The program, which covers approximately $4 trillion in assets, allows investors to dictate how their proportionate shares are voted on matters like executive compensation and director elections. This year, the assets managed under these user-selected policies rose sharply, ballooning from $9 billion to $151 billion. John Galloway, Vanguard’s Global Head of Investor Engagement, noted that the growth reflects a broad demand for diverse governance perspectives, a trend the firm plans to bolster by expanding the initiative to all U.S. equity index funds in 2027.

Data from the 2026 How Investors Vote report highlights a clear generational divide in policy preferences. Investors under 30 gravitated toward the Glass Lewis ESG Policy at more than twice the rate of those aged 62 to 80. Conversely, older cohorts showed a stronger preference for the Company Board-Aligned Policy, which currently accounts for 38% of all selections. Beyond individual accounts, nearly 80 retirement plan sponsors have joined the program, representing over one million plan participants. With $120 billion in assets already earmarked for the 2027 expansion, the firm expects the trend of active retail participation to continue accelerating.