a euro-denominated account, it should be sized, taxed, and rebalanced according to the same risk budget.

That means we say no as often as we say yes. We cap digital asset exposure regardless of how a client feels about a given rally, and we hedge currency exposure by default rather than treating forex as a speculative sleeve.

Fiduciary standard

Every recommendation is made under a fiduciary duty of care — we're compensated by advisory fees, not commissions on products we place.

Custody & security

Client assets are held at independent, regulated qualified custodians. We never take direct custody of client funds or private keys.

2011Founded
38Advisors & analysts
14CFA / CFP charterholders
7States with registered offices
Investment Committee

The people setting allocation policy

Our investment committee meets monthly to set target ranges across equities, fixed income, digital assets, and currency exposure, and reviews them against every model portfolio in the practice.

DH

D. Harlan

Chief Investment Officer

Sets equity and fixed-income policy; 22 years managing institutional multi-asset portfolios.

RN

R. Nakamura

Head of Digital Assets

Built the practice's crypto custody and risk-budgeting framework from the ground up.

EC

E. Castellano

Head of Retirement Planning

Focuses on income modeling, Social Security timing, and decumulation strategy.

JM

J. Mbeki

Head of Currency & Credit

Runs forex hedging policy and the HELOC-based liquidity strategy desk.

Regulatory Standing

How we're overseen

Vanguard Affiliate is an independent wealth management practice operating as a registered investment adviser in the states where it maintains offices, and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by The Vanguard Group, Inc. Advisory services, fee schedules, and account minimums vary by jurisdiction; ask your advisor for the disclosure documents applicable to your state before opening an account.

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