{"slug": "index-tracking-funds-may-deliver-more-risk-than-investors-bargained-for", "title": "Index-tracking funds may deliver more risk than investors bargained for", "summary": "Index-tracking funds are facing unprecedented concentration risk due to enthusiasm over AI-related stocks, according to a report. The first index fund, launched by Vanguard in 1976, raised just US$11 million at its launch but now holds around US$1.7 trillion in assets, while Vanguard's total assets have grown to US$12 trillion, second to BlackRock.", "body_md": "# Index-tracking funds may deliver more risk than investors bargained for\n\nConcentration risk in indices is at the highest level, thanks to enthusiasm over all things AI-related\n\nINDEX-TRACKING funds are now so ubiquitous that it’s hard to imagine that when the late Jack Bogle of Vanguard rolled out the first such fund [50 years ago in 1976](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth/wealth-investing/index-fund-industry-behind-one-of-the-greatest-financial-revolutions-of-the-last-50-years), the fund was ridiculed as “un-American” and a “sure path to mediocrity”.\n\nVanguard’s first fund, the First Index Investment Trust tracking the S&P 500, is now called the Vanguard 500 Index Fund. It raised just US$11 million at its launch; today, it has a total of around US$1.7 trillion in assets.\n\nDespite the inauspicious start, indexing has helped to catapult Vanguard into the ranks of fund giants, with a total of US$12 trillion in assets, second to BlackRock.\n\n[TRENDING NOW](/pulse?ref=trending-now)\n\nShipbuilder Penguin International wins first prime contract with Singapore Navy\n\nNew Woodlands Gateway industrial hub takes shape as RTS Link nears completion\n\nTepid investor interest a dampener on Vietnam’s strong IPO pipeline\n\nAir India seeking US$1.5 billion from owners Tata, Singapore Airlines: sources", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/index-tracking-funds-may-deliver-more-risk-than-investors-bargained-for", "canonical_source": "https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-features/index-tracking-funds-may-deliver-more-risk-investors-bargained", "published_at": "2026-08-25 23:00:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-25 23:13:55.371569+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence"], "entities": ["Vanguard", "Jack Bogle", "First Index Investment Trust", "S&P 500", "Vanguard 500 Index Fund", "BlackRock"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/index-tracking-funds-may-deliver-more-risk-than-investors-bargained-for", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/index-tracking-funds-may-deliver-more-risk-than-investors-bargained-for.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/index-tracking-funds-may-deliver-more-risk-than-investors-bargained-for.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/index-tracking-funds-may-deliver-more-risk-than-investors-bargained-for.jsonld"}}