WVB All Markets Fund: the 0.10% Fund That Costs 3.40%
Inside Wellington × Blackstone × Vanguard's New Interval Fund
I usually don’t write two fund updates in the same week.
Not due to lack of funds to cover (there are plenty), but because each one takes considerable time and effort. Like all unhappy families in Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, every fund is different, and thus impossible to fully streamline.
This week, I'm making an exception. The minute I read the announcement, I knew I'd be clearing my calendar to write about it.
Before we get into the details, a disclosure: of all financial organizations, Vanguard is probably the one I’m most loyal to. I’ve been a happy customer for over two decades.
Fun fact: many moons ago, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I called Vanguard’s 1-800 number before opening my very first IRA with income from my first job. As part of my extremely sophisticated due diligence process, I asked the representative: “What happens to my money if Vanguard goes bankrupt?” I’m sure she got a good chuckle out of that one.
Over the years, I've had nothing but excellent experiences with the company and the people who work there. Which is why it took me about 24 hours (and a screaming pillow) to get into the right mind to write this piece in a neutral way.
Anywho, I’ll present you with the facts first, and reserve my opinion until the very end.
Important disclosure. This case study is independent analysis published for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. All information is sourced from the fund's prospectus (dated June 30, 2026), the prospectus supplement (dated July 21, 2026), the Statement of Additional Information, SEC filings, and publicly available company materials. Return estimates are hypothetical and for illustrative purposes only — they are not projections or guarantees. The author has no position in the WVB All Markets Fund and no business relationship with Wellington Management, Blackstone, or Vanguard.
A good time to resurrect this great post (you’ll see why in a minute):
What WVB Got Right
Let’s start with what this fund gets right.
1. Access
Deep in my heart, I believe that a bigger menu of investment options is good for investors. With the right guardrails in place (things like, you know, hefty penalties for fraud), and good disclosure (being able to see what’s inside funds and how much it costs to invest, for example), there is no reason to gatekeep anything from any class of investors. If you can place Fed rate bets on Kalshi, why shouldn’t you be able to access private equity funds?
On the access front, this fund delivers.
Investors get institutional-quality public/private asset allocation in a single ticker, with daily subscriptions, 1099 tax reporting, a $2,500 minimum, and a headline management fee of just 0.10%.
Which brings us to the second good point.
2. Fees
The very Vanguard-esque 0.10% is what the fund leads with. Bogleheads rejoice? Not so fast. This is a fund-of-funds, and the underlying fund fees are a thing to behold.
Before we get into the fee structure, let me give you a question to ponder:
Why are they doing it?
👉 The real business here is the asset gathering. I wrote about it just a few days ago:
Wellington earns advisory fees (their bread and butter). Vanguard gets another flagship product to keep assets inside its ecosystem (new wrapper for their existing products). Blackstone gets access to one of the largest retail distribution channels in the world (and gets to collect management fees of 1-1.25% plus carry of 10-15% on the underlying funds).
The prospectus requires that at least 20% of assets be invested in Blackstone funds and at least 20% in Vanguard funds (measured at the time of investment). That effectively creates a permanent pipeline of capital into each partner's products.
And here are two deep dives on the Blackstone funds:
And a fun side note on BREIT:
The Fee Stack
From the prospectus:
The 0.10% management fee is waived for three years (with no clawback). So the advisory fee is effectively zero until ~2029. And the 2.56% in "Other Expenses" is a launch-phase number based on an estimated $100M in assets; it should compress as the fund scales.
IMPORTANT:
The 0.68% in underlying fund fees (the “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses”, or AFFE) covers the operating costs of the Blackstone and Vanguard funds inside this vehicle. What it does not include, per the prospectus itself, are “performance-based fees or allocations calculated solely on the realization and/or distribution of gains.”
Translation: Blackstone’s carry (which runs 10–15% of net profits) is not in the expense ratio.
Note that expense limitation agreement (the thing keeping “Other Expenses” from eating you alive) is renewable annually but not guaranteed. It also lets Wellington recapture absorbed expenses within 36 months.
Now. All of that said. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: don’t get too hung up on fees if your returns compensate you for them.
So let’s look at that.