In 1976, after getting approval from the board of directors of Wellington, Bogle established the First Index Investment Trust (now called the Vanguard 500 Index Fund).[19] It raised $11 million in its initial public offering, compared to expectations of raising $150 million.[20] The banks that managed the public offering suggested that Bogle cancel the fund due to the weak reception but Bogle refused.[3][4] At this time, Vanguard had only three employees: Bogle and two analysts. Asset growth in the first years was slow, partially because the fund did not pay commissions to brokers who sold it, which was unusual at the time. Within a year, the fund had only grown to $17 million in assets, but one of the Wellington Funds that Vanguard was administering had to be merged in with another fund, and Bogle convinced Wellington to merge it in with the Index fund.[5][6] This brought assets up to almost $100 million.