485BPOS 1 fixedincome485bfinal052009.txt FIXED INCOME PARTS A, B, AND C ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 FORM N-1A REGISTRATION STATEMENT (NO. 333-11763) UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 [X] PRE-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. [ ] POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 87 [X] AND REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 AMENDMENT NO. 88 [X] VANGUARD FIXED INCOME SECURITIES FUNDS (EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN DECLARATION OF TRUST) P.O. BOX 2600, VALLEY FORGE, PA 19482 (ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICE) REGISTRANT'S TELEPHONE NUMBER (610) 669-1000 HEIDI STAM, ESQUIRE P.O. BOX 876 VALLEY FORGE, PA 19482 IT IS PROPOSED THAT THIS FILING WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE (CHECK APPROPRIATE BOX) [ ] IMMEDIATELY UPON FILING PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (B) [x] ON MAY 29, 2009 PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (B) [ ] 60 DAYS AFTER FILING PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (A)(1) [ ] ON (DATE) PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (A)(1) [ ] 75 DAYS AFTER FILING PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (A)(2) [ ] ON (DATE) PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (A)(2) OF RULE 485 IF APPROPRIATE, CHECK THE FOLLOWING BOX: [ ] THIS POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT DESIGNATES A NEW EFFECTIVE DATE FOR A PREVIOUSLY FILED POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD (/R/)] VANGUARD BOND FUNDS PROSPECTUS May 29, 2009 INVESTOR SHARES & ADMIRAL(/TM/) SHARES Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund Vanguard Short-Term Federal Fund Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund Vanguard GNMA Fund Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Fund Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund This prospectus contains financial data for the Funds through the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. CONTENTS Vanguard Fund Profiles 1 Financial Highlights 57 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Treasury Fund 1 Investing With Vanguard 74 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Federal Fund 5 Purchasing 74 Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Investment-Grade 9 Converting Shares 77 Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term Treasury 14 Redeeming Shares 79 Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term 18 Exchanging Shares 82 Investment-Grade Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GNMA Fund 23 Frequent-Trading Limits 82 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Treasury Fund 28 Other Rules You Should Know 84 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Investment-Grade 32 Fund and Account Updates 88 Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investing in Vanguard Bond 37 Contacting Vanguard 90 Funds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Glossary of More on the Funds 38 Investment Terms 92 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Funds and Vanguard 50 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisors 51 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends, Capital Gains, and 53 Taxes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Share Price 55 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Reading This Prospectus Is Important This prospectus explains the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks associated with each Fund. To highlight terms and concepts important to mutual fund investors, we have provided Plain Talk/(R)/ explanations along the way. Reading the prospectus will help you decide whether a Fund is the right investment for you. We suggest that you keep this prospectus for future reference. Share Class Overview This prospectus offers the Funds' Investor Shares and Admiral Shares. Please note that Admiral Shares are not available for: . SIMPLE IRAs and Section 403(b)(7) custodial accounts; . Other retirement plan accounts receiving special administrative services from Vanguard; or . Accounts maintained by financial intermediaries, except in limited circumstances. A separate prospectus offers Institutional Shares of Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund. Institutional Shares are generally for investors who do not require special employee benefit plan services and who invest a minimum of $50 million. The Funds' separate share classes have different expenses; as a result, their investment performances will differ. An investment in a Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD SHORT-TERM TREASURY FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide current income while maintaining limited price volatility. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities, which include bills, bonds, and notes issued by the U.S. Treasury. The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 1 to 4 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks The Fund is designed for investors with a low tolerance for risk, but you could still lose money by investing in it. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in short-term bonds, whose prices are much less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the share classes presented compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. 1 Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 1.85% 2000 8.83% 2001 7.80% 2002 8.02% 2003 2.38% 2004 1.03% 2005 1.77% 2006 3.77% 2007 7.89% 2008 6.68% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 0.80%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 3.92% (quarter ended September 30, 2001), and the lowest return for a quarter was -1.34% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December, 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD SHORT-TERM TREASURY FUND Investor Shares --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes 6.68% 4.19% 4.96% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on 5.39 2.91 3.32 Distributions --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale 4.39 2.82 3.24 of Fund Shares --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD SHORT-TERM TREASURY FUND Admiral Shares/1/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes 6.79% 4.33% -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Treasury Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or 8.83% 4.63% 5.19% taxes) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 From the inception date of the Fund's Admiral Shares on February 13, 2001, through December 31, 2008, the average annual total returns were 4.92% for the Admiral Shares and 5.06% for the Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Treasury Bond Index. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Note on after-tax returns. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are shown only for the Investor Shares and will differ for each share class in an amount approximately equal to the difference in expense 2 ratios. After-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares will be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares or Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Purchase Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Redemption Fee None/1/ None/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Account Service Fee (for fund account balances below $10,000) $20/year/2/ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Management Expenses 0.18% 0.09% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12b-1 Distribution Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other Expenses 0.04% 0.03% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/3/ 0.22% 0.12% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 A $5 fee applies to wire redemptions under $5,000. 2 If applicable, the account service fee will be collected by redeeming Fund shares in the amount of $20. 3 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
3 The following examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares or Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. They illustrate the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years ---------------------------------------------------------- Investor Shares $23 $71 $124 $280 ---------------------------------------------------------- Admiral Shares 12 39 68 154 ---------------------------------------------------------- These examples should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown.
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets (all share classes) $6.8 billion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Suitable for IRAs Yes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Inception Date October 28, 1991 February 13, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Minimum Initial Investment $3,000 $100,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conversion Features May be converted to May be converted to Investor Admiral Shares if you meet Shares if you are no longer eligibility requirements eligible for Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Newspaper Abbreviation STTsry STsryAdml ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vanguard Fund Number 32 532 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CUSIP Number 922031703 922031851 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ticker Symbol VFISX VFIRX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD SHORT-TERM FEDERAL FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide current income while maintaining limited price volatility. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in short-term bonds issued by the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities, many of which are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 1 to 4 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks The Fund is designed for investors with a low tolerance for risk, but you could still lose money by investing in it. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in short-term bonds, whose prices are much less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Credit risk should be very low for the Fund, because it invests only in bonds issued by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the share classes presented compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past 5 performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 2.07% 2000 9.18% 2001 8.61% 2002 7.61% 2003 1.99% 2004 1.36% 2005 1.80% 2006 4.32% 2007 7.43% 2008 7.04% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 0.92%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 3.89% (quarter ended December 31, 2008), and the lowest return for a quarter was -1.50% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD SHORT-TERM FEDERAL FUND Investor Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes 7.04% 4.36% 5.10% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on 5.59 3.01 3.40 Distributions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale 4.54 2.92 3.32 of Fund Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD SHORT-TERM FEDERAL FUND Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes 7.15% 4.46% -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Government/Credit Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) 8.41% 4.61% 5.24% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 From the inception date of the Fund's Admiral Shares on February 12, 2001, through December 31, 2008, the average annual total returns were 4.91% for the Admiral Shares and 5.07% for the Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Government/Credit Bond Index. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Note on after-tax returns. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains 6 or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are shown only for the Investor Shares and will differ for each share class in an amount approximately equal to the difference in expense ratios. After-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares will be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares or Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Purchase Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Redemption Fee None/1/ None/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Account Service Fee (for fund account balances below $10,000) $20/year/2/ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Management Expenses 0.19% 0.09% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12b-1 Distribution Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other Expenses 0.03% 0.03% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/3/ 0.22% 0.12% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 A $5 fee applies to wire redemptions under $5,000. 2 If applicable, the account service fee will be collected by redeeming Fund shares in the amount of $20. 3 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
7 The following examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares or Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. They illustrate the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years ---------------------------------------------------------- Investor Shares $23 $71 $124 $280 ---------------------------------------------------------- Admiral Shares 12 39 68 154 ---------------------------------------------------------- These examples should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown.
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets (all share classes) $3.6 billion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Suitable for IRAs Yes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Inception Date December 31, 1987 February 12, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Minimum Initial Investment $3,000 $100,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conversion Features May be converted to May be converted to Investor Admiral Shares if you meet Shares if you are no longer eligibility requirements eligible for Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Newspaper Abbreviation STFed STFedAdml ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vanguard Fund Number 49 549 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CUSIP Number 922031604 922031844 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ticker Symbol VSGBX VSGDX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide current income while maintaining limited price volatility. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests in a variety of high-quality and, to a lesser extent, medium-quality fixed income securities, at least 80% of which will be short- and intermediate-term investment-grade securities. High-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or another independent rating agency; medium-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody's or another independent rating agency. (Investment-grade fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa3 and above by Moody's.) The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 1 to 4 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks The Fund is designed for investors with a low tolerance for risk, but you could still lose money by investing in it. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in short-term bonds, whose prices are much less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Although the Fund invests a limited portion of its assets in low-quality bonds, credit risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in bonds that are considered high-quality and, to a lesser extent, in bonds that are considered medium-quality. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. 9 Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the share classes presented compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 3.30% 2000 8.17% 2001 8.14% 2002 5.22% 2003 4.20% 2004 2.11% 2005 2.20% 2006 4.99% 2007 5.86% 2008 -4.74% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 2.00%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 3.34% (quarter ended September 30, 2001), and the lowest return for a quarter was -3.42% (quarter ended September 30, 2008).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investor Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return Before Taxes -4.74% 2.01% 3.88% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return After Taxes on -6.33 0.53 2.00 Distributions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale -3.04 0.87 2.17 of Fund Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ VANGUARD SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return Before Taxes -4.65% 2.12% -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Credit Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) -1.13% 2.66% 4.79% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 From the inception date of the Fund's Admiral Shares on February 12, 2001, through December 31, 2008, the average annual total returns were 3.37% for the Admiral Shares and 4.45% for the Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Credit Bond Index. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
10 Note on after-tax returns. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are shown only for the Investor Shares and will differ for each share class in an amount approximately equal to the difference in expense ratios. After-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares will be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares or Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 11
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Purchase Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Redemption Fee None/1/ None/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Account Service Fee (for fund account balances below $10,000) $20/year/2/ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Management Expenses 0.22% 0.10% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12b-1 Distribution Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other Expenses 0.04% 0.04% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/3/ 0.26%% 0.14% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 A $5 fee applies to wire redemptions under $5,000. 2 If applicable, the account service fee will be collected by redeeming Fund shares in the amount of $20. 3 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares or Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. They illustrate the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years ---------------------------------------------------------- Investor Shares $27 $84 $146 $331 ---------------------------------------------------------- Admiral Shares 14 45 79 179 ---------------------------------------------------------- These examples should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 12
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets (all share classes) $18.8 billion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Suitable for IRAs Yes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Inception Date October 29, 1982 February 12, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Minimum Initial Investment $3,000 $100,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conversion Features May be converted to May be converted to Investor Admiral Shares if you meet Shares if you are no longer eligibility requirements eligible for Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Newspaper Abbreviation STIGrade STIGradeAdml ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vanguard Fund Number 39 539 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CUSIP Number 922031406 922031836 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ticker Symbol VFSTX VFSUX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM TREASURY FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a moderate and sustainable level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities, which include bills, bonds, and notes issued by the U.S. Treasury. The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 5 to 10 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests mainly in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the share classes presented compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. 14 Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 -3.52% 2000 14.03% 2001 7.55% 2002 14.15% 2003 2.37% 2004 3.40% 2005 2.32% 2006 3.14% 2007 9.98% 2008 13.32% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 0.15%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 8.32% (quarter ended September 30, 2002), and the lowest return for a quarter was -3.22% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM TREASURY FUND Investor Shares --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes 13.32% 6.34% 6.52% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on 11.51 4.63 4.49 Distributions --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale 9.03 4.44 4.37 of Fund Shares --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM TREASURY FUND Admiral Shares/1/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes 13.49% 6.50% -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 5-10 Year Treasury Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction 16.77% 7.05% 6.74% for fees, expenses, or taxes) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 From the inception date of the Fund's Admiral Shares on February 12, 2001, through December 31, 2008, the average annual total returns were 6.98% for the Fund's Admiral Shares and 7.23% for the Barclays Capital U.S. 5-10 Year Treasury Bond Index. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Note on after-tax returns. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are shown only for the Investor Shares and will differ for each share class in an amount approximately equal to the difference in expense 15 ratios. After-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares will be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares or Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Purchase Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Redemption Fee None/1/ None/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Account Service Fee (for fund account balances below $10,000) $20/year/2/ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Management Expenses 0.22% 0.09% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12b-1 Distribution Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other Expenses 0.03% 0.03% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/3/ 0.25% 0.12% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 A $5 fee applies to wire redemptions under $5,000. 2 If applicable, the account service fee will be collected by redeeming Fund shares in the amount of $20. 3 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
16 The following examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares or Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. They illustrate the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years ---------------------------------------------------------- Investor Shares $26 $80 $141 $318 ---------------------------------------------------------- Admiral Shares 12 39 68 154 ---------------------------------------------------------- These examples should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown.
