New Internet Service - The Vanguard Bridge(SM) - Offers Access to Plan,
Participant, and Fund Information Via Personal Computer
VALLEY FORGE, Pa., Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The Vanguard Group today launched a leading edge Internet service for its growing base of 401(k) and 403(b) plan sponsors and institutional investors that provides convenient, computer access to plan, participant, industry, and Vanguard fund information. The new on-line service, called the Vanguard Bridge(SM), is accessed through Vanguard's website (www.vanguard.com) via an icon labeled "Institutional Investing."
The Vanguard Bridge is designed for plan sponsors and other institutional clients to help them administer and manage their retirement plans more efficiently and effectively. Available 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, the innovative service enables plan sponsors to retrieve a wealth of information about plan and participant activity (recent and historical) as well as view announcements from Vanguard and news about the institutional marketplace. The service also allows users to download plan and participant information into popular spreadsheet programs for further analysis, access Vanguard fund total return figures and other data, and e-mail their Vanguard Client Service team.
"Vanguard has long been at the forefront of on-line investment services and education for both individual fund investors and retirement plan participants," said F. William McNabb, Managing Director of Vanguard's Institutional Investor Group. "With the Vanguard Bridge, we are bringing together our considerable on-line expertise and resources to develop a new, interactive medium for an important and specialized audience -- the institutional investor."
The Vanguard Bridge is a Windows-based application that incorporates the use of traditional text and hypertext links. Designed to be user-friendly and easily navigable, the site's attractive home page features links to four primary content areas:
-- Plan Information - offers a series of high-level overviews of plan
status and activity that can be viewed on-line, printed, or downloaded. One of the areas that is expected to be most frequently accessed is a useful "executive summary" section that provides a snapshot of plan asset figures by fund, and assets by investment class, and other pertinent data. The data is presented in tabular format as well as in colorful pie charts, and users may produce reports and graphics that are ideal for investment committee presentations and benefits-related meetings.
-- Participants - provides individual participant account information,
including balances and account activity. Account information is updated daily; historical month-end data can also be referenced.
-- Investments - features extensive, up-to-date information about
Vanguard's investment offerings, including return, risk, and cost data. Comprehensive information may be obtained on the investment offerings within a particular plan, or on the more than 60 funds that Vanguard offers to institutional investors. Funds may be searched by name, risk level, and category.
-- Information Center - hosts a variety of information-laden sections,
including an introduction to Vanguard and its defined contribution plan-related services; an electronic newsstand featuring investment market summaries, topic sheets, and newsletters; an "administrative" library containing reference materials; and a legal and compliance section with an ERISA manual and periodic regulatory briefs.
The Vanguard Bridge home page also features continually updated announcements from Vanguard as well as news briefs pertinent to the institutional market. A special link for visitors to the service provides a summary of Vanguard funds and services for employer-sponsored retirement plans. Other homepage links provide access to a Frequently Asked Questions section, a glossary of terms, and an e-mail function. The site also features a "Search" function that enables users to pinpoint specific subjects of interest quickly and easily.
"We are pleased to add to our array of services an advanced technological capability like the Vanguard Bridge that will enable us to expand electronic interaction with our clients," said Mr. McNabb. "Equally important, we are meeting a demand from our clients with a convenient and easy-to-use tool to help them better manage their plans."
Security was a top priority in the development of the Vanguard Bridge. Sophisticated safeguards, including a stringent registration process to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of private plan data, ensure secure access to plan and participant information. To gain access, clients must first register with Vanguard to obtain a confidential password. This password, along with a user selected name, is required to gain access to the service.
As an added level of security, the Vanguard Bridge is available only through browsers that support Secured Socket Layer capabilities, 128-bit domestic-grade encryption, and a no-cache option, which in combination ensure a secure connection between Vanguard's server and a user's personal computer. Netscape Navigator (versions 3.0x or higher) and Microsoft's Internet Explorer (version 3.0x) offer this level of security. In addition, Vanguard has employed a special internal "firewall" to protect data access and transmission.
Since the Vanguard Bridge operates from a Vanguard-based server, clients will be able to view on-line considerable amounts of data and information without using large amounts of desktop computer memory. No special software is required to establish the service -- a major advantage over software-based platforms that require cumbersome, time-consuming loading of new releases. Vanguard does not charge to establish the service nor for connect time to the Vanguard Bridge.
"We expect that a large number of our clients will take advantage of the new service since they will be able to leverage their most important resource -- time," said Mr. McNabb. "We believe that electronic delivery will have a tremendous impact on how financial information and services will be provided over the next five years, and wish to remain a leader of on-line service providers to institutional investors."
The Vanguard Bridge was developed by Vanguard's Institutional Investor and Information/Technology groups in less than a year. Mr. McNabb noted that Vanguard piloted the Vanguard Bridge with 17 clients, several of whom were closely involved with its editorial content, data presentation, and visual design.
The Vanguard Group, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, is the nation's second largest mutual fund firm and one of the leading providers of 401(k) and 403(b) retirement plan services. As of August 31, 1997, Vanguard had total net assets of $300 billion. Vanguard manages 95 investment portfolios owned by some 7.5 million clients.
For more information, contact Brian S. Mattes (610-669-6219) or John S. Woerth (610-669-6224).
SOURCE The Vanguard Group
-0- 09/16/97
/CONTACT: Brian S. Mattes, 610-669-6219, or John S. Woerth, 610-669-6224, both of The Vanguard Group/
/Web site: www.vanguard.com/
CO: Vanguard Group ST: Pennsylvania IN: FIN MLM SU: PDT
LB -- PHTU020 -- 4070 09/16/97 11:01 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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