Members of the MA Financial Media team joined representatives from Vanguard and the wider investment industry to endure a muddy obstacle course, including iced water and electric shocks, on 22 September.
Christian Mayes, Holly Downes, Hannah Williford, Samantha Harris, Jack Elia, Elicia Jones, Hannah Lishman, Oliver Kynge, Darian Bowers and Jasper Norman were part of the 1,300 individuals taking part in the Tough Mudder event, which saw them cover 5k and 18 obstacles – usually the Tough Mudder 5k has 13 obstacles so this was particularly challenging!
See the slideshow below for more photos of the team taking part.
Investment reporter for Portfolio Adviser Mayes commented: “It was a pleasure to take part in the Vanguard Tough Mudder alongside my colleagues at Portfolio Adviser and teams from the wider industry. While the course was challenging, taking on obstacles ranging from electric shocks to plunging into ice cold muddy water, it was a great occasion, and the MAFM team handled it extremely well by working together to ensure everyone made it across the finish line. Reporters Hannah Williford and Holly Downes earned particular plaudits for taking on the challenge on only their fourth day in the industry!”
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Robyn Laidlaw, head of distribution for Europe at Vanguard, said the event was a nod to the firm’s actively managed fund range: “Historically we’ve always been known for index fund investing. That’s understandable. Vanguard was the first company to bring index funds to a mass audience, and it’s a legacy we’re very proud of. Our active management story, however, goes back to our very beginnings as a company. When Vanguard started in 1975, our entire line-up compromised of actively managed funds, and today we are one of the largest active managers in the world.
“We wanted to find a way of painting that broader picture in a way that was fun and promoted team spirit and healthy living as well as being– importantly for Vanguard – cost efficient. Taking over Tough Mudder gave us an opportunity to challenge financial advisers from across the UK to see if they’re “more active than we are” and create some of those associations in a way that is a little bit different to the usual set of slides at a conference.”
See also: 7IM adds two Vanguard funds in quarterly MPS rebalance
Each obstacle took the MAFM team around 15 minutes and they completed the course, located in Crawley, in roughly 2.5 hours.
Vanguard’s Laidlaw added: “We’d like to say an enormous thank you to everyone from across the industry who turned up and took part, with such a spirit of collegiality and teamwork. We had runners taking part from their teens to their sixties, of all levels of ability, and working together to challenge themselves and have a good time, for good causes.”
Various charities were supported at the event with EV Financial Solutions running for CALM, Titan participating to support New Horizon Youth Centre, Concept Financial Planning running for Kent Air Ambulance and Sebastian’s Action Trust, and IEP Financial running for Together Co.
The MAFM team are all smiles before taking on the Vanguard Tough Mudder challenge