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets (all share classes) $7.3 billion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Suitable for IRAs Yes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Inception Date October 28, 1991 February 12, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Minimum Initial Investment $3,000 $100,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conversion Features May be converted to May be converted to Investor Admiral Shares if you meet Shares if you are no longer eligibility requirements eligible for Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Newspaper Abbreviation ITTsry ITsryAdml ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vanguard Fund Number 35 535 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CUSIP Number 922031802 922031828 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ticker Symbol VFITX VFIUX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a moderate and sustainable level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests in a variety of high-quality and, to a lesser extent, medium-quality fixed income securities, at least 80% of which will be short- and intermediate-term investment-grade securities. High-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or another independent rating agency; medium-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody's or another independent rating agency. (Investment-grade fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa3 and above by Moody's.) The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 5 to 10 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests mainly in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Although the Fund invests a limited portion of its assets in low-quality bonds, credit risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in bonds that are considered high-quality and, to a lesser extent, in bonds that are considered medium-quality. 18 . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the share classes presented compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 -1.53% 2000 10.70% 2001 9.42% 2002 10.28% 2003 6.29% 2004 4.75% 2005 1.97% 2006 4.43% 2007 6.14% 2008 -6.16% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was -0.22%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 5.50% (quarter ended September 30, 2002), and the lowest return for a quarter was -6.06% (quarter ended September 30, 2008). 19
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investor Shares ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes -6.16% 2.13% 4.50% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on Distributions -8.02 0.31 2.30 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on and Sale -3.85 0.80 2.53 of Fund Shares ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Admiral Shares/1/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes -6.06% 2.24% -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 5-10 Year Credit Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) -4.66% 2.35% 4.95% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 From the inception date of the Fund's Admiral Shares on February 12, 2001, through December 31, 2008, the average annual total returns were 4.43% for the Admiral Shares and 4.94% for the Barclays Capital U.S. 5-10 Year Credit Bond Index. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Note on after-tax returns. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are shown only for the Investor Shares and will differ for each share class in an amount approximately equal to the difference in expense ratios. After-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares will be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares or Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 20
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Purchase Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Redemption Fee None/1/ None/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Account Service Fee (for fund account balances below $10,000) $20/year/2/ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Management Expenses 0.22% 0.11% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12b-1 Distribution Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other Expenses 0.04% 0.03% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/3/ 0.26% 0.14% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 A $5 fee applies to wire redemptions under $5,000. 2 If applicable, the account service fee will be collected by redeeming Fund shares in the amount of $20. 3 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares or Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. They illustrate the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years ---------------------------------------------------------- Investor Shares $27 $84 $146 $331 ---------------------------------------------------------- Admiral Shares 14 45 79 179 ---------------------------------------------------------- These examples should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 21
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets (all share classes) $8.3 billion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Suitable for IRAs Yes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Inception Date November 1, 1993 February 12, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Minimum Initial Investment $3,000 $100,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conversion Features May be converted to May be converted to Investor Admiral Shares if you meet Shares if you are no longer eligibility requirements eligible for Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Newspaper Abbreviation ITIGrade ITIGradeAdml ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vanguard Fund Number 71 571 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CUSIP Number 922031885 922031810 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ticker Symbol VFICX VFIDX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD GNMA FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a moderate level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) pass-through certificates, which are fixed income securities representing part ownership in a pool of mortgage loans supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The balance of the Fund's assets may be invested in U.S. Treasury or other U.S. government agency securities, as well as in repurchase agreements collateralized by such securities. Securities issued by most U.S. government agencies, other than the U.S. Treasury and GNMA, are neither guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury nor supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The Fund's dollar-weighted average maturity depends on homeowner prepayments of the underlying mortgages. Although the Fund does not observe specific maturity guidelines, the Fund's dollar-weighted average maturity will normally fall within an intermediate-term range (3 to 10 years). For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, homeowners will refinance their mortgages before their maturity dates, resulting in prepayment of mortgage-backed securities held by the Fund. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. Prepayment risk is high for the Fund. . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. In addition, when interest rates decline, GNMA prices typically do not rise as much as the prices of comparable bonds. This is because the market tends to discount GNMA prices for prepayment risk when interest rates decline. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. 23 Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the share classes presented compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 0.78% 2000 11.22% 2001 7.94% 2002 9.68% 2003 2.49% 2004 4.13% 2005 3.33% 2006 4.33% 2007 7.01% 2008 7.22% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 1.98%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 4.03% (quarter ended September 30, 2001), and the lowest return for a quarter was -1.24% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD GNMA FUND Investor Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes 7.22% 5.19 5.77% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on 5.37 3.40 3.65 Distributions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of 4.64 3.37 3.62 Fund Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD GNMA FUND Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes 7.33% 5.29% -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. GNMA Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) 7.87% 5.39% 5.94% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 From the inception date of the Fund's Admiral Shares on February 12, 2001, through December 31, 2008, the average annual total returns were 5.70% for the Admiral Shares and 5.71% for the Barclays Capital U.S. GNMA Bond Index. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
24 Note on after-tax returns. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are shown only for the Investor Shares and will differ for each share class in an amount approximately equal to the difference in expense ratios. After-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares will be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares or Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 25
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Purchase Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Redemption Fee None/1/ None/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Account Service Fee (for fund account balances below $10,000) $20/year/2/ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Management Expenses 0.19% 0.10% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12b-1 Distribution Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other Expenses 0.04% 0.03% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/3/ 0.23% 0.13% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 A $5 fee applies to wire redemptions under $5,000. 2 If applicable, the account service fee will be collected by redeeming Fund shares in the amount of $20. 3 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares or Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. They illustrate the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years ---------------------------------------------------------- Investor Shares $24 $74 $130 $293 ---------------------------------------------------------- Admiral Shares 13 42 73 166 ---------------------------------------------------------- These examples should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 26
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $29.7 billion ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor Wellington Management Company, LLP, Boston, Mass., since inception ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suitable for IRAs Yes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investor Shares Admiral Shares ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date June 27, 1980 February 12, 2001 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minimum Initial Investment $3,000 $100,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conversion Features May be converted to May be converted to Investor Admiral Shares if you meet Shares if you are no longer eligibility requirements eligible for Admiral Shares ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation GNMA GNMAAdml ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 36 536 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031307 922031794 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VFIIX VFIJX ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
27 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD LONG-TERM TREASURY FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a high and sustainable level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities, which include bills, bonds, and notes issued by the U.S. Treasury. The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 15 to 30 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be high for the Fund because it invests mainly in long-term bonds, whose prices are much more sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of short-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the share classes presented compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. 28 Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 -8.66% 2000 19.72% 2001 4.31% 2002 16.67% 2003 2.68% 2004 7.12% 2005 6.61% 2006 1.74% 2007 9.24% 2008 22.52% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was -4.62%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 17.58% (quarter ended December 31, 2008), and the lowest return for a quarter was -5.23% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD LONG-TERM TREASURY FUND Investor Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes 22.52% 9.23% 7.83% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on Distributions 20.47 7.27 5.66 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale 14.60 6.77 5.40 of Fund Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD LONG-TERM TREASURY FUND Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes 22.69% 9.39% -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. Long Treasury Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) 24.03% 9.73% 8.10% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 From the inception date of the Fund's Admiral Shares on February 12, 2001, through December 31, 2008, the average annual total returns were 8.85% for the Admiral Shares and 9.01% for the Barclays Capital U.S. Long Treasury Bond Index. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Note on after-tax returns. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are shown only for the Investor Shares and will differ for each share class in an amount approximately equal to the difference in expense 29 ratios. After-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares will be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares or Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Purchase Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Redemption Fee None/1/ None/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Account Service Fee (for fund account balances below $10,000) $20/year/2/ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Management Expenses 0.22% 0.09% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12b-1 Distribution Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other Expenses 0.03% 0.03% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/3/ 0.25% 0.12% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 A $5 fee applies to wire redemptions under $5,000. 2 If applicable, the account service fee will be collected by redeeming Fund shares in the amount of $20. 3 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares or Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. They illustrate the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various 30 periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years ---------------------------------------------------------- Investor Shares $26 $80 $141 $318 ---------------------------------------------------------- Admiral Shares 12 39 68 154 ---------------------------------------------------------- These examples should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown.
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets (all share classes) $3.4 billion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Suitable for IRAs Yes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Inception Date May 19, 1986 February 12, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Minimum Initial Investment $3,000 $100,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conversion Features May be converted to May be converted to Investor Admiral Shares if you meet Shares if you are no longer eligibility requirements eligible for Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Newspaper Abbreviation LTTsry LTsryAdml ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vanguard Fund Number 83 583 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CUSIP Number 922031505 922031786 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ticker Symbol VUSTX VUSUX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
31 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD LONG-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a high and sustainable level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests in a variety of high-quality and, to a lesser extent, medium-quality fixed income securities, at least 80% of which will be intermediate- and long-term investment-grade securities. High-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or another independent rating agency; medium-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody's or another independent rating agency. (Investment-grade fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa3 and above by Moody's.) The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 15 to 25 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be high for the Fund because it invests mainly in long-term bonds, whose prices are much more sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of short-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be moderate for the Fund. To minimize the impact of call/prepayment risk, the advisor generally seeks to purchase bonds that have reasonable protection from being called. . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Although the Fund invests a limited portion of its assets in low-quality bonds, credit risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in bonds that are considered high-quality and, to a lesser extent, in bonds that are considered medium-quality. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. 32 Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the share classes presented compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 -6.23% 2000 11.76% 2001 9.57% 2002 13.22% 2003 6.26% 2004 8.94% 2005 5.13% 2006 2.86% 2007 3.75% 2008 2.29% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was -8.28%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 11.07% (quarter ended December 31, 2008), and the lowest return for a quarter was -8.28% (quarter ended March 31, 2009).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD LONG-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investor Shares ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes 2.29% 4.57% 5.62% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on Distributions 0.14 2.51 3.28 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 1.41 2.69 3.36 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD LONG-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Admiral Shares/1/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes 2.40% 4.69% -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. Long Credit A or Better Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) -0.24% 3.94% 5.40% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 From the inception date of the Fund's Admiral Shares on February 12, 2001, through December 31, 2008, the average annual total returns were 6.31% for the Admiral Shares and 6.09% for the Barclays Capital U.S. Long Credit A or Better Bond Index. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
33 Note on after-tax returns. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are shown only for the Investor Shares and will differ for each share class in an amount approximately equal to the difference in expense ratios. After-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares will be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares or Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 34
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Purchase Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Redemption Fee None/1/ None/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Account Service Fee (for fund account balances below $10,000) $20/year/2/ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Management Expenses 0.25% 0.13% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12b-1 Distribution Fee None None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other Expenses 0.03% 0.03% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/3/ 0.28% 0.16% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 A $5 fee applies to wire redemptions under $5,000. 2 If applicable, the account service fee will be collected by redeeming Fund shares in the amount of $20. 3 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares or Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. They illustrate the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years ---------------------------------------------------------- Investor Shares $29 $90 $157 $356 ---------------------------------------------------------- Admiral Shares 16 52 90 205 ---------------------------------------------------------- These examples should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 35
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $5.9 billion ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor Wellington Management Company, LLP, Boston, Mass., since inception ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suitable for IRAs Yes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investor Shares Admiral Shares ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date July 9, 1973 February 12, 2001 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minimum Initial Investment $3,000 $100,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conversion Features May be converted to May be converted to Investor Admiral Shares if you meet Shares if you are no longer eligibility requirements eligible for Admiral Shares ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation LTIGrade LTIGradeAdml ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 28 568 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031109 922031778 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VWESX VWETX ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
36 INVESTING IN VANGUARD BOND FUNDS The Vanguard Bond Funds are nine separate mutual funds, eight of which are offered through this prospectus (Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund is offered through a separate prospectus). Each Fund offered in this prospectus seeks to provide current income by investing in fixed income securities that meet defined standards for credit quality and maturity. These standards vary among the Funds, as shown in the following table. As a result, the levels of income provided by the Funds will vary, with the Short-Term Treasury Fund generally providing the least income and the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund generally providing the most income. DOLLAR-WEIGHTED FUND PRIMARY INVESTMENTS AVERAGE MATURITY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Treasury U.S. Treasury bonds 1-4 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Federal U.S. government agency 1-4 years bonds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Investment-Grade Investment-grade bonds 1-4 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term Treasury U.S. Treasury bonds 5-10 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term Investment-grade bonds 5-10 years Investment-Grade ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GNMA GNMA mortgage Generally 3-10 years certificates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Treasury U.S. Treasury bonds 15-30 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Investment-Grade Investment-grade bonds 15-25 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37 MORE ON THE FUNDS This prospectus describes the primary risks you would face as a Fund shareholder. It is important to keep in mind one of the main axioms of investing: The higher the risk of losing money, the higher the potential reward. The reverse, also, is generally true: The lower the risk, the lower the potential reward. As you consider an investment in any mutual fund, you should take into account your personal tolerance for fluctuations in the securities markets. Look for this [FLAG LOGO] symbol throughout the prospectus. It is used to mark detailed information about the more significant risks that you would confront as a Fund shareholder. The following sections explain the primary investment strategies and policies that each Fund uses in pursuit of its objective. The Fund's board of trustees, which oversees the Fund's management, may change investment strategies or policies in the interest of shareholders without a shareholder vote, unless those strategies or policies are designated as fundamental. Note that each Fund's investment objective is not fundamental and may be changed without a shareholder vote. However, each Fund's 80% investment policy may be changed only upon 60 days' notice to shareholders. Market Exposure [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund is subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for short-term bond funds, moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, and high for long-term bond funds. Although bonds are often thought to be less risky than stocks, there have been periods when bond prices have fallen significantly because of rising interest rates. For instance, prices of long-term bonds fell by almost 48% between December 1976 and September 1981. To illustrate the relationship between bond prices and interest rates, the following table shows the effect of a 1% and a 2% change (both up and down) in interest rates on the values of three noncallable bonds of different maturities, each with a face value of $1,000.
How Interest Rate Changes Affect the Value of a $1,000 Bond/1/ After a 1% After a 1% After a 2% After a 2% Type of Bond (Maturity) Increase Decrease Increase Decrease ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term (2.5 years) $977 $1,024 $955 $1,048 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermediate-Term (10 years) 926 1,082 858 1,172 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Long-Term (20 years) 884 1,137 786 1,299 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Assuming a 5% coupon.
