Authors

John Ameriks leads Vanguard's Investment Counseling & Research group, which provides portfolio recommendations along with topical commentary and investment counseling.

As one of Vanguard's thought leaders on retirement issues, John has conducted studies on a wide range of personal financial decisions, including saving, portfolio allocation, and retirement income strategies.

John came to Vanguard in 2003 from the TIAA-CREF Institute, the research and education arm of TIAA-CREF. He graduated from Stanford University with an A.B. and earned a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University.

Joe Davis, Ph.D., is Vanguard's chief economist and head of Vanguard Investment Strategy Group, whose research team is responsible for helping to oversee Vanguard's investment methodologies and asset allocation strategies for both institutional and individual investors.

In addition, Joe is a member of the senior portfolio management team for Vanguard Fixed Income Group, which oversees more than $500 billion in assets under management. Joe frequently presents at various investment forums and has published studies on a variety of macroeconomic and investment topics in leading academic journals.

Joe earned his Ph.D. in macroeconomics and finance at Duke University.

Catherine Gordon helps oversee Vanguard's Institutional Asset Management group, which provides policy consulting, portfolio recommendations, and investment management to our endowment, foundation, and defined benefit clients.

After joining Vanguard in 1994, Catherine spent several years helping direct our mutual funds' investment managers. She later went on to manage Vanguard's Advice Services Group, which delivers financial planning and advice to retail and institutional clients, and our Investment Counseling & Research group, which provides portfolio recommendations to our clients along with topical commentary and investment counseling.

Catherine has worked in investment management her entire career. Prior to joining Vanguard, she was an analyst and portfolio manager with Morgan Stanley and Wilmington Trust.

Catherine graduated from Smith College with an A.B. She is a member of the CFA Society of Philadelphia and the CFA Institute.

Charu Chander Gross is a manager in Vanguard Asset Management Services™, which provides clients with ongoing portfolio management from a financial advisor.

Since joining Vanguard in 2005, Charu has held various leadership roles within the Retail division, and also has experience in Human Resources, Financial Advisor Services, and Web Services.

Charu has a B.S. in Economics from Penn State University.

Ellen Rinaldi has held a variety of leadership positions since joining Vanguard in 1997. At present, she serves in our Planning and Development division, where she is responsible for protecting client information, among other key responsibilities.

Previously, Ellen directed Vanguard's Advice Services Group, which provides financial planning and advice to retail and institutional clients. She also oversaw our Investment Counseling & Research team, which supplies portfolio recommendations to clients along with topical commentary and investment counseling. Ellen also managed Vanguard's retirement agenda, including the development of new products and services to help our shareholders reach their retirement goals.

Prior to joining Vanguard, Ellen spent 20 years in the insurance industry. She holds a B.A. from the University of Connecticut, a J.D. from Suffolk University, and an LL.M. from Boston University.

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.B.A. and an M.B.A. from Villanova University.

Craig Stock heads Vanguard's Corporate Marketing and Communications department, responsible for delivering investor information and education in Vanguard’s "plain talk" style.

Before joining Vanguard in 1995, Craig spent two decades in journalism. At The Philadelphia Inquirer, he reported on business and the economy, served as a business editor, and wrote a column on personal finance.

Craig holds a B.S. from the University of Kansas, and was a Sloan Fellow in Economics Journalism at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School. He’s also the author of Investing During Retirement, published in 1997.

Steve Utkus oversees the Vanguard Center for Retirement Research, which studies many aspects of retirement in America—from how individuals start saving and investing in the early part of their careers, to how they prepare for actual retirement, to how they spend down their savings once they’re retired.

Steve is particularly interested in behavioral finance—the study of how rational decision-making is influenced by human psychology. His current research interests also include the ways employers design retirement programs, and new developments in retirement in other countries.

Steve holds a B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. He began working at Vanguard in 1987 and has served as director of the Center for Retirement Research since 2001. Steve is also a visiting scholar at the Wharton School.