Wellington Management Company is a private, independent investment management firm with client assets under management totaling over US$1 trillion. The firm serves as investment advisor to over 2,150 institutions in over 60 countries, as of 30 December 2017. Its clients include central banks and sovereign institutions, pension funds, endowments and foundations, family offices, fund sponsors, insurance companies, financial intermediaries, and wealth managers.
History
In 1928, Philadelphia-based accountant Walter L. Morgan established the first balanced mutual fund in the United States, the Wellington Fund. Wellington Management Company was incorporated in 1933. In 1951, the firm hired John C. Bogle, who succeeded Morgan as chairman in 1970. In 1967, Wellington merged with Boston-based investment management firm Thorndike, Doran, Paine & Lewis. Bogle left in 1974 and established The Vanguard Group, retaining Wellington to manage some of Vanguard's funds. In 1979, Wellington's 29 original partners bought back the firm after a period as a public company. In 1994, Wellington offered its first Luxembourg-domiciled UCITS fund. Also in 1994, Wellington offered its first hedge fund. Today, the firm manages alternatives assets for clients totaling over US$40 billion and offers over 40 funds. In 2014, the firm offered its first dedicated private equity strategy.
The Wellington Management Foundation
The Wellington Management Foundation, a charitable fund with an educational focus, was founded in 1992. Through its annual grant making program, the Foundation currently supports programs and organizations in 9 regions, including Philadelphia, that improve the education and educational opportunities of economically disadvantaged youth. The Wellington Management UK Foundation was established in 2016 to make grants to organizations in the UK and Europe.
In 2018, Wellington's Global Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Shawna Ferguson, won the Northeast Human Resources Association Individual Diversity Champion of the Year Award. The firm's Private Equity Investor, Matt Witheiler, was also named to the 2018 Midas Brink List. Wellington ranked #9 in Institutional Investor's 2017 annual ranking of AUM of top money managers headquartered in the US. In 2016 it ranked #1 asset manager by brand awareness scores by eVestment survey. Also in 2016, Citywire ranked Jean Hynes one of the top 20 female portfolio managers in the United States. In 2013 and 2014 Wellington's Retirement and Pension plan was named one of the best401K plans by BrightScope. Wellington Management was named one of the leading Pan-European fund management firms in the 2014 Thomson Reuters Extel awards.
On November 23, 2010, Wellington Management Company turned over documents solicited by U.S. federal investigators regarding an alleged case of insider trading. Wellington directors delivered the unspecified documents to investigators. On December 3, 2010 the company issued a statement that the firm had been told it was not a target in the insider trading probe, nor had it been accused of any wrongdoing.