38 These figures are for illustration only; you should not regard them as an indication of future performance of the bond market as a whole or the Funds in particular. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BONDS AND INTEREST RATES As a rule, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall. The opposite is also true: Bond prices go up when interest rates fall. Why do bond prices and interest rates move in opposite directions? Let's assume that you hold a bond offering a 5% yield. A year later, interest rates are on the rise and bonds of comparable quality and maturity are offered with a 6% yield. With higher-yielding bonds available, you would have trouble selling your 5% bond for the price you paid--you would probably have to lower your asking price. On the other hand, if interest rates were falling and 4% bonds were being offered, you should be able to sell your 5% bond for more than you paid. How mortgage-backed securities are different: In general, declining interest rates will not lift the prices of mortgage-backed securities--such as GNMAs--as much as the prices of comparable bonds. Why? Because when interest rates fall, the bond market tends to discount the prices of mortgage-backed securities for prepayment risk--the possibility that homeowners will refinance their mortgages at lower rates and cause the bonds to be paid off prior to maturity. In part to compensate for this prepayment possibility, mortgage-backed securities tend to offer higher yields than other bonds of comparable credit quality and maturity. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes in interest rates can affect bond income as well as bond prices. [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund is subject to income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. A fund's income declines when interest rates fall because the fund then must invest in lower- yielding bonds. Income risk is generally higher for short-term bond funds and lower for long-term bond funds. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BOND MATURITIES A bond is issued with a specific maturity date--the date when the issuer must pay back the bond's principal (face value). Bond maturities range from less than 1 year to more than 30 years. Typically, the longer a bond's maturity, the more price risk you, as a bond investor, face as interest rates rise--but also the higher yield you could receive. Longer-term bonds are more suitable for investors willing to take a greater risk of price fluctuations to get higher and more stable interest income. Shorter-term bond investors should be willing to accept lower yields and greater income variability in return for less fluctuation in the value of their investment. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 39 Although falling interest rates tend to strengthen bond prices, they can cause other sorts of problems for bond fund investors--bond calls and prepayments. [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund (other than the GNMA Fund) is subject to call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. Call risk should be low for the Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund and the various Short-Term and Treasury Funds, and moderate for the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT CALLABLE BONDS Although bonds are issued with clearly defined maturities, in some cases the bond issuer has a right to call in (redeem) the bond earlier than its maturity date. When a bond is called, the bondholder must replace it with another bond that may have a lower yield than the original. One way for bond investors to protect themselves against call risk is to purchase a bond early in its lifetime, long before its call date. Another way is to buy bonds with lower coupons or interest rates, which make them less likely to be called. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund is subject to prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, homeowners will refinance their mortgages before their maturity dates, resulting in prepayment of mortgage- backed securities held by the Fund. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. Prepayment risk is high for the GNMA Fund, and low for the other Funds. [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund (other than the Short-, Intermediate-, and Long-Term Treasury Funds and the GNMA Fund) is subject to credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. 40 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT CREDIT QUALITY A bond's credit-quality rating is an assessment of the issuer's ability to pay interest on the bond and, ultimately, to repay the principal. Credit quality is evaluated by one of the independent bond-rating agencies (for example, Moody's or Standard & Poor's) or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor. The lower the rating, the greater the chance--in the rating agency's or advisor's opinion--that the bond issuer will default, or fail to meet its payment obligations. All things being equal, the lower a bond's credit rating, the higher its yield should be to compensate investors for assuming additional risk. Investment-grade bonds are those rated in one of the four highest ratings categories. A fund may treat an unrated bond as investment-grade if warranted by the advisor's analysis. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In absolute terms, the credit quality of each Fund is high or upper-medium, and, therefore, credit risk should be low. In relative terms, the Short-Term Treasury, Intermediate-Term Treasury, GNMA, and Long-Term Treasury Funds (which invest primarily in U.S. Treasury-issued or Treasury-backed securities) have the lowest credit risk--and generally the lowest yields--among the Funds. By contrast, the Short-Term Investment-Grade, Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade, and Long-Term Investment-Grade Funds generally have the highest credit risk--and generally the highest yields--among the Funds. The following table shows the dollar-weighted average credit quality of each Fund's holdings, as rated by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., as of January 31, 2009. FUND AVERAGE QUALITY ------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term Treasury Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term Federal Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term Investment-Grade Aa3 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermediate-Term Treasury Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade A1 ------------------------------------------------------------------ GNMA Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Long-Term Treasury Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Long-Term Investment-Grade A1 ------------------------------------------------------------------ The following table details the Funds' credit quality policies, which apply at the time of investment, and illustrates the comparative credit risk encountered by an investor in each Fund. The Funds may hold on to bonds that are downgraded after purchase, even if they would no longer be eligible as new investments for a Fund. 41
Credit Ratings of the Funds' Investments (Percentage of Fund Assets) Issued or Backed High or by U.S. Gov't.,Its Highest Upper Agencies, and Quality Medium Medium Non-Investment-Grade Fund Instrumentalities (Non-Gov't.) Quality Quality or Unrated -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Treasury 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Federal 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term --------At least 65%-------- No more No more Investment-Grade than 30% than 5% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% Treasury -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term --------At least 65%-------- No more No more Investment-Grade than 30% than 5% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GNMA 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Treasury 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term --------At least 65%-------- No more No more Investment-Grade than 30% than 5% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each of the Investment-Grade Funds may invest no more than 30% of its assets in medium-quality fixed income securities, preferred stocks, and convertible securities and no more than 5% of its assets in non-investment-grade and unrated fixed income securities, preferred stocks, and convertible securities. Non-investment-grade bonds are those rated the equivalent of Moody's Ba1 or below, and unrated bonds are those that are not rated by any independent rating agency. To a limited extent, the Investment-Grade Funds are also exposed to event risk, which is the chance that corporate fixed income securities held by these Funds may suffer a substantial decline in credit quality and market value because of a restructuring of the companies that issued the securities, or because of other factors negatively affecting issuers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT TYPES OF BONDS Bonds are issued (sold) by many sources: Corporations issue corporate bonds; the federal government issues U.S. Treasury bonds; agencies of the federal government issue agency bonds; financial institutions issue asset-backed bonds; and mortgage holders issue "mortgage-backed" pass-through certificates. Each issuer is responsible for paying back the bond's initial value as well as for making periodic interest payments. Many bonds issued by government agencies and entities are neither guaranteed nor insured by the U.S. government. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 42 The following summary table is provided to help you distinguish among the Funds and their various risks.
Risks of the Funds Call/ Income Interest Rate Prepayment Fund Risk Risk Risk Credit Risk ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Treasury High Low Low Very Low ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Federal High Low Low Very Low ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term High Low Low Low Investment-Grade ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term Moderate Moderate Low Very Low Treasury ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term Moderate Moderate Low Low Investment-Grade ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GNMA Moderate Moderate High Very Low ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Treasury Low High Low Very Low ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Low High Moderate Low Investment-Grade -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Security Selection The grid that follows shows, at a glance, the types of financial instruments that may be purchased by each Fund. Explanations of each type of financial instrument follow the grid.
Short-, Short-, Intermediate-, and Intermediate-, and Long-Term Long-Term Treasury Short-Term Investment-Grade GNMA Fund Funds Federal Fund Funds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate Debt . Obligations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Government & . . . . Agency Bonds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State & Municipal . Bonds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortgage-Backed . . . . Securities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortgage Dollar Rolls . . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash Investments Including Repurchase Agreements ./1/ ./1/ . ./1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Futures, Options, and . . . . Other Derivatives ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Asset-Backed . . Securities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- International Dollar-Denominated . Bonds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preferred Stocks . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Convertible Securities . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Collateralized Mortgage Obligations . . . . (CMOs) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Only repurchase agreements that are collateralized by U.S. Treasury or U.S. government agency securities.
43 . Corporate debt obligations--usually called bonds--represent loans by an investor to a corporation. . U.S. government and agency bonds represent loans by investors to the U.S. Treasury Department or a wide variety of government agencies and instrumentalities. Securities issued by most U.S. government entities are neither guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury nor backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. These entities include, among others, the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs), the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC). Securities issued by the U.S. Treasury and a small number of U.S. government agencies, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. 44 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT U.S. GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED ENTITIES A variety of U.S. government-sponsored entities (GSEs), such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs), issue debt and mortgage-backed securities. Although GSEs may be chartered or sponsored by acts of Congress, they are not funded by congressional appropriations. In September of 2008, the U.S. Treasury placed FNMA and FHLMC under conservatorship and appointed the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to manage their daily operations. In addition, the U.S. Treasury entered into purchase agreements with FNMA and FHLMC to provide them with capital in exchange for senior preferred stock. Generally, their securities are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. In most cases, these securities are supported only by the credit of the GSE, standing alone. In some cases, a GSE's securities may be supported by the ability of the GSE to borrow from the Treasury, or may be supported by the U.S. government in some other way. Securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), however, are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . State and municipal bonds represent loans by an investor to a state or municipal government, or to one of its agencies or instrumentalities. . Mortgage-backed securities represent an ownership interest in mortgage loans made by financial institutions to finance a borrower's real estate purchase. These loans are packaged by issuers for sale to investors. As the underlying mortgage loans are paid by borrowers, the investors receive payments of interest and principal. . Mortgage dollar rolls are transactions in which the Fund sells mortgage-backed securities to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to purchase similar securities in the future at a predetermined price. These transactions simulate an investment in mortgage-backed securities and have the potential to enhance the Fund's returns and reduce its administrative burdens, compared with holding mortgage-backed securities directly. These transactions may increase the Fund's portfolio turnover rate. Mortgage dollar rolls will be used only if consistent with the Fund's investment objective and risk profile. . Cash investments is a blanket term that describes a variety of short-term fixed income investments, including money market instruments, commercial paper, bank certificates of deposit, banker's acceptances, and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements represent short-term (normally overnight) loans by a Fund to commercial banks or large securities dealers. The Treasury Funds, the GNMA Fund, and the Short-Term Federal Fund may invest only in repurchase agreements that are collateralized by U.S. Treasury or U.S. government agency securities. Repurchase agreements can carry several risks. For instance, if the seller is unable to repurchase 45 the securities as promised, the Fund may experience a loss when trying to sell the securities to another buyer. Also, if the seller becomes insolvent, a bankruptcy court may determine that the securities do not belong to the Fund and order that the securities be used to pay off the seller's debts. The Funds' advisors believe that these risks can be controlled through careful security selection and monitoring. . Asset-backed securities are bonds that represent partial ownership in pools of consumer or commercial loans--most often credit card, automobile, or trade receivables. Asset-backed securities, which can be types of corporate fixed income obligations, are issued by entities formed solely for that purpose, but their value ultimately depends on repayments by underlying borrowers. A primary risk of asset-backed securities is that their maturity is difficult to predict, being driven by borrowers' prepayments. . International dollar-denominated bonds are bonds denominated in U.S. dollars and issued by foreign governments and companies. To the extent that a Fund owns foreign bonds, it is subject to country risk, which is the chance that world events--such as political upheaval, financial troubles, or natural disasters--will adversely affect the value of securities issued by companies in foreign countries. In addition, the prices of foreign bonds and the prices of U.S. bonds have, at times, moved in opposite directions. Because the bond's value is designated in dollars rather than in the currency of the issuer's country, the investor is not exposed to currency risk; rather, the issuer assumes the risk, usually to attract U.S. investors. . Preferred stocks distribute set dividends from the issuer. The preferred-stock holder's claim on the issuer's income and assets ranks before that of common-stock holders, but after that of bondholders. . Convertible securities are bonds or preferred stocks that are convertible into, or exchangeable for, common stocks. . Collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) are special bonds that are collateralized by mortgages or mortgage pass-through securities. Cash flow rights on underlying mortgages--the rights to receive principal and interest payments--are divided up and prioritized to create short-, intermediate-, and long-term bonds. CMOs rely on assumptions about the timing of cash flows on the underlying mortgages, including expected prepayment rates. The primary risk of a CMO is that these assumptions are wrong, which would either shorten or lengthen the bond's maturity. Each Fund will invest only in CMOs that are believed to be consistent with its maturity and credit-quality standards. [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund is subject to manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. The Funds are generally managed without regard to tax ramifications. 46 Other Investment Policies and Risks Besides investing in bonds and other fixed income securities, each Fund may make other kinds of investments to achieve its objective. Each Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. Illiquid securities are securities that a Fund may not be able to sell in the ordinary course of business. Restricted securities are a special type of illiquid security; these securities have not been publicly issued and legally can be resold only to qualified buyers. From time to time, the board of trustees may determine that particular restricted securities are not illiquid, and those securities may then be purchased by a Fund without limit. Vanguard may invest a small portion of the Short-Term, Intermediate-Term, and Long-Term Investment Grade Funds' assets in shares of bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs). ETFs provide returns similar to those of the bonds listed in the index or a subset of the index. Vanguard may purchase ETFs when doing so will facilitate cash management or potentially add value because the instruments are favorable priced. Vanguard receives no additional revenue from investing Fund assets in ETF Shares of other Vanguard funds. Fund assets invested in ETF Shares are excluded when allocating to the Fund its share of the costs of Vanguard operations. [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund may invest in derivatives. In general, derivatives may involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of the underlying securities, assets, or market indexes. Generally speaking, a derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a stock, bond, or currency), a physical asset (such as gold), or a market index (such as the S&P 500 Index). The Funds may invest in derivatives only if the expected risks and rewards of the derivatives are consistent with the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks of the Fund as disclosed in this prospectus. The advisors will not use derivatives to change the risk exposure of the Fund. In particular, derivatives will be used only where they may help the advisors: . Invest in eligible asset classes with greater efficiency and lower cost than is possible through direct investment; . Add value when these instruments are attractively priced; . Adjust sensitivity to changes in interest rates; or . Adjust the overall credit risk of the portfolio or to actively overweight or underweight credit risk to specific bond issuers. The Funds' derivative investments may include fixed income futures contracts, fixed income options, interest rate swaps, total return swaps, credit default swaps, or other derivatives. Losses (or gains) involving futures contracts can sometimes be substantial--in part because a relatively small price movement in a futures contract 47 may result in an immediate and substantial loss (or gain) for a fund. Similar risks exist for other types of derivatives. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT DERIVATIVES Derivatives can take many forms. Some forms of derivatives, such as exchange-traded futures and options on securities, commodities, or indexes, have been trading on regulated exchanges for decades. These types of derivatives are standardized contracts that can easily be bought and sold, and whose market values are determined and published daily. Nonstandardized derivatives (such as swap agreements), on the other hand, tend to be more specialized or complex, and may be harder to value. