Jeffrey Johnson is a principal and co-head of the US fixed income indexing team within the Investment Management Group. In this role, which he has held since January 2020, Mr. Johnson oversees a team of 20 portfolio managers and traders responsible for more than $800 billion in assets across more than 50 mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Prior to this role, Mr. Johnson spent six years with Vanguard in Melbourne, Australia, first as head of Investment Strategy for Asia-Pacific, responsible for a team of economists and strategists who set Vanguard’s thought leadership and investment policy. He then served as head of Fixed Income for Asia-Pacific, managing a team of portfolio managers and traders responsible for more than $30 billion in mutual funds and ETFs. He also chaired the Community Impact Program for Vanguard Australia.
Mr. Johnson joined Vanguard in 2000, initially working with high net worth individual clients. From 2003 to 2013, he was a senior investment analyst in the Portfolio Review Department, where he was responsible for providing investment consulting to Vanguard’s senior management and Board of Directors.
Mr. Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, and an M.B.A. from Villanova University. He is a CFA® charterholder and is a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia.
U.S. Treasury rates may have yet to peak after surging this year, but higher yields have made bonds more attractive in tumultuous markets as investors face a likely recession next year, according to Vanguard Group.
“It’s been tough being a fixed-income investor for the last few years,” with investors struggling a couple years ago to find yield as many parts of the bond market had negative rates, said Jeff Johnson, Vanguard’s head of fixed-income product, by phone. “Today, the good news is that yields are much more attractive, but the process of getting there has been pretty painful and it’s involved a big decline in bond prices.”