Pablo Bernal Appointed as New Country Head for Spain at Vanguard

Vanguard has announced the appointment of Pablo Bernal as Country Head for Spain, underscoring the firm’s commitment to the Spanish market.

Bernal joined Vanguard in Mexico in 2017 and most recently served as Head of Intermediary Sales for Latin America. In his new role, he will be based in London, from where he will initially serve the Spanish market, reporting to Simone Rosti, Head of Italy and Southern Europe.

Earlier this year, Vanguard appointed Álvaro Hermoso Ferreiro as Sales Executive and Head of Client Support in Spain. He will now report to the new Country Head.

“We are very pleased to welcome Pablo to our team in Europe and to strengthen Vanguard’s presence in Spain. We have been working with clients in this country for many years and have built strong on-the-ground relationships that we now aim to expand and deepen. Spain represents a significant opportunity to serve both wholesale and advisory clients, as well as those serving self-directed investors. We believe Vanguard’s investment principles, backed by 50 years of proven experience, will resonate well with Spanish investors and give them the best chance for investment success,” said Robyn Laidlaw, Head of European Distribution at Vanguard.

The firm highlights that Spain is one of the largest investment management markets in Europe. However, it acknowledges that one of the main challenges in the Spanish market is the relatively low penetration of indexing and ETFs. As one of the world’s largest managers of both passive and active investments, Vanguard believes it is well positioned to help investors understand the benefits of low-cost index funds and ETFs.

Following the announcement, Pablo Bernal, now Country Head for Spain, commented: “I’m excited to bring Vanguard closer to Spanish investors. As we celebrate the firm’s 50th anniversary this year, it’s the perfect time to share our mission of standing up for all investors. We believe our broadly diversified index funds and ETFs, designed for long-term investing, along with our value-added services for intermediaries, will align well with a wide range of local clients. We also plan to expand our local operations and team by the end of this year.”