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash Management Each Fund's daily cash balance may be invested in one or more Vanguard CMT Funds, which are very low-cost money market funds. When investing in a Vanguard CMT Fund, each Fund bears its proportionate share of the at-cost expenses of the CMT Fund in which it invests. Temporary Investment Measures Each Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies when doing so is believed to be in the Fund's best interest, so long as the alternative is consistent with the Fund's investment objective. For instance, the Fund may invest beyond the normal limits in derivatives or ETFs that are consistent with the Fund's objective when those instruments are more favorably priced or provide needed liquidity, as might be the case when the Fund is transitioning assets from one advisor to another or receives large cash flows that it cannot prudently invest immediately. In addition, each Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its normal investment policies and strategies--for instance, by allocating substantial assets to cash, commercial paper, or other less volatile instruments--in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. In doing so, the Fund may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective. Frequent Trading or Market-Timing Background. Some investors try to profit from strategies involving frequent trading of mutual fund shares, such as market-timing. For funds holding foreign securities, investors may try to take advantage of an anticipated difference between the price of the fund's shares and price movements in overseas markets, a practice also known as time-zone arbitrage. Investors also may try to engage in frequent trading of funds 48 holding investments such as small-cap stocks and high-yield bonds. As money is shifted into and out of a fund by a shareholder engaging in frequent trading, a fund incurs costs for buying and selling securities, resulting in increased brokerage and administrative costs. These costs are borne by all fund shareholders, including the long-term investors who do not generate the costs. In addition, frequent trading may interfere with an advisor's ability to efficiently manage the fund. Policies to Address Frequent Trading. The Vanguard funds (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and Vanguard ETF(TM) Shares) do not knowingly accommodate frequent trading. The board of trustees of each Vanguard fund has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to detect and discourage frequent trading and, in some cases, to compensate the fund for the costs associated with it. Although there is no assurance that Vanguard will be able to detect or prevent frequent trading or market-timing in all circumstances, the following policies have been adopted to address these issues: . Each Vanguard fund reserves the right to reject any purchase request--including exchanges from other Vanguard funds--without notice and regardless of size. For example, a purchase request could be rejected if Vanguard determines that such purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance or because of a history of frequent trading by the investor. . Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and ETF Shares) generally prohibits, except as otherwise noted in the Investing With Vanguard section, an investor's purchases or exchanges into a fund account for 60 calendar days after the investor has redeemed or exchanged out of that fund account. . Certain Vanguard funds charge shareholders purchase and/or redemption fees on transactions. See the Investing With Vanguard section of this prospectus for further details on Vanguard's transaction policies. Each fund (other than money market funds), in determining its net asset value, will, when appropriate, use fair-value pricing, as described in the Share Price section. Fair-value pricing may reduce or eliminate the profitability of certain frequent-trading strategies. Do not invest with Vanguard if you are a market-timer. 49 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT COSTS OF INVESTING Costs are an important consideration in choosing a mutual fund. That's because you, as a shareholder, pay the costs of operating a fund, plus any transaction costs incurred when the fund buys or sells securities. These costs can erode a substantial portion of the gross income or the capital appreciation a fund achieves. Even seemingly small differences in expenses can, over time, have a dramatic effect on a fund's performance. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate Although the Funds normally seek to invest for the long term, each Fund may sell securities regardless of how long they have been held. The Financial Highlights section of this prospectus shows historical turnover rates for the Funds. A turnover rate of 100%, for example, would mean that a Fund had sold and replaced securities valued at 100% of its net assets within a one-year period. Shorter-term bonds will mature or be sold--and need to be replaced--more frequently than longer-term bonds. As a result, shorter-term bond funds tend to have higher turnover rates than longer-term bond funds. The Short-Term Treasury Fund, in particular, has experienced high turnover rates in the past. The average turnover rate for bond funds was approximately 125%, as reported by Morningstar, Inc., on January 31, 2009. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT TURNOVER RATE Before investing in a mutual fund, you should review its turnover rate. This gives an indication of how transaction costs, which are not included in the fund's expense ratio, could affect the fund's future returns. In general, the greater the volume of buying and selling by the fund, the greater the impact that dealer markups and other transaction costs will have on its return. Also, funds with high turnover rates may be more likely to generate capital gains that must be distributed to shareholders as taxable income. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE FUNDS AND VANGUARD Each Fund is a member of The Vanguard Group, a family of 37 investment companies with more than 150 funds holding assets of approximately $1 trillion. All of the funds that are members of The Vanguard Group share in the expenses associated with administrative services and business operations, such as personnel, office space, equipment, and advertising. Vanguard also provides marketing services to the funds. Although shareholders do not pay sales commissions or 12b-1 distribution fees, each fund (or in the case of a fund 50 with multiple share classes, each share class of the fund) pays its allocated share of The Vanguard Group's marketing costs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT VANGUARD'S UNIQUE CORPORATE STRUCTURE The Vanguard Group is truly a mutual mutual fund company. It is owned jointly by the funds it oversees and thus indirectly by the shareholders in those funds. Most other mutual funds are operated by management companies that may be owned by one person, by a private group of individuals, or by public investors who own the management company's stock. The management fees charged by these companies include a profit component over and above the companies' cost of providing services. By contrast, Vanguard provides services to its member funds on an at-cost basis, with no profit component, which helps to keep the funds' expenses low. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTMENT ADVISORS Two investment advisors manage the Funds, subject to the supervision and oversight of the trustees and officers of the Funds. Wellington Management Company, LLP, serves as the advisor to the GNMA and Long-Term Investment-Grade Funds. The Vanguard Group, Inc., through its Fixed Income Group, serves as the advisor to the remaining Funds. . Wellington Management Company, LLP (Wellington Management), 75 State Street, Boston, MA 02109, is a Massachusetts limited liability partnership and an investment counseling firm that provides investment services to investment companies, employee benefit plans, endowments, foundations, and other institutions. Wellington Management and its predecessor organizations have provided investment advisory services for over 70 years. As of January 31, 2009, Wellington Management had investment management authority with respect to approximately $420 billion in assets. The firm receives a base fee that is based on certain annual percentage rates applied to the Funds' average daily net assets during the most recent fiscal quarter. . The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard), P.O. Box 2600, Valley Forge, PA 19482, which began operations in 1975. As of January 31, 2009, Vanguard served as advisor for approximately $844 billion in assets. For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009, the advisory expenses or fees for each Fund (other than the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund) represented an effective annual rate of 0.01% of each Fund's average net assets. For the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund, the advisory fee represented an effective annual rate of 0.02% of its average net assets. 51 Under the terms of an SEC exemption, the Funds' board of trustees may, without prior approval from shareholders, change the terms of the GNMA and/or Long-Term Investment-Grade Funds' advisory agreements or hire a new investment advisor for these Funds--either as a replacement for the existing advisor or as an additional advisor. Any significant change in the Funds' advisory arrangements will be communicated to shareholders in writing. In addition, as the Funds' sponsor and overall manager, Vanguard may provide investment advisory services to the GNMA and/or Long-Term Investment-Grade Funds, on an at-cost basis, at any time. Vanguard may also recommend to the board of trustees that an advisor be hired, terminated, or replaced, or that terms of an existing advisory agreement be revised. For a discussion of why the board of trustees approved each Fund's investment advisory arrangement, see the most recent semiannual report to shareholders covering the fiscal period ended July 31. George U. Sauter, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of Vanguard. As Chief Investment Officer, he is responsible for the oversight of Vanguard's Quantitative Equity and Fixed Income Groups. The investments managed by these two groups include active quantitative equity funds, equity index funds, active bond funds, index bond funds, stable value portfolios, and money market funds. Since joining Vanguard in 1987, Mr. Sauter has been a key contributor to the development of Vanguard's stock indexing and active quantitative equity investment strategies. He received his A.B. in Economics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Chicago. Robert F. Auwaerter, Principal of Vanguard and head of Vanguard's Fixed Income Group. He has direct oversight responsibility for all money market funds, bond funds, and stable value portfolios managed by the Fixed Income Group. He has managed investment portfolios since 1978 and has been with Vanguard since 1981. He received his B.S. in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University. Kenneth E. Volpert, CFA, Principal of Vanguard and head of Vanguard's Taxable Bond Group. He has direct oversight responsibility for all taxable bond funds managed by the Fixed Income Group. He has managed investment portfolios since 1982 and has been with Vanguard since 1992. He received his B.S. from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. The managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds are: Robert F. Auwaerter, head of Vanguard's Fixed Income Group and Principal of Vanguard. He has managed investment portfolios since 1978; has been with Vanguard since 1981; has managed the Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund since inception (co-managed since 2008) and the Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund since 1983 (co-managed since 2008); and has overseen all of the Fixed Income Group's 52 portfolio management activities since 2003. Education: B.S., University of Pennsylvania; M.B.A., Northwestern University. Gregory S. Nassour, CFA, Principal of Vanguard. He has been with Vanguard since 1992; has worked in investment management since 1994; and has co-managed the Short-Term Investment-Grade and Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Funds since 2008. Education: B.S., West Chester University; M.B.A., St. Joseph's University. David R. Glocke, Principal of Vanguard. He has worked in investment management since 1991; has managed investment portfolios for Vanguard since 1997; and has managed the Short-Term Treasury Fund since 2000 and the Intermediate-Term Treasury and Long-Term Treasury Funds since 2001. Education: B.S., University of Wisconsin. Ronald M. Reardon, Principal of Vanguard. He has worked in investment management for Vanguard since 2001 and has managed investment portfolios, including the Short-Term Federal Fund, since 2005. Education: B.S., The College of New Jersey; M.B.A., University of Rochester. Thomas L. Pappas, CFA, Senior Vice President and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager of Wellington Management. He has worked in investment management with Wellington Management since 1987; has assisted in managing the GNMA Fund since 1994; and has managed or co-managed the GNMA Fund since 2005. Education: B.S., Tufts University; M.S., Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lucius T. Hill, III, Senior Vice President and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager of Wellington Management. He has worked in investment management since 1983; has worked in investment management with Wellington Management since 1993; and has managed or co-managed the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund since February 2008. Education: B.A., Yale University; M.B.A., Columbia Business School. The Statement of Additional Information provides information about each portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts under management, and ownership of shares of the Funds. DIVIDENDS, CAPITAL GAINS, AND TAXES Fund Distributions Each Fund distributes to shareholders virtually all of its net income (interest less expenses) as well as any net capital gains realized from the sale of its holdings. The Fund's income dividends accrue daily and are distributed on the first business day of every month; capital gains distributions generally occur annually in December. In addition, the Funds may occasionally make supplemental distributions at some other time during the year. You can receive distributions of income or capital gains in cash, or you can have them automatically reinvested in more shares of the Fund. 53 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT DISTRIBUTIONS As a shareholder, you are entitled to your portion of a fund's income from interest as well as capital gains from the fund's sale of investments. Income consists of interest the fund earns from its money market and bond investments. Capital gains are realized whenever the fund sells securities for higher prices than it paid for them. These capital gains are either short-term or long-term, depending on whether the fund held the securities for one year or less or for more than one year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic Tax Points Vanguard will send you a statement each year showing the tax status of all your distributions. In addition, investors in taxable accounts should be aware of the following basic federal income tax points: . Distributions are taxable to you whether or not you reinvest these amounts in additional Fund shares. . Distributions declared in December--if paid to you by the end of January--are taxable as if received in December. . Any dividend and short-term capital gains distributions that you receive are taxable to you as ordinary income. . Any distributions of net long-term capital gains are taxable to you as long-term capital gains, no matter how long you've owned shares in the Fund. . Capital gains distributions may vary considerably from year to year as a result of the Funds' normal investment activities and cash flows. . A sale or exchange of Fund shares is a taxable event. This means that you may have a capital gain to report as income, or a capital loss to report as a deduction, when you complete your tax return. . Any conversion between classes of shares of the same fund is a nontaxable event. By contrast, an exchange between classes of shares of different funds is a taxable event. Dividend and capital gains distributions that you receive, as well as your gains or losses from any sale or exchange of Fund shares, may be subject to state and local income taxes. Depending on your state's rules, however, any dividends attributable to interest earned on direct obligations of the U.S. government may be exempt from state and local taxes. Vanguard will notify you each year how much, if any, of your dividends may qualify for this exemption. 54 General Information Backup withholding. By law, Vanguard must withhold 28% of any taxable distributions or redemptions from your account if you do not: . Provide us with your correct taxpayer identification number; . Certify that the taxpayer identification number is correct; and . Confirm that you are not subject to backup withholding. Similarly, Vanguard must withhold taxes from your account if the IRS instructs us to do so. Foreign investors. Vanguard funds generally are not sold outside the United States, except to certain qualified investors. If you reside outside the United States, please consult our website at www.vanguard.com and review "Non-U.S. investors." Foreign investors should be aware that U.S. withholding and estate taxes may apply to any investments in Vanguard funds. Invalid addresses. If a dividend or capital gains distribution check mailed to your address of record is returned as undeliverable, Vanguard will automatically reinvest all future distributions until you provide us with a valid mailing address. Tax consequences. This prospectus provides general tax information only. If you are investing through a tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA, special tax rules apply. Please consult your tax advisor for detailed information about a fund's tax consequences for you. SHARE PRICE Share price, also known as net asset value (NAV), is calculated each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, generally 4 p.m., Eastern time. Each share class has its own NAV, which is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, allocated to each share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. On holidays or other days when the Exchange is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Fund does not transact purchase or redemption requests. However, on those days the value of the Fund's assets may be affected to the extent that the Fund holds foreign securities that trade on foreign markets that are open. Debt securities held by a Vanguard fund are valued based on information furnished by an independent pricing service or market quotations. Certain short-term debt instruments used to manage a fund's cash are valued on the basis of amortized cost. The values of any foreign securities held by a fund are converted into U.S. dollars using an exchange rate obtained from an independent third party. The values of any mutual fund shares held by a fund are based on the NAVs of the shares. The values of 55 any ETF or closed-end fund shares held by a fund are based on the market value of the shares. When a fund determines that pricing-service information or market quotations either are not readily available or do not accurately reflect the value of a security, the security is priced at its fair value (the amount that the owner might reasonably expect to receive upon the current sale of the security). A fund also may use fair-value pricing on bond market holidays when the fund is open for business (such as Columbus Day and Veterans Day). Fair-value prices are determined by Vanguard according to procedures adopted by the board of trustees. When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by a fund to calculate the NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Vanguard fund share prices can be found daily in the mutual fund listings of most major newspapers under various "Vanguard" headings. 56 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The following financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand each Fund's financial performance for the periods shown, and certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in each table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost each period on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all distributions). This information has been derived from the financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose reports--along with each Fund's financial statements--is included in the Funds' most recent annual reports to shareholders. You may obtain a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report online at www.vanguard.com or by contacting Vanguard by telephone or mail. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT HOW TO READ THE FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS TABLES This explanation uses the Short-Term Treasury Fund's Investor Shares as an example. The Investor Shares began fiscal year 2009 with a net asset value (price) of $10.80 per share. During the year, each Investor Share earned $0.251 from investment income (interest) and $0.225 from investments that had appreciated in value or that were sold for higher prices than the Fund paid for them. Shareholders received $0.386 per share in the form of dividend and capital gains distributions. A portion of each year's distributions may come from the prior year's income or capital gains. The share price at the end of the year was $10.89 reflecting earnings of $0.476 per share and distributions of $0.386 per share. This was an increase of $0.09 per share (from $10.80 at the beginning of the year to $10.89 at the end of the year). For a shareholder who reinvested the distributions in the purchase of more shares, the total return was 4.49% for the year. As of January 31, 2009, the Investor Shares had approximately $2.8 billion in net assets. For the year, the expense ratio was 0.21% ($2.10 per $1,000 of net assets), and the net investment income amounted to 2.15% of average net assets. The Fund sold and replaced securities valued at 156% of its net assets. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 57
SHORT-TERM TREASURY FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, -------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.80 $10.26 $10.31 $10.45 $10.64 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .251 .444 .436 .331 .279 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .225 .540 (.050) (.140) (.190) on Investments ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .476 .984 .386 .191 .089 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.283) (.444) (.436) (.331) (.279) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.103) -- -- -- -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.386) (.444) (.436) (.331) (.279) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $10.89 $10.80 $10.26 $10.31 $10.45 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return/1/ 4.49% 9.84% 3.82% 1.86% 0.85% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $2,812 $1,707 $1,328 $1,369 $1,854 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.21% 0.22% 0.26% 0.26% 0.24% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 2.15% 4.26% 4.24% 3.19% 2.65% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 156% 120% 114% 93% 108% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Total returns do not include the account service fee that may be applicable to certain accounts with balances below $10,000.
