Ex-Vanguard CEO joins venture capital firm to guide investments in advisor fintech

investmentnews.com:

Former Vanguard Group CEO William McNabb has joined venture capital firm Venrock as an exclusive advisor to guide the firm’s future investments in wealth management technology.

Venrock grew out of successful investments made into technology by the Rockefeller family office in the 1930s and has been a force in venture capital since it officially launched in 1969, including being an early investor in companies like Apple and Intel. The company turned its attention to wealth management in 2011 as an early backer of Personal Capital, which in 2020sold to Empower Retirement in a deal valued at $1 billion.

Now the company has set its sights on advisor-facing technology. Venrock is a lead backer of digital custodian Altruist, which has raised a total of $290 million and acquired Shareholders Service Group to quickly become a significant player in the independent advisor custody business, and Vanilla, an estate planning fintech launched by financial advisor and serial entrepreneur Steven Lockshin.

McNabb also invested in both companies and serves on their boards. Now he is making his ties to Venrock official and will be working closely with Nick Beim, a partner at Venrock focused on fintech, to identify future opportunities in advisor technology.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with Nick in particular and I’ve learned a ton from them. We seem like we’re a good compliment to each other in terms of skill sets,” McNabb told InvestmentNews. “He understands the fintech world in particular more than anybody I’ve ever met.”

McNabb joined Vanguard in 1986 and was named CEO in 2008. Under his leadership, Vanguard more than tripled in size, to $4.4 trillion in assets under management in 2017, when he announced he would step down. Today, the