Karin Risi leads Vanguard’s Advice Services group, which provides financial planning and investment advice to retail and institutional clients.

Since joining Vanguard in 1997, Karin has held various leadership roles within the company’s Corporate, Institutional, and Retail divisions. Karin joined Vanguard as an investment analyst in the Portfolio Review department and later moved to Corporate Strategy. Karin also worked closely with institutional clients in Vanguard's Financial Advisor Services and Institutional Asset Management divisions. More recently, she began working with Vanguard's retail investors, first as a leader in the Flagship Services group and now as the head of Advice Services.

Prior to joining Vanguard, she was an investor relations analyst with Sunoco, Inc. Karin holds a B.S. and M.B.A. from Villanova University.

I recently overheard a remarkably in-depth discussion between two moms who were debating the features of several fairly expensive baby strollers. As the mom of two children, a toddler and an infant, I’ll sheepishly admit that I spent a ridiculous amount of time researching which double stroller to purchase. In hindsight, I spent too much time and too much money on the decision. (I’m even more embarrassed to think about how few times my kids have actually used their fancy double-wide ride.) I’ve probably wasted countless precious hours on decisions that seemed important at the time—but just weren’t important in the grand scheme of things.

I did at least one thing right, however. Perhaps because I work for Vanguard, I opened 529 accounts for both of my kids well before their first birthdays.

Read more »