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SHORT-TERM TREASURY FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.80 $10.26 $10.31 $10.45 $10.64 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investment Operations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Investment Income .262 .457 .452 .348 .292 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .225 .540 (.050) (.140) (.190) on Investments ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total from Investment Operations .487 .997 .402 .208 .102 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dividends from Net Investment Income (.294) (.457) (.452) (.348) (.292) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.103) -- -- -- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Distributions (.397) (.457) (.452) (.348) (.292) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Asset Value, End of Period $10.89 $10.80 $10.26 $10.31 $10.45 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Return 4.60% 9.98% 3.98% 2.02% 0.97% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratios/Supplemental Data ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $3,945 $2,667 $2,179 $1,964 $1,605 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.11% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.12% Average Net Assets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratio of Net Investment Income to 2.25% 4.38% 4.40% 3.35% 2.77% Average Net Assets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Turnover Rate 156% 120% 114% 93% 108% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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SHORT-TERM FEDERAL FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.72 $10.26 $10.25 $10.39 $10.60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .409 .465 .420 .340 .291 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .090 .460 .010 (.140) (.189) on Investments ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .499 .925 .430 .200 .102 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.409) (.465) (.420) (.340) (.291) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains -- -- -- -- (.021) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.409) (.465) (.420) (.340) (.312) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $10.81 $10.72 $10.26 $10.25 $10.39 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return/1/ 4.78% 9.25% 4.29% 1.96% 0.98% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $2,142 $1,650 $1,514 $1,686 $2,403 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.21% 0.20% 0.20% 0.20% 0.20% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 3.83% 4.48% 4.10% 3.29% 2.77% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 109% 70% 89% 51% 49% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Total returns do not include the account service fee that may be applicable to certain accounts with balances below $10,000.
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SHORT-TERM FEDERAL FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.72 $10.26 $10.25 $10.39 $10.60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .420 .475 .431 .350 .300 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .090 .460 .010 (.140) (.189) on Investments ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .510 .935 .441 .210 .111 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.420) (.475) (.431) (.350) (.300) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains -- -- -- -- (.021) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.420) (.475) (.431) (.350) (.321) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $10.81 $10.72 $10.26 $10.25 $10.39 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return 4.89% 9.36% 4.39% 2.06% 1.06% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $1,467 $1,325 $1,063 $993 $690 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.11% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.12% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 3.93% 4.58% 4.20% 3.39% 2.86% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 109% 70% 89% 51% 49% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.76 $10.54 $10.50 $10.63 $10.81 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .477 .520 .479 .389 .355 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (.936) .216 .031 (.135) (.173) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.459) .736 .510 .254 .182 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.491) (.516) (.470) (.384) (.362) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital -- -- -- -- -- Gains ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.491) (.516) (.470) (.384) (.362) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $9.81 $10.76 $10.54 $10.50 $10.63 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return/1/ -4.35% 7.17% 4.96% 2.44% 1.71% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $9,557 $11,201 $10,364 $10,414 $13,049 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.21% 0.21% 0.21% 0.21% 0.18% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 4.65% 4.91% 4.55% 3.68% 3.31% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 49% 48% 43% 31% 37% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Total returns do not include the account service fee that may be applicable to certain accounts with balances below $10,000.
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SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.76 $10.54 $10.50 $10.63 $10.81 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .487 .532 .490 .400 .363 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (.936) .216 .031 (.135) (.173) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.449) .748 .521 .265 .190 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.501) (.528) (.481) (.395) (.370) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital -- -- -- -- -- Gains ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.501) (.528) (.481) (.395) (.370) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $9.81 $10.76 $10.54 $10.50 $10.63 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return -4.26% 7.29% 5.07% 2.55% 1.79% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $8,225 $8,403 $6,993 $6,733 $4,254 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.11% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.11% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 4.75% 5.02% 4.66% 3.79% 3.38% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 49% 48% 43% 31% 37% -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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INTERMEDIATE-TERM TREASURY FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $11.62 $10.69 $10.85 $11.28 $11.45 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .413 .491 .499 .509 .504 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .419 .930 (.160) (.354) (.154) on Investments ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .832 1.421 .339 .155 .350 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.428) (.491) (.499) (.509) (.504) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.244) -- -- (.076) (.016) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.672) (.491) (.499) (.585) (.520) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $11.78 $11.62 $10.69 $10.85 $11.28 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return/1/ 7.29% 13.68% 3.22% 1.41% 3.14% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $2,999 $2,263 $1,676 $1,735 $2,169 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.25% 0.26% 0.26% 0.26% 0.24% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 3.47% 4.48% 4.66% 4.59% 4.45% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 88% 52% 87% 66% 61% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Total returns do not include the account service fee that may be applicable to certain accounts with balances below $10,000.
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INTERMEDIATE-TERM TREASURY FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $11.62 $10.69 $10.85 $11.28 $11.45 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .429 .509 .516 .526 .518 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .419 .930 (.160) (.354) (.154) on Investments ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .848 1.439 .356 .172 .364 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.444) (.509) (.516) (.526) (.518) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.244) -- -- (.076) (.016) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.688) (.509) (.516) (.602) (.534) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $11.78 $11.62 $10.69 $10.85 $11.28 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return 7.44% 13.86% 3.38% 1.56% 3.27% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $4,267 $3,243 $2,274 $2,093 $1,665 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.11% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.12% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 3.61% 4.64% 4.82% 4.75% 4.58% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 88% 52% 87% 66% 61% -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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INTERMEDIATE-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $9.93 $9.66 $9.73 $10.08 $10.19 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .505 .501 .490 .466 .474 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (1.239) .270 (.071) (.332) (.055) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.734) .771 .419 .134 .419 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.506) (.501) (.489) (.466) (.474) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.050) -- -- (.018) (.055) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.556) (.501) (.489) (.484) (.529) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $8.64 $9.93 $9.66 $9.73 $10.08 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return/1/ -7.56% 8.21% 4.45% 1.36% 4.24% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $3,577 $2,650 $2,418 $2,447 $3,219 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.21% 0.21% 0.21% 0.21% 0.20% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 5.50% 5.16% 5.10% 4.71% 4.70% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 48% 48% 43% 51% 40% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Total returns do not include the account service fee that may be applicable to certain accounts with balances below $10,000.
66
INTERMEDIATE-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $9.93 $9.66 $9.73 $10.08 $10.19 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .514 .511 .501 .477 .484 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (1.239) .270 (.071) (.332) (.055) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.725) .781 .430 .145 .429 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.515) (.511) (.500) (.477) (.484) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.050) -- -- (.018) (.055) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.565) (.511) (.500) (.495) (.539) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $8.64 $9.93 $9.66 $9.73 $10.08 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return -7.47% 8.33% 4.57% 1.47% 4.34% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $4,765 $3,455 $2,794 $2,550 $1,528 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.11% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 5.60% 5.27% 5.21% 4.82% 4.70% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 48% 48% 43% 51% 40% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
67
GNMA FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.47 $10.16 $10.29 $10.48 $10.52 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .511 .533 .522 .483 .480 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .060 .310 (.130) (.190) (.040) on Investments ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .571 .843 .392 .293 .440 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.511) (.533) (.522) (.483) (.480) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital -- -- -- -- -- Gains ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.511) (.533) (.522) (.483) (.480) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $10.53 $10.47 $10.16 $10.29 $10.48 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return/1/ 5.65% 8.56% 3.94% 2.88% 4.31% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $15,007 $12,916 $12,835 $13,905 $18,946 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.22% 0.21% 0.21% 0.21% 0.20% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 4.92% 5.22% 5.14% 4.67% 4.61% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 63% 21% 18% 38% 53% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Total returns do not include the account service fee that may be applicable to certain accounts with balances below $10,000.
68
GNMA FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.47 $10.16 $10.29 $10.48 $10.52 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .522 .543 .532 .492 .487 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .060 .310 (.130) (.190) (.040) on Investments ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .582 .853 .402 .302 .447 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.522) (.543) (.532) (.492) (.487) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital -- -- -- -- -- Gains ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.522) (.543) (.532) (.492) (.487) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $10.53 $10.47 $10.16 $10.29 $10.48 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return 5.76% 8.67% 4.04% 2.97% 4.38% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $14,734 $10,978 $10,159 $10,281 $5,363 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.12% 0.11% 0.11% 0.11% 0.13% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 5.02% 5.32% 5.24% 4.77% 4.68% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 63% 21% 18% 38% 53% -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
69
LONG-TERM TREASURY FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $11.76 $10.99 $11.40 $11.76 $11.52 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Investment Income .499 .533 .547 .563 .574 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .563 .855 (.356) (.218) .314 on Investments ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total from Investment Operations 1.062 1.388 .191 .345 .888 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dividends from Net Investment Income (.502) (.533) (.547) (.563) (.574) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.110) (.085) (.054) (.142) (.074) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.612) (.618) (.601) (.705) (.648) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Asset Value, End of Period $12.21 $11.76 $10.99 $11.40 $11.76 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Return/1/ 9.25% 13.09% 1.80% 2.98% 8.01% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $1,897 $1,518 $1,262 $1,419 $1,490 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.25% 0.26% 0.26% 0.26% 0.24% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 4.19% 4.78% 4.96% 4.82% 5.02% Average Net Assets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Turnover Rate 80% 37% 68% 25% 38% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Total returns do not include the account service fee that may be applicable to certain accounts with balances below $10,000.
