Vanguard Group cuts dividend to staff

"In an announcement to the Vanguard 'crew' last week, Vanguard announced that the 2008 Partnership's dividend fell to $91.56 from the $101.60 paid out for 2007," writes Daniel P. Wiener in his Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors newsletter today. (Update: We're told on good authority it's actually $91.52, four cents less.)

That's only the second cut -- and the biggest -- in the 25-year history of Vanguard's Partnership Plan, which accounts for up to 30% of pay for veteran employees, up to 10% for more recent hires, and the majority of compensation for executives like Chairman John Brennan, who Wiener estimates made around $7 million last year (Vanguard doesn't report boss pay).

The 10% drop in Vanguard bonus points is still less than the 37% loss for Vanguard's flagship S&P 500 portfolio, Wiener adds.

In fact, active funds are outperforming Vanguard-style index funds by more than at any time since the early 1980s, Bloomberg reports here, citing Morningstar data. Though part of that gain is a result of "penny-stock" appreciation in the March-to-May rally, which won't likely be repeated anytime soon, says quant manager Jennifer Boden at Turner Investment Partners, Berwyn.