Vanguard hosts “Tough Mudder” for B2B networking event

Vanguard is sponsoring a “Tough Mudder” event designed to bring together financial professionals.

The Vanguard Tough Mudder Takeover is a branded version of the obstacle course franchise that will take place on Friday 22 September 2023 in West Sussex.

The investment house hopes that the event will facilitate networking between industry colleagues, such as financial advisers, in a fun environment.

“Taking over Tough Mudder gives us the opportunity to challenge financial advisers from across the UK to see if they’re ‘more active than we are’ and create some of those associations in a way that is a little bit different to the usual set of slides at a conference centre,” a spokesperson said.

In a statement, the company said the event will promote networking and teamwork in a way that is “fun, could help bring people together in a healthy way, and importantly for Vanguard is cost efficient.”

In a LinkedIn post, Vanguard’s business development manager, Matthew Haigh, challenges financial professionals to “the ultimate test of grit, determination, and muddy camaraderie.”

Backing their sponsorship decision, the spokesperson said the company has historically been very well known for index fund investing but its active management pedigree is recognised less often.

They added: “Our active management story, goes back to our very beginnings as a company. When Vanguard started operations in the US in 1975, our entire line-up comprised of actively managed funds, and today we are one of the largest active managers in the word.”

Vanguard said the September event will be exclusively “industry-only,” requiring two-step email verification.

“We’re looking forward to a special day in September, alongside our clients, the industry, our sub-advisers and hopefully the team at Financial Promoter,” the spokesperson concluded.