70
LONG-TERM TREASURY FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $11.76 $10.99 $11.40 $11.76 $11.52 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Investment Income .516 .551 .564 .581 .588 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .563 .855 (.356) (.218) .314 on Investments ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total from Investment Operations 1.079 1.406 .208 .363 .902 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dividends from Net Investment Income (.519) (.551) (.564) (.581) (.588) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.110) (.085) (.054) (.142) (.074) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.629) (.636) (.618) (.723) (.662) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Asset Value, End of Period $12.21 $11.76 $10.99 $11.40 $11.76 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Return 9.41% 13.27% 1.96% 3.14% 8.15% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $1,499 $1,190 $863 $809 $436 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.11% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.12% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 4.33% 4.94% 5.12% 4.99% 5.15% Average Net Assets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Turnover Rate 80% 37% 68% 25% 38% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
71
LONG-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $9.02 $9.15 $9.37 $9.76 $9.40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .514 .523 .521 .515 .521 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (.829) (.130) (.220) (.390) .360 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.315) .393 .301 .125 .881 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.515) (.523) (.521) (.515) (.521) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains -- -- -- -- -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.515) (.523) (.521) (.515) (.521) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $8.19 $9.02 $9.15 $9.37 $9.76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return/1/ -3.45% 4.43% 3.39% 1.27% 9.77% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $3,471 $4,112 $4,196 $4,219 $4,328 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.23% 0.22% 0.25% 0.25% 0.25% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 6.09% 5.78% 5.73% 5.35% 5.58% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 24% 15% 15% 9% 16% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Total returns do not include the account service fee that may be applicable to certain accounts with balances below $10,000.
72
LONG-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $9.02 $9.15 $9.37 $9.76 $9.40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .522 .532 .533 .527 .531 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (.829) (.130) (.220) (.390) .360 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.307) .402 .313 .137 .891 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.523) (.532) (.533) (.527) (.531) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains -- -- -- -- -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.523) (.532) (.533) (.527) (.531) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $8.19 $9.02 $9.15 $9.37 $9.76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return -3.35% 4.53% 3.53% 1.40% 9.89% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $2,413 $1,627 $1,535 $1,430 $704 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.13% 0.12% 0.12% 0.12% 0.14% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 6.19% 5.88% 5.86% 5.48% 5.69% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 24% 15% 15% 9% 16% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
73 INVESTING WITH VANGUARD This section of the prospectus explains the basics of doing business with Vanguard. Be sure to carefully read each topic that pertains to your relationship with Vanguard. Vanguard reserves the right to change the following policies, without prior notice to shareholders. Please call or check online for current information. Each fund you hold in an account is a separate "fund account." For example, if you hold three funds in a nonretirement account titled in your own name, two funds in a nonretirement account titled jointly with your spouse, and one fund in an individual retirement account, you have six fund accounts--and this is true even if you hold the same fund in multiple accounts. PURCHASING SHARES Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to increase or decrease the minimum amount required to open, convert shares to, or maintain a fund account, or to add to an existing fund account. Investment minimums may differ for certain categories of investors. Account Minimums for Investor Shares To open and maintain an account. $3,000. Add to an existing account. By Automatic Investment Plan; $100 by check, exchange, wire, or electronic bank transfer (other than Automatic Investment Plan). Account Minimums for Admiral Shares To open and maintain an account. $100,000 for new investors. Shareholders who are registered on Vanguard.com, have held shares of the Fund for ten years, and have $50,000 or more in the same Fund account are eligible to convert their Investor Shares to Admiral Shares. See Converting Shares. Institutional clients should contact Vanguard for information on special rules that may apply to them. Add to an existing account. By Automatic Investment Plan; $100 by check, exchange, wire, or electronic bank transfer (other than Automatic Investment Plan). How to Initiate a Purchase Request Be sure to check Exchanging Shares, Frequent-Trading Limits, and Other Rules You Should Know before placing your purchase request. Online. You may open certain types of accounts, request an electronic bank transfer, and make an exchange (using the proceeds from the redemption of shares from one Vanguard fund to simultaneously purchase shares of a different Vanguard fund) through our website at www.vanguard.com if you are a registered user. 74 By telephone. You may call Vanguard to begin the account registration process or request that the account-opening forms be sent to you. You may also request a purchase of shares by wire, by electronic bank transfer, or by an exchange. See Contacting Vanguard. By mail. You may send your account registration form and check to open a new fund account at Vanguard. To add to an existing fund account, you may send your check with an Invest-by-Mail form (from your account statement), with a deposit slip (available online), or with a written request. You may also send a written request to Vanguard to make an exchange. For a list of Vanguard addresses, see Contacting Vanguard. How to Pay for a Purchase By electronic bank transfer. You may purchase shares of a Vanguard fund through an electronic transfer of money held in a designated bank account. To establish the electronic bank transfer option on an account, you must designate a bank account online, complete a special form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form. After the option is set up on your account, you can purchase shares by electronic bank transfer on a regular schedule (Automatic Investment Plan) or from time to time. Your purchase request can be initiated online, by telephone, or by mail. By wire. Wiring instructions vary for different types of purchases. Please call Vanguard for instructions and policies on purchasing shares by wire. See Contacting Vanguard. By check. You may send a check to make initial or additional purchases to your fund account. Also see How to Initiate a Purchase Request: By mail. Make your check payable to Vanguard and include the appropriate fund number (e.g., Vanguard--xx). For a list of Fund numbers (for Funds and share classes in this prospectus), see Contacting Vanguard. By exchange. You may purchase shares of a Vanguard fund using the proceeds from the simultaneous redemption of shares from another Vanguard fund. You may initiate an exchange online (if you are a registered user of Vanguard.com), by telephone, or by mail. See Exchanging Shares. Trade Date The trade date for any purchase request received in good order will depend on the day and time Vanguard receives your request, the manner in which you are paying, and the type of fund you are purchasing. Your purchase will be executed using the NAV as calculated on the trade date. NAVs are calculated only on days the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open for trading (a business day). For purchases by check into all funds other than money market funds, and for purchases by exchange or wire into all funds: If the purchase request is received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 75 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the same day. If the purchase request is received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the next business day. For purchases by check into money market funds: If the purchase request is received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the next business day. If the purchase request is received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the second business day following the day Vanguard receives the purchase request. Because money market instruments must be purchased with federal funds and it takes a money market mutual fund one business day to convert check proceeds into federal funds, the trade date will be one business day later than for other funds. For purchases by electronic bank transfer using an Automatic Investment Plan: Your trade date generally will be one business day before the date you designated for withdrawal from your bank account. For purchases by electronic bank transfer not using an Automatic Investment Plan: If the purchase request is received by Vanguard on a business day before 10 p.m., Eastern time, the trade date generally will be the next business day. If the purchase request is received on a business day after 10 p.m., Eastern time, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the second business day following the day Vanguard receives the request. If your purchase request is not accurate and complete, it may be rejected. See Other Rules You Should Know--Good Order. For further information about purchase transactions, consult our website at www.vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard. Earning Dividends You begin earning dividends on the business day following your trade date. When buying money market fund shares through a federal funds wire, however, you can begin earning dividends immediately by making a purchase request by telephone to Vanguard before 10:45 a.m., Eastern time (2 p.m., Eastern time, for Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund). Other Purchase Rules You Should Know Admiral Shares. Please note that Admiral Shares are not available for: . SIMPLE IRAs and Section 403(b)(7) custodial accounts; . Other retirement plan accounts receiving special administrative services from Vanguard; or 76 . Accounts maintained by financial intermediaries, except in limited circumstances. Check purchases. All purchase checks must be written in U.S. dollars and must be drawn on a U.S. bank. Vanguard does not accept cash, traveler's checks, or money orders. In addition, Vanguard may refuse "starter checks" and checks that are not made payable to Vanguard. New accounts. We are required by law to obtain from you certain personal information that we will use to verify your identity. If you do not provide the information, we may not be able to open your account. If we are unable to verify your identity, Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to close your account or take such other steps as we deem reasonable. Refused or rejected purchase requests. Vanguard reserves the right to stop selling fund shares or to reject any purchase request at any time and without prior notice, including, but not limited to, purchases requested by exchange from another Vanguard fund. This also includes the right to reject any purchase request because of a history of frequent trading by the investor or because the purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance. Large purchases. Please call Vanguard before attempting to invest a large dollar amount. No cancellations. Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any purchase request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing a purchase request. CONVERTING SHARES When a conversion occurs, you receive shares of one class in place of shares of another class of the same fund. At the time of conversion, the dollar value of the "new" shares you receive equals the dollar value of the "old" shares that were converted. In other words, the conversion has no effect on the value of your investment in the fund at the time of the conversion. However, the number of shares you own after the conversion may be greater than or less than the number of shares you owned before the conversion, depending on the net asset values of the two share classes. A conversion between share classes of the same fund is a nontaxable event. Trade Date The trade date for any conversion request received in good order will depend on the day and time Vanguard receives your request. Your conversion will be executed using the NAVs of the different share classes on the trade date. NAVs are calculated only on days that the NYSE is open for trading (a business day). 77 For a conversion request received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the same day. For a conversion request received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the next business day. See Other Rules You Should Know. Conversions From Investor Shares to Admiral Shares Self-directed conversions. If your account balance in the Fund is at least $100,000, you may ask Vanguard to convert your Investor Shares to Admiral Shares. You can make conversion requests online (if you are a registered user of Vanguard.com), by telephone, or by mail. See Contacting Vanguard. Automatic conversions. Vanguard conducts periodic reviews of account balances and may, if your account balance in the Fund exceeds $100,000, automatically convert your Investor Shares to Admiral Shares. You will be notified before an automatic conversion occurs and will have an opportunity to instruct Vanguard not to effect the conversion. Tenure conversions. You are eligible for a tenure conversion from Investor Shares to Admiral Shares if you have had an account in the Fund for ten years, that account balance is at least $50,000, and you are registered with Vanguard.com. You may request a tenure conversion online, by telephone, or by mail. Conversions to Institutional Shares You are eligible for a self-directed conversion from another share class to Institutional Shares of the same Fund (if available), provided that your account meets all Institutional Shares' eligibility requirements. Registered users of our website, www.vanguard.com, may request a conversion online, or you may contact Vanguard by telephone or by mail to request this transaction. Accounts that qualify for Institutional Shares will not be automatically converted. Mandatory Conversions to Another Share Class If an account no longer meets the balance requirements for a share class, Vanguard may automatically convert the shares in the account to another share class, as appropriate. A decline in the account balance because of market movement may result in such a conversion. Vanguard will notify the investor in writing before any mandatory conversion occurs. 78 REDEEMING SHARES How to Initiate a Redemption Request Be sure to check Exchanging Shares, Frequent-Trading Limits, and Other Rules You Should Know before placing your redemption request. Online. You may redeem shares, request an electronic bank transfer, and make an exchange (the purchase of shares of one Vanguard fund using the proceeds of a simultaneous redemption from another Vanguard fund) through our website at www.vanguard.com if you are a registered user. By telephone. You may call Vanguard to request a redemption of shares by wire, by electronic bank transfer, by check, or by an exchange. See Contacting Vanguard. By mail. You may send a written request to Vanguard to redeem from a fund account or to make an exchange. See Contacting Vanguard. By writing a check. If you've established the checkwriting service on your account, you can redeem shares by writing a check for $250 or more. How to Receive Redemption Proceeds By electronic bank transfer. You may have the proceeds of a fund redemption sent directly to a designated bank account. To establish the electronic bank transfer option on an account, you must designate a bank account online, complete a special form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form. After the option is set up on your account, you can redeem shares by electronic bank transfer on a regular schedule (Automatic Withdrawal Plan) or from time to time. Your redemption request can be initiated online, by telephone, or by mail. By wire. When redeeming from a money market fund or a bond fund, you may instruct Vanguard to wire your redemption proceeds ($1,000 minimum) to a previously designated bank account. Wire redemptions generally are not available for Vanguard's balanced or stock funds. The wire redemption option is not automatic; you must designate a bank account online, complete a special form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form. Vanguard generally charges a $5 fee for wire redemptions under $5,000. By exchange. You may have the proceeds of a Vanguard fund redemption invested directly in shares of another Vanguard fund. You may initiate an exchange online (if you are a registered user of Vanguard.com), by telephone, or by mail. By check. If you have not chosen another redemption method, Vanguard will mail you a redemption check, normally within two business days of your trade date. 79 Trade Date The trade date for any redemption request received in good order will depend on the day and time Vanguard receives your request and the manner in which you are redeeming. Your redemption will be executed using the NAV as calculated on the trade date. NAVs are calculated only on days that the NYSE is open for trading (a business day). For redemptions by check, exchange, or wire: If the redemption request is received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the same day. If the redemption request is received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the next business day. . Note on timing of wire redemptions from money market funds: For telephone requests received by Vanguard on a business day before 10:45 a.m., Eastern time (2 p.m., Eastern time, for Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund), the redemption proceeds generally will leave Vanguard by the close of business the same day. For telephone requests received by Vanguard on a business day after those cut-off times, or on a nonbusiness day, and for all requests other than by telephone, the redemption proceeds generally will leave Vanguard by the close of business on the next business day. . Note on timing of wire redemptions from bond funds: For requests received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the redemption proceeds generally will leave Vanguard by the close of business on the next business day. For requests received by Vanguard on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the redemption proceeds generally will leave Vanguard by the close of business on the second business day after Vanguard receives the request. For redemptions by electronic bank transfer using an Automatic Withdrawal Plan: Your trade date generally will be the date you designated for withdrawal of funds (redemption of shares) from your Vanguard account. Proceeds of redeemed shares generally will be credited to your designated bank account two business days after your trade date. If the date you designated for withdrawal of funds from your Vanguard account falls on a weekend, holiday, or other nonbusiness day, your trade date will be the previous business day. For redemptions by electronic bank transfer not using an Automatic Withdrawal Plan: If the redemption request is received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the same day. If the redemption request is received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the next business day. 80 If your redemption request is not accurate and complete, it may be rejected. See Other Rules You Should Know--Good Order. For further information about redemption transactions, consult our website at www.vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard. Earning Dividends Shares continue earning dividends through your trade date. There are two exceptions to this rule: (1) If you redeem shares by writing a check against your account, the shares will stop earning dividends on the day that your check posts to your account; and (2) For money market funds only, if you redeem shares with a same-day wire request before 10:45 a.m., Eastern time (2 p.m., Eastern time for Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund), the shares will stop earning dividends that same day. Other Redemption Rules You Should Know Documentation for certain accounts. Special documentation may be required to redeem from certain types of accounts, such as trust, corporate, nonprofit, or retirement accounts. Please call us before attempting to redeem from these types of accounts. Potentially disruptive redemptions. Vanguard reserves the right to pay all or part of a redemption in kind--that is, in the form of securities--if we reasonably believe that a cash redemption would negatively affect the fund's operation or performance or that the shareholder may be engaged in market-timing or frequent trading. Under these circumstances, Vanguard also reserves the right to delay payment of the redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days. By calling us before you attempt to redeem a large dollar amount, you may avoid in-kind or delayed payment of your redemption. Please see Frequent-Trading Limits for information about Vanguard's policies to limit frequent trading. Recently purchased shares. Although you can redeem shares at any time, proceeds may not be made available to you until the fund collects payment for your purchase. This may take up to ten calendar days for shares purchased by check or by electronic bank transfer. If you have written a check on a fund with checkwriting privileges, that check may be rejected if your fund account does not have a sufficient available balance. Share certificates. If you hold shares in certificates, those shares cannot be redeemed, exchanged, or converted until you return the certificates (unsigned) to Vanguard by registered mail. For the correct address, see Contacting Vanguard. Address change. If you change your address online or by telephone, there may be a 15-day restriction on your ability to make online and telephone redemptions. You can request a redemption in writing at any time. Confirmations of address changes are sent to both the old and new addresses. 