In an open letter to corporate directors, Vanguard’s chairman and chief executive, F. William McNabb III, said the firm was determined to press its investors’ interest and prod companies to manage for the long term precisely because the index funds that make up nearly three-quarters of its assets hold their securities almost indefinitely. Among other things, he stressed the need for gender diversity on boards, an issue that another indexing heavyweight, State Street Global Advisors, championed this year, too. In one specific instance, it joined the large vote against Stephen Sanger’s re-election to Wells Fargo’s board over the bank’s unauthorized accounts scandal, contributing to the bank’s recent decision to replace Mr. Sanger as chairman with Elizabeth A. Duke.

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