SAAC co-chair explains what guides our methodology
1 minute 56 seconds
Co-Portfolio Manager of Vanguard Target Retirement Funds
Roger Aliaga-Díaz, Ph.D.
Co-Portfolio Manager of Vanguard Target Retirement Funds
Roger Aliaga-Díaz, Ph.D., is global head of portfolio construction and chief economist for the Americas. His areas of expertise are economics, macroeconomic forecasting, and portfolio construction.
Roger and his global research team develop multi-asset-class strategies and conduct quantitative research on asset allocation and investment solutions. With his team, he has built two proprietary portfolio construction models that underpin the firm’s global investment advice methodology: the Vanguard Life-Cycle Investing Model and the Vanguard Asset Allocation Model.
Roger is also vice-chair of Vanguard's Strategic Asset Allocation Committee and chair of its Time-Varying Asset Allocation Subcommittee, which oversee and determine the asset allocation of multi-asset-class funds such as the Vanguard Target Retirement Funds. He has served as a co-portfolio manager of several multi-asset-class funds since February 2023.
Before joining Vanguard in 2007, Roger served as a visiting professor of macroeconomics at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business.
Roger has published on investment and macroeconomic issues and has presented at industry and academic conferences, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the American Enterprise Institute, and the American Economic Association. He is frequently interviewed by financial media around the world.
Roger earned a B.A. in economics from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina, and a Ph.D. in economics from North Carolina State University.
Meet the Strategic Asset Allocation Committee (SAAC)
Our governance framework
Strategic Asset Allocation Committee (SAAC)
- Multiasset governance committee composed of global investment leaders, including Vanguard’s global CIO and chief economist.
- Regularly reviews investment methodology, provides consideration and approval for investment strategies, and ensures a consistent approach across product and advice offers.
Multi-Asset Solutions Team
Portfolio Review Department
- Responsible for fund health and product oversight, product research and new product development, and competitive analysis and landscape assessment.
Multi-Asset Portfolio Management Team
Investment Management Group
- Provides daily implementation of the strategic asset allocation, portfolio rebalance policy execution, and daily cash-flow management.
Portfolio Construction Team
Investment Strategy Group
- Responsible for Vanguard’s investment model development and maintenance, strategic asset allocation methodology, and sub-asset allocation and portfolio construction research.
Multi-Asset Risk Team
Investment Management and Finance Risk
- Conducts investment and operational risk monitoring and analysis, ensures adherence to relevant policies and guardrails, and provides risk and performance assessments.
Our conviction in setting a prudent strategic asset allocation as a key foundation for long-term investing success remains strong. The goal of our target-date funds (TDF)s, and annual due diligence performed by the SAAC, is to answer the question: How can we best serve a range of investors? This line of thinking not only guides the research we conduct in the TDF space but also ensures that our TDFs reflect our best thinking on glide-path design and sub-asset allocation.
Our willingness to avoid change for the sake of change has driven outcomes for the past decade and, based on our research, we believe it should continue to drive outcomes in the future.
Deeper dive into SAAC
More thought leadership
For more information about Vanguard funds, visit vanguard.com to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information about a fund are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before investing.
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.
Investments in Target Retirement Trusts and Funds are subject to the risks of their underlying funds. The year in the trust or fund name refers to the approximate year (the target date) when an investor in the trust or fund would retire and leave the workforce. The trust or fund will gradually shift its emphasis from more aggressive investments to more conservative ones based on its target date. The Income Trust/Fund and the Income and Growth Trust have fixed investment allocations and are designed for investors who are already retired. An investment in a Target Retirement Trust or Fund is not guaranteed at any time, including on or after the target date.
Vanguard is responsible only for selecting the underlying funds and periodically rebalancing the holdings of target-date investments. The asset allocations Vanguard has selected for the Target Retirement Funds are based on our investment experience and are geared to the average investor. Regularly check the asset mix of the option you choose to ensure it is appropriate for your current situation.
Vanguard Target Retirement Trusts are not mutual funds. They are collective trusts available only to tax-qualified plans and their eligible participants. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information should be considered carefully before investing. The collective trust mandates are managed by Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Vanguard Group, Inc.
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