81 Payment to a different person or address. At your request, we can make your redemption check payable, or wire your redemption proceeds, to a different person or send it to a different address. However, this requires the written consent of all registered account owners and may require a signature guarantee. You may obtain a signature guarantee from some commercial or savings banks, credit unions, trust companies, or member firms of a U.S. stock exchange. A notary public cannot provide a signature guarantee. No cancellations. Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any redemption request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing a redemption request. Emergency circumstances. Vanguard funds can postpone payment of redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days. In addition, Vanguard funds can suspend redemptions and/or postpone payments of redemption proceeds beyond seven calendar days at times when the NYSE is closed or during emergency circumstances, as determined by the SEC. EXCHANGING SHARES An exchange occurs when you use the proceeds from the redemption of shares of one Vanguard fund to simultaneously purchase shares of a different Vanguard fund. You can make exchange requests online (if you are a registered user of Vanguard.com), by telephone, or by mail. See Purchasing Shares and Redeeming Shares. If the NYSE is open for regular trading (a business day) at the time an exchange request is received in good order, the trade date generally will be the same day. See Other Rules You Should Know--Good Order for additional information on all transaction requests. Please note that Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to revise or terminate the exchange privilege, limit the amount of any exchange, or reject an exchange, at any time, for any reason. Frequent-Trading Limits Because excessive transactions can disrupt management of a fund and increase the fund's costs for all shareholders, Vanguard places certain limits on frequent trading in the Vanguard funds. Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and ETF Shares) limits an investor's purchases or exchanges into a fund account for 60 calendar days after the investor has redeemed or exchanged out of that fund account. For Vanguard Retirement Investment Program pooled plans, the policy applies to exchanges made online or by phone. 82 The frequent-trading policy does not apply to the following: . Purchases of shares with reinvested dividend or capital gains distributions. . Transactions through Vanguard's Automatic Investment Plan, Automatic Exchange Service, Direct Deposit Service, Automatic Withdrawal Plan, Required Minimum Distribution Service, and Vanguard Small Business Online/(R)/. . Redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees. . Transaction requests submitted by mail to Vanguard from shareholders who hold their accounts directly with Vanguard. (Transaction requests submitted by fax are not mail transactions and are subject to the policy.) . Transfers and reregistrations of shares within the same fund. . Purchases of shares by asset transfer or direct rollover. . Conversions of shares from one share class to another in the same fund. . Checkwriting redemptions. . Section 529 college savings plans. . Certain approved institutional portfolios and asset allocation programs, as well as trades made by Vanguard funds that invest in other Vanguard funds. (Please note that shareholders of Vanguard's funds of funds are subject to the policy.) For participants in employer-sponsored defined contribution plans,* the frequent-trading policy does not apply to: . Purchases of shares with participant payroll or employer contributions or loan repayments. . Purchases of shares with reinvested dividend or capital gains distributions. . Distributions, loans, and in-service withdrawals from a plan. . Redemptions of shares as part of a plan termination or at the direction of the plan. . Automated transactions executed during the first six months of a participant's enrollment in the Vanguard Managed Account Program. . Redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees. . Share or asset transfers or rollovers. . Reregistrations of shares. . Conversions of shares from one share class to another in the same fund. . Exchange requests submitted by mail to Vanguard. (Exchange requests submitted by fax are not mail requests and remain subject to the policy.) * The following Vanguard fund accounts are subject to the frequent-trading policy: SEP-IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, certain Section 403(b)(7) accounts, and Vanguard Retirement Plans for which Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company serves as trustee. 83 Accounts Held by Institutions (Other Than Defined Contribution Plans) Vanguard will systematically monitor for frequent trading in institutional clients' accounts. If we detect suspicious trading activity, we will investigate and take appropriate action, which may include applying to a client's accounts the 60-day policy previously described, prohibiting a client's purchases of fund shares, and/or eliminating the client's exchange privilege. Accounts Held by Intermediaries When intermediaries establish accounts in Vanguard funds for the benefit of their clients, we cannot always monitor the trading activity of the individual clients. However, we review trading activity at the omnibus level, and if we detect suspicious activity, we will investigate and take appropriate action. If necessary, Vanguard may prohibit additional purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by an intermediary for the benefit of certain of the intermediary's clients. Intermediaries may also monitor their clients' trading activities with respect to Vanguard funds. For those Vanguard funds that charge purchase or redemption fees, intermediaries will be asked to assess purchase and redemption fees on shareholder and participant accounts and remit these fees to the funds. The application of purchase and redemption fees and frequent-trading policies may vary among intermediaries. There are no assurances that Vanguard will successfully identify all intermediaries or that intermediaries will properly assess purchase and redemption fees or administer frequent-trading policies. If you invest with Vanguard through an intermediary, please read that firm's materials carefully to learn of any other rules or fees that may apply. Other Rules You Should Know Prospectus and Shareholder Report Mailings Vanguard attempts to eliminate the unnecessary expense of duplicate mailings by sending just one prospectus and/or report when two or more shareholders have the same last name and address. You may request individual prospectuses and reports by contacting our Client Services Department in writing, by telephone, or by e-mail. Vanguard.com Registration. If you are a registered user of Vanguard.com, you can use your personal computer to review your account holdings; to buy, sell, or exchange shares of most Vanguard funds; and to perform most other transactions. You must register for this service online. Electronic delivery. Vanguard can deliver your account statements, transaction confirmations, and fund financial reports electronically. If you are a registered user of Vanguard.com, you can consent to the electronic delivery of these documents by 84 logging on and changing your mailing preference under "Account Profile." You can revoke your electronic consent at any time, and we will begin to send paper copies of these documents within 30 days of receiving your notice. Telephone Transactions Automatic. When we set up your account, we'll automatically enable you to do business with us by telephone, unless you instruct us otherwise in writing. Tele-Account/(R)/. To conduct account transactions through Vanguard's automated telephone service, you must first obtain a Personal Identification Number (PIN). Call Tele-Account at 800-662-6273 to obtain a PIN, and allow seven days after requesting the PIN before using this service. Proof of a caller's authority. We reserve the right to refuse a telephone request if the caller is unable to provide the requested information or if we reasonably believe that the caller is not an individual authorized to act on the account. Before we allow a caller to act on an account, we may request the following information: . Authorization to act on the account (as the account owner or by legal documentation or other means). . Account registration and address. . Fund name and account number, if applicable. . Other information relating to the caller, the account holder, or the account. Good Order We reserve the right to reject any transaction instructions that are not in "good order." Good order generally means that your instructions include: . The fund name and account number. . The amount of the transaction (stated in dollars, shares, or percentage). Written instructions also must include: . Signatures of all registered owners. . Signature guarantees, if required for the type of transaction. (Call Vanguard for specific signature-guarantee requirements.) . Any supporting documentation that may be required. The requirements vary among types of accounts and transactions. Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to revise the requirements for good order. 85 Future Trade-Date Requests Vanguard does not accept requests to hold a purchase, conversion, redemption, or exchange transaction for a future date. All such requests will receive trade dates as previously described in Purchasing Shares, Converting Shares, and Redeeming Shares. Vanguard reserves the right to return future-dated purchase checks. Accounts With More Than One Owner If an account has more than one owner or authorized person, Vanguard will accept telephone or online instructions from any one owner or authorized person. Responsibility for Fraud Vanguard will not be responsible for any account losses because of fraud if we reasonably believe that the person transacting business on an account is authorized to do so. Please take precautions to protect yourself from fraud. Keep your account information private, and immediately review any account statements that we provide to you. It is important that you contact Vanguard immediately about any transactions you believe to be unauthorized. Uncashed Checks Please cash your distribution or redemption checks promptly. Vanguard will not pay interest on uncashed checks. Unusual Circumstances If you experience difficulty contacting Vanguard online, by telephone, or by Tele-Account, you can send us your transaction request by regular or express mail. See Contacting Vanguard for addresses. Investing With Vanguard Through Other Firms You may purchase or sell shares of most Vanguard funds through a financial intermediary, such as a bank, broker, or investment advisor. Please consult your financial intermediary to determine which, if any, shares are available through that firm and to learn about other rules that may apply. Account Service Fee For most shareholders, Vanguard charges a $20 account service fee on all fund accounts that have a balance below $10,000 for any reason, including market fluctuation. The account service fee applies to both retirement and nonretirement fund accounts and will be assessed on fund accounts in all Vanguard funds, regardless of a fund's minimum investment amount. The fee, which will be collected 86 by redeeming fund shares in the amount of $20, will be deducted from a fund account only once per calendar year. If you register on Vanguard.com and elect to receive electronic delivery of statements, reports, and other materials for all of your fund accounts, the account service fee for balances below $10,000 will not be charged, so long as that election remains in effect. The account service fee also does not apply to the following: . Money market sweep accounts owned in connection with a Vanguard Brokerage Services/(R)/ account. . Accounts held through intermediaries. . Accounts held by Voyager, Voyager Select, and Flagship members. Membership is based on total household assets held at Vanguard, with a minimum of $100,000 to qualify for Vanguard Voyager Services/(R)/, $500,000 for Vanguard Voyager Select Services/(R)/, and $1 million for Vanguard Flagship Services/(R)/. Vanguard determines membership by aggregating assets of all eligible accounts held by the investor and immediate family members who reside at the same address. Aggregate assets include investments in Vanguard mutual funds, Vanguard ETFs/TM/, annuities through Vanguard, the Vanguard 529 Plan, certain small-business accounts, and employer-sponsored retirement plans for which Vanguard provides recordkeeping services. . Participant accounts in employer-sponsored defined contribution plans.* Please consult your enrollment materials for the rules that apply to your account. . Section 529 college savings plans. * The following Vanguard fund accounts have alternative fee structures: SIMPLE IRAs, certain Section 403(b)(7) accounts, Vanguard Retirement Investment Program pooled plans, and Vanguard Retirement Plans for which Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company serves as trustee. Low-Balance Accounts Each Fund reserves the right to liquidate a fund account whose balance falls below the minimum initial investment for any reason, including market fluctuation. This policy applies to nonretirement fund accounts and accounts that are held through intermediaries. Right to Change Policies In addition to the rights expressly stated elsewhere in this prospectus, Vanguard reserves the right to (1) alter, add, or discontinue any conditions of purchase (including eligibility requirements), redemption, exchange, conversion, service, or privilege at any time without prior notice; (2) accept initial purchases by telephone; (3) freeze any account and/or suspend account services if Vanguard has received reasonable notice 87 of a dispute regarding the assets in an account, including notice of a dispute between the registered or beneficial account owners, or if we reasonably believe a fraudulent transaction may occur or has occurred; (4) temporarily freeze any account and/or suspend account services upon initial notification to Vanguard of the death of the shareholder until Vanguard receives required documentation in good order; (5) alter, impose, discontinue, or waive any redemption fee, account service fee, or other fees charged to a group of shareholders; and (6) redeem an account or suspend account privileges, without the owner's permission to do so, in cases of threatening conduct or suspicious, fraudulent, or illegal activity. Changes may affect any or all investors. These actions will be taken when, at the sole discretion of Vanguard management, we reasonably believe they are deemed to be in the best interest of a fund. Share Classes Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to change the eligibility requirements of its share classes, including the types of clients who are eligible to purchase each share class. Fund and Account Updates Confirmation Statements We will send (or provide online, whichever you prefer) a confirmation of your trade date and the amount of your transaction when you buy, sell, exchange, or convert shares. However, we will not send confirmations reflecting only checkwriting redemptions or the reinvestment of dividend or capital gains distributions. For any month in which you had a checkwriting redemption, a Checkwriting Activity Statement will be sent to you itemizing the checkwriting redemptions for that month. Promptly review each confirmation statement that we provide to you by mail or online. It is important that you contact Vanguard immediately with any questions you may have about any transaction reflected on a confirmation statement, or Vanguard will consider the transaction properly processed. Portfolio Summaries We will send (or provide online, whichever you prefer) quarterly portfolio summaries to help you keep track of your accounts throughout the year. Each summary shows the market value of your account at the close of the statement period, as well as all distributions, purchases, redemptions, exchanges, transfers, and conversions for the current calendar year. Promptly review each summary that we provide to you by mail or online. It is important that you contact Vanguard immediately with any questions you may have about any transaction reflected on the summary, or Vanguard will consider the transaction properly processed. 88 Tax Statements For most taxable accounts, we will send annual tax statements to assist you in preparing your income tax returns. These statements, which are generally mailed in January, will report the previous year's dividend and capital gains distributions, proceeds from the sale of shares, and distributions from IRAs and other retirement plans. Registered users can view these statements online. Average-Cost Review Statements For most taxable accounts, average-cost review statements will accompany annual 1099B tax forms. These tax forms show the average cost of shares that you redeemed during the previous calendar year, using the average-cost single-category method, which is one of the methods established by the IRS. Annual and Semiannual Reports We will send (or provide online, whichever you prefer) financial reports about Vanguard Bond Funds twice a year, in March and September. These comprehensive reports include overviews of the financial markets and provide the following specific Fund information: . Performance assessments and comparisons with industry benchmarks. . Reports from the advisors. . Financial statements with listings of Fund holdings. Portfolio Holdings We generally post on our website at www.vanguard.com, in the Portfolio section of each Fund's Portfolio & Management page, a detailed list of the securities held by the Fund, as of the most recent calendar-quarter-end. This list is generally updated within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Vanguard may exclude any portion of these portfolio holdings from publication when deemed in the best interest of the Fund. Please consult the Fund's Statement of Additional Information or our website for a description of the policies and procedures that govern disclosure of the Fund's portfolio holdings. 89 CONTACTING VANGUARD
Web Vanguard.com For the most complete source of Vanguard news 24 hours a day, 7 days For fund, account, and service information a week For most account transactions For literature requests ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phone ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard For automated fund and account information Tele-Account/(R) / For exchange transactions (subject to limitations) 800-662-6273 Toll-free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (ON-BOARD) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investor Information For fund and service information 800-662-7447 (SHIP) For literature requests (Text telephone for Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., people with hearing Eastern time; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time impairment at 800-952-3335) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Client Services For account information 800-662-2739 (CREW) For most account transactions (Text telephone for Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., people with hearing Eastern time; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time impairment at 800-749-7273) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Admiral Service Center For Admiral account information 888-237-9949 For most Admiral transactions Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern time; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Institutional Division For information and services for large institutional investors 888-809-8102 Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Eastern time ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediary Sales For information and services for financial intermediaries Support including broker-dealers, trust institutions, insurance 800-997-2798 companies, and financial advisors Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Eastern time ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
90 Vanguard Addresses Please be sure to use the correct address, depending on your method of delivery. Use of an incorrect address could delay the processing of your transaction.
