Entering 2023, many investment experts and economists predicted the U.S. was heading toward a recession, but so far growth has been surprisingly strong. Vanguard is perhaps best known as a leader in low-cost passive index investing in both mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. The firm does have active products, however, such as the Vanguard Core Bond Fund (VCORX) . On Friday, Vanguard announced it was launching two new municipal bond index ETFs — Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VTEI) and Vanguard California Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VTEC). Even as the economy starts to slow, Devereux said Vanguard expects a "hawkish hold" from the Fed on interest rates.

---

Persons: Sara Devereux, CNBC's Bob Pisani, Devereux, Dereveux, They're Organizations: Vanguard's Investment Management Group, The Commerce Department, Vanguard, Bond Fund, Bond, Vanguard California, CNBC Locations: U.S