Risk Director, Personal Wealth (Brokerage & Investments

Overview

Personal Wealth is transforming how investors access personalized financial advice. Vanguard's Personal Wealth division helps individuals and families achieve their financial goals through a broad spectrum of advice and wealth management solutions—ranging from digital advice and financial planning to comprehensive wealth, trust, and family office services. Serving investors across all stages of their financial journey, Personal Wealth combines Vanguard's client-first philosophy, low-cost investing expertise, and innovative technology to deliver advice  division operates across a complex landscape of advice, brokerage & investments, cash management, wealth management, and technology-enabled services, creating unique opportunities to influence both business outcomes and client success.

Brokerage & Investments is responsible for Vanguard's self-directed broker-dealer platform and 529 businesses, serving millions of investors through a broad range of investment, trading, lending, and wealth-building capabilities. The division oversees a complex portfolio that includes equity, options, and fixed income trading platforms; margin and fully paid lending programs; client eligibility and financial benefit frameworks; 529 plans; tax, cost basis, and regulatory reporting capabilities;

product and platform governance; alternative investment offerings; and emerging capabilities such as digital assets and tokenization. These businesses operate within a highly regulated and rapidly evolving environment where client protection, operational resiliency, technology transformation, and regulatory compliance are critical to long‑term success.

We are seeking a Risk Director to provide independent risk oversight, credible challenge, and strategic risk advisory support across this diverse portfolio. As a trusted partner to business leadership, the Risk Director will help assess, monitor, and mitigate operational, regulatory, compliance, technology, and emerging risks associated with both established and evolving broker-dealer capabilities. The role requires deep business acumen, strong regulatory and risk management expertise, and the ability to influence outcomes across complex cross-functional initiatives while maintaining an independent risk perspective.

This role is particularly important as Vanguard continues to modernize its brokerage platform, expand product capabilities, and navigate an increasingly complex industry landscape. The Risk Director will be expected to understand the unique risks associated with trading, lending, investor eligibility and benefit programs, tax and reporting functions, product governance, alternative investments, digital assets, and tokenization initiatives. The successful candidate will partner closely with business, technology, operations, legal, compliance, and audit stakeholders to strengthen risk management practices, enhance governance and control effectiveness, and provide thoughtful risk-based guidance that enables innovation while protecting Vanguard, its clients, and its reputation.

• Develop and maintain deep expertise across brokerage and investment products and services, including equities, options, fixed income trading, margin lending, fully paid lending, 529 plans, financial benefit programs, tax and cost basis capabilities, regulatory reporting processes, and product and platform governance frameworks.
• Provide independent risk assessment and challenge for new and evolving business capabilities, including alternative investments, digital assets, tokenization initiatives, and other emerging broker-dealer products and services.
• Evaluate the design and effectiveness of controls supporting brokerage products, trading activities, client eligibility frameworks, product governance processes, and associated operational activities, recommending enhancements where appropriate.

• Hire, evaluate, and supervise crew. Provides guidance, training, and coaching as necessary to develop crew. Set performance standards, review performance, and make informed compensation decisions in accordance…