Masters in Business · Friday, September 4, 2026
Bill McNabb expressed enthusiasm for his work with fintech startups, viewing it as a 'passion play' to improve the investment landscape. He is involved with firms like Venrock, Altruist, and Vanilla, believing that these companies have the potential to significantly benefit investors through technological innovation and improved services.
“So, you know, two things I would say, you know, one, I had no experience in the private markets. Private markets are growing dramatically. And I just felt like I need to understand this better. And, you know, for me, that was, you know, the chance to learn something new and hopefully help while you're doing it.”
“Second, during my last couple years of Vanguard, we established a research group, and we began to talk about doing some venture investing ourselves, not about making money or on behalf of our clients, but more just being in the ecosystem. And that all came about because we did a trip to Silicon Valley, took the whole leadership team, met with every large VC there, a bunch of their portfolio companies, and we walked away blown away by what we didn't know about our own business and what the future might look like.”
“And then the last thing I'd say, this is just a passion play. Our mission, if you boiled everything down at Vanguard, we wanted to make the world a better place for investors. I mean, we got up every morning and afternoon. I'm lucky I get to do that. And the startups I'm working with, I believe very deeply that they have the potential to make the world a better place for investors. And if I can keep doing that for the next 20 years, I'm going to be really happy.”