Vanguard LifeStrategy to reduce ‘home bias’ and cut fees
Vanguard has announced its LifeStrategy fund range will be dialling down its ‘home bias’. Kyle Caldwell reports.
22nd January 2026 11:33
by Kyle Caldwell from interactive investor
Vanguard has announced that its LifeStrategy fund range will be dialling down its “home bias” and cutting its yearly fee from 0.22% to 0.2%.
The popular fund range, which launched in June 2011, has grown to be the market leader among passively managed multi-asset funds. The five fund options range from 100% in equities to 20% in equities, with the remainder in bonds.
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Funds offering investors a one-stop shop for investing have grown enormously popular, as investors look for a hassle-free option.
Other options include interactive investor's own Managed ISA range, BlackRock MyMap and Legal & General Investment Management’s Multi-Index funds. The funds have different risk levels. Basically, the more exposure a fund has to shares, the higher its risk.
Vanguard’s fee cut will be effective from 27 January, a move the firm says will return more than £10 million to UK investors who hold £52 billion in the range.
Changes to the asset allocation from reducing its “home bias” will result in the UK equity exposure falling from 25% to 20% and UK bond holdings dropping from 35% to 20%. The switch to a greater global focus will be implemented in phases from 24 March to June.
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In addition, Vanguard also announced plans to launch a new range of funds, called LifeStrategy Global, which will invest fully across global markets without giving extra weight to the UK.
Vanguard has previously said that the overweight position to the UK is a result of demand from UK investors.
In a video interview with interactive investor last January, Mohneet Dhir, Vanguard LifeStrategy’s product manager, said: “The home bias is really a result of client preference.
“What’s quite clear to see is that not just in the UK, but in the US, Australia and many other economies, people do have a preference for investing in companies they know.”
Dhir added that the firm carries out a review on home bias ever year.
Regarding today’s announcement, Ben Summers, head of UK at Vanguard, said: “For over 15 years, LifeStrategy has become a trusted foundation for many UK investors’ portfolios, and a benchmark for simplicity and accessibility.
“We’re building on that legacy by going a step further; reducing fees, broadening choice, and adapting to the changing needs of our clients.”
- Watch our video: Vanguard LifeStrategy defends ‘home bias’ to UK shares
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Three of the Vanguard LifeStrategy funds appear on interactive investor’s Super 60 investment ideas list: the 20% Equity, 60% Equity and 80% Equity options. The trio also form part of our Quick-start Funds range offering a simple starting point for investors.
Vanguard will be best known to many for passive investing. It’s founder, Jack C. Bogle, used a simple analogy to express his belief in this form of investing, “Don’t look for the needle, buy the haystack.”
This approach is reflected in the LifeStrategy range, with each fund holding thousands of shares and bonds from around the world by combining multiple individual Vanguard index funds into one fund. The resulting portfolios are highly diversified.
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