William McNabb, who grabbed the reigns of Vanguard in 2008 as the mutual fund giant's president and CEO, thinks 'boring' just may be better -- particularly if such an approach results in record inflows and a stellar performance during a volatile year.

On Tuesday, McNabb provided a glimpse into Vanguard's plans for 2010 in an interview with Financial Planning -- plans that include expanding the funds' international product offerings and increasing distribution worldwide. In 2010, look to see Vanguard launch more ETFs, McNabb indicated, including potentially new ETFs in Australia.

Vanguard's optimistic 2010 agenda and fondness for ETFs seems to pay homage to the role ETFs played in bolstering the company's inflows this year. In fact, Vanguard saw near-record inflows this year -- second only to 2007 -- propelling assets under management up 30 percent to $1.3 trillion. ETFs were a driving factor in this increase, comprising $25 billion of the $93 billion in net inflows through November 30. Also bolstering flows for 2009 were the firm's target date funds.

Despite casting his eye abroad and aiming to expand Vanguard's product lineup, McNabb credits Vanguard's service-oriented, more temperate focus rather than a high-octane growth-fueled agenda for its success.

"Boring is still great," stated McNabb. "We certainly plan for growth next year and we hope for it. We have been a growth company for 35 years and we have never had a growth objective. Growth is not something we talk about. We never say we expect to grow x-percent. We believe if we deliver for our client then growth will take care of itself." 

Edited by: Patricia Kelly


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