Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
"Walter L. Morgan (July 23, 1898 – September 2, 1998) was the founder of the Wellington Fund, the first balanced mutual fund in the United States....... He graduated from Princeton University in 1920, and shortly thereafter became the youngest CPA in Pennsylvania. In the 1920s Morgan raised $100,000 from relatives and business people to create what he believed to be a stable investment portfolio. The Industrial and Power Securities Company was established in 1928. It was later renamed the Wellington Fund in honor of the Duke of Wellington. Wellington Management Company was incorporated in Philadelphia in 1933. In 1951 Morgan hired John C. Bogle who became his heir at the company"
The Duke of Wellington was Arthur Wellesley. So two famous mutual funds are named after this Duke of Wellington, the second one being:
Monday, July 9, 1951, was the first day of my long career in the mutual fund industry. I vividly remember walking into the Wellington Fund offices on 1420 Walnut Street in Philadelphia
Little could I have imagined that I would remain with Wellington/ Vanguard for 63 years Much of what was to follow was due to the ethical values and financial wisdom of my great mentor and friend, Walter L. Morgan, who did his best to impart them to his heir-apparent.
Walter Morgan was the founder and chief of Wellington Fund and Wellington Management Company, and (as I once wrote to him) he gave me his confidence when I had little confidence in myself. Then, Wellington employed maybe 75 people, and supervised $150 million of assets for the shareholders of its single mutual fund. (Tiny by today’s standards, but then one of this industry’s ten largest firms.)
You all probably know about how my career at Wellington ended (I was fired from my position as chief executive in January 1974), fortuitously opening the door to my creation of Vanguard only seven months later It was, as they say, the opportunity of a lifetime—a chance to build something new and better for our mutual fund shareholders. The three pillars of our fledging firm were our unique mutual structure, the world’s first index mutual fund, and the unprecedented conversion to a distribution system without a sales force
Still strong, if perhaps diminished (your call on both!), I continue to use those powers to speak out for giving all mutual fund shareholders a better chance to accumulate wealth; for reform in an industry that has come to emphasize marketing over management; for the requirement that every firm that touches other people’s money be subject to high standards of fiduciary duty and trusteeship
Comments
"Walter L. Morgan (July 23, 1898 – September 2, 1998) was the founder of the Wellington Fund, the first balanced mutual fund in the United States....... He graduated from Princeton University in 1920, and shortly thereafter became the youngest CPA in Pennsylvania. In the 1920s Morgan raised $100,000 from relatives and business people to create what he believed to be a stable investment portfolio. The Industrial and Power Securities Company was established in 1928. It was later renamed the Wellington Fund in honor of the Duke of Wellington. Wellington Management Company was incorporated in Philadelphia in 1933. In 1951 Morgan hired John C. Bogle who became his heir at the company"
The Duke of Wellington was Arthur Wellesley.
So two famous mutual funds are named after this Duke of Wellington, the second one being:
Vanguard Wellesley Income Inv VWINX
http://johncbogle.com/wordpress/category/memos-to-principals-and-veterans/
July 9, 2014
To: My Fellow Vanguard Veterans and Principals
My 63rd Anniversary
Monday, July 9, 1951, was the first day of my long career in the mutual fund industry. I vividly remember walking into the Wellington Fund offices on 1420 Walnut Street in Philadelphia
Little could I have imagined that I would remain with Wellington/ Vanguard for 63 years
Much of what was to follow was due to the ethical values and financial wisdom of my great mentor and friend, Walter L. Morgan, who did his best to impart them to his heir-apparent.
Walter Morgan was the founder and chief of Wellington Fund and Wellington Management Company, and (as I once wrote to him) he gave me his confidence when I had little confidence in myself. Then, Wellington employed maybe 75 people, and supervised $150 million of assets for the shareholders of its single mutual fund. (Tiny by today’s standards, but then one of this industry’s ten largest firms.)
You all probably know about how my career at Wellington ended (I was fired from my position as chief executive in January 1974), fortuitously opening the door to my creation of Vanguard only seven months later
It was, as they say, the opportunity of a lifetime—a chance to build something new and better for our mutual fund shareholders. The three pillars of our fledging firm were our unique mutual structure, the world’s first index mutual fund, and the unprecedented conversion to a distribution system without a sales force
Still strong, if perhaps diminished (your call on both!), I continue to use those powers to speak out for giving all mutual fund shareholders a better chance to accumulate wealth; for reform in an industry that has come to emphasize marketing over management; for the requirement that every firm that touches other people’s money be subject to high standards of fiduciary duty and trusteeship