Regular Mail (Individuals) The Vanguard Group P.O. Box 1110 Valley Forge, PA 19482-1110 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Regular Mail (Institutions) The Vanguard Group P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Registered, Express, or Overnight The Vanguard Group 455 Devon Park Drive Wayne, PA 19087-1815 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fund Numbers Please use the specific fund number when contacting us: Investor Shares Admiral Shares Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund 32 532 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Short-Term Federal Fund 49 549 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund 39 539 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund 35 535 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade 71 571 Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard GNMA Fund 36 536 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Fund 83 583 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund 28 568 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CFA/(R)/ is a trademark owned by CFA Institute. Standard & Poor's/(R)/, S&P/(R)/, S&P 500/(R)/, Standard & Poor's 500, and 500 are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., and have been licensed for use by The Vanguard Group, Inc. Vanguard mutual funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Standard & Poor's, and Standard & Poor's makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the funds. 91 GLOSSARY OF INVESTMENT TERMS Average Maturity. The average length of time until bonds held by a fund reach maturity and are repaid. In general, the longer the average maturity, the more a fund's share price fluctuates in response to changes in market interest rates. In calculating average maturity, a fund uses a bond's maturity or, if applicable, an earlier date on which the advisor believes it is likely that a maturity-shortening device (such as a call, put, refunding, prepayment or redemption provision, or an adjustable coupon) will cause the bond to be repaid. Bond. A debt security (IOU) issued by a corporation, government, or government agency in exchange for the money you lend it. In most instances, the issuer agrees to pay back the loan by a specific date and make regular interest payments until that date. Capital Gains Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of gains realized on securities that a fund has sold at a profit, minus any realized losses. Cash Investments. Cash deposits, short-term bank deposits, and money market instruments that include U.S. Treasury bills and notes, bank certificates of deposit (CDs), repurchase agreements, commercial paper, and banker's acceptances. Coupon. The interest rate paid by the issuer of a debt security until its maturity. It is expressed as an annual percentage of the face value of the security. Dividend Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of income from interest or dividends generated by a fund's investments. Expense Ratio. The percentage of a fund's average net assets used to pay its expenses during a fiscal year. The expense ratio includes management expenses--such as advisory fees, account maintenance, reporting, accounting, legal, and other administrative expenses--and any 12b-1 distribution fees. It does not include the transaction costs of buying and selling portfolio securities. Face Value. The amount to be paid at a bond's maturity; also known as the par value or principal. Fixed Income Security. An investment, such as a bond, representing a debt that must be repaid by a specified date, and on which the borrower must pay a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest. Inception Date. The date on which the assets of a fund (or one of its share classes) are first invested in accordance with the fund's investment objective. For funds with a subscription period, the inception date is the day after that period ends. Investment performance is measured from the inception date. Investment-Grade Bond. A debt security whose credit quality is considered by independent bond-rating agencies, or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor, to be sufficient to ensure timely payment of principal and interest under current economic circumstances. Debt securities rated in one of the four 92 highest rating categories are considered "investment-grade." Other debt securities may be considered by the advisor to be investment-grade. Principal. The face value of a debt instrument or the amount of money put into an investment. Securities. Stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other investment vehicles. Total Return. A percentage change, over a specified time period, in a mutual fund's net asset value, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions of dividends and capital gains. Volatility. The fluctuations in value of a mutual fund or other security. The greater a fund's volatility, the wider the fluctuations in its returns. Yield. Income (interest or dividends) earned by an investment, expressed as a percentage of the investment's price. [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD (/R/)] P.O. Box 2600 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2600 CONNECT WITH VANGUARD/(R)/ > www.vanguard.com For More Information If you would like more information about Vanguard Bond Funds, the following documents are available free upon request: Annual/Semiannual Reports to Shareholders Additional information about the Funds' investments is available in the Funds' annual and semiannual reports to shareholders. In the annual reports, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds' performance during their last fiscal year. Statement of Additional Information (SAI) The SAI provides more detailed information about the Funds. The current annual and semiannual reports and the SAI are incorporated by reference into (and are thus legally a part of) this prospectus. To receive a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual reports or the SAI, or to request additional information about the Funds or other Vanguard funds, please visit www.vanguard.com or contact us as follows: The Vanguard Group Investor Information Department P.O. Box 2600 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2600 Telephone: 800-662-7447 (SHIP) Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-952-3335 If you are a current Vanguard shareholder and would like information about your account, account transactions, and/or account statements, please call: Client Services Department Telephone: 800-662-2739 (CREW) Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-749-7273 Information Provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) You can review and copy information about the Funds (including the SAI) at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. To find out more about this public service, call the SEC at 202-551-8090. Reports and other information about the Funds are also available in the EDGAR database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov, or you can receive copies of this information, for a fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the Public Reference Section, Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC 20549-0102. Funds' Investment Company Act file number: 811-2368 (C) 2009 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor. P028 052009 [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD (/R/)] VANGUARD BOND FUND PROSPECTUS May 29, 2009 INVESTOR SHARES FOR PARTICIPANTS Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund Vanguard Short-Term Federal Fund Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund Vanguard GNMA Fund Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Fund Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund This prospectus contains financial data for the Funds through the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. CONTENTS Vanguard Fund Profiles 1 Investing in Vanguard Bond Funds 33 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Treasury 1 More on the Funds 34 Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Federal 5 The Funds and Vanguard 46 Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term 9 Investment 47 Investment-Grade Fund Advisors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term 13 Dividends, Capital Gains, and Taxes 50 Treasury Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term 17 Share Price 5 Investment-Grade Fund 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GNMA Fund 21 Financial Highlights 52 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Treasury 25 Investing With Vanguard 61 Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term 29 Accessing Fund Information by Computer 64 Investment-Grade Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Glossary of Investment Terms 65 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Reading This Prospectus Is Important This prospectus explains the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks associated with each Fund. To highlight terms and concepts important to mutual fund investors, we have provided Plain Talk/(R)/ explanations along the way. Reading the prospectus will help you decide whether a Fund is the right investment for you. We suggest that you keep this prospectus for future reference. This prospectus offers the Funds' Investor Shares and is intended for participants in employer-sponsored retirement or savings plans. Another version--for investors who would like to open a personal investment account--can be obtained by calling Vanguard at 800-662-7447. An investment in a Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD SHORT-TERM TREASURY FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide current income while maintaining limited price volatility. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities, which include bills, bonds, and notes issued by the U.S. Treasury. The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 1 to 4 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks The Fund is designed for investors with a low tolerance for risk, but you could still lose money by investing in it. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in short-term bonds, whose prices are much less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. 1 Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 1.85% 2000 8.83% 2001 7.80% 2002 8.02% 2003 2.38% 2004 1.03% 2005 1.77% 2006 3.77% 2007 7.89% 2008 6.68% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 0.80%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 3.92% (quarter ended September 30, 2001), and the lowest return for a quarter was -1.34% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD SHORT-TERM TREASURY FUND Investor Shares 6.68% 4.19% 4.96% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Treasury Bond Index/1/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) 8.83% 4.63% 5.19% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 2
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.18% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.04% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/1/ 0.22% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $23 $71 $124 $280 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 3
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $6.8 billion --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date October 28, 1991 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation STTsry --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 32 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031703 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VFISX ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD SHORT-TERM FEDERAL FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide current income while maintaining limited price volatility. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in short-term bonds issued by the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities, many of which are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 1 to 4 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks The Fund is designed for investors with a low tolerance for risk, but you could still lose money by investing in it. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in short-term bonds, whose prices are much less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Credit risk should be very low for the Fund because it invests only in bonds issued by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a 5 relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 2.07% 2000 9.18% 2001 8.61% 2002 7.61% 2003 1.99% 2004 1.36% 2005 1.80% 2006 4.32% 2007 7.43% 2008 7.04% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 0.92%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 3.89% (quarter ended December 31, 2008), and the lowest return for a quarter was -1.50% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD SHORT-TERM FEDERAL FUND Investor Shares 7.04% 4.36% 5.10% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Government/Credit Bond Index/1/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) 8.41% 4.61% 5.24% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 6
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.19% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.03% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/1/ 0.22% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $23 $71 $124 $280 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 7
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $3.6 billion --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date December 31, 1987 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation STFed --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 49 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031604 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VSGBX ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide current income while maintaining limited price volatility. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests in a variety of high-quality and, to a lesser extent, medium-quality fixed income securities, at least 80% of which will be short- and intermediate-term investment-grade securities. High-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or another independent rating agency; medium-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody's or another independent rating agency. (Investment-grade fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa3 and above by Moody's.) The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 1 to 4 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks The Fund is designed for investors with a low tolerance for risk, but you could still lose money by investing in it. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in short-term bonds, whose prices are much less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Although the Fund invests a limited portion of its assets in low-quality bonds, credit risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in bonds that are considered high-quality and, to a lesser extent, in bonds that are considered medium-quality. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. 9 Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 3.30% 2000 8.17% 2001 8.14% 2002 5.22% 2003 4.20% 2004 2.11% 2005 2.20% 2006 4.99% 2007 5.86% 2008 -4.74% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 2.00%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 3.34% (quarter ended September 30, 2001), and the lowest return for a quarter was -3.42% (quarter ended September 30, 2008).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investor Shares -4.74% 2.01% 3.88% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Credit Bond Index/1 / (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) -1.13% 2.66% 4.79% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 10
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.22% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.04% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/1/ 0.26% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $27 $84 $146 $331 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 11
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $18.8 billion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date October 29, 1982 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation STIGrade ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 39 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031406 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VFSTX -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM TREASURY FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a moderate and sustainable level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities, which include bills, bonds, and notes issued by the U.S. Treasury. The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 5 to 10 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests mainly in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. 13 Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 -3.52% 2000 14.03% 2001 7.55% 2002 14.15% 2003 2.37% 2004 3.40% 2005 2.32% 2006 3.14% 2007 9.98% 2008 13.32% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 0.15%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 8.32% (quarter ended September 30, 2002), and the lowest return for a quarter was -3.22% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM TREASURY Fund Investor Shares 13.32% 6.34% 6.52% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 5-10 Year Treasury Bond Index/1/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) 16.77% 7.05% 6.74% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 14
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.22% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.03% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/1/ 0.25% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $26 $80 $141 $318 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 15
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $7.3 billion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date October 28, 1991 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation ITTsry ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 35 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031802 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VFITX -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a moderate and sustainable level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests in a variety of high-quality and, to a lesser extent, medium-quality fixed income securities, at least 80% of which will be short- and intermediate-term investment-grade securities. High-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or another independent rating agency; medium-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody's or another independent rating agency. (Investment-grade fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa3 and above by Moody's.) The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 5 to 10 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests mainly in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Although the Fund invests a limited portion of its assets in low-quality bonds, credit risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in bonds that are considered high-quality and, to a lesser extent, in bonds that are considered medium-quality. 17 . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 -1.53% 2000 10.70% 2001 9.42% 2002 10.28% 2003 6.29% 2004 4.75% 2005 1.97% 2006 4.43% 2007 6.14% 2008 -6.16% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was -0.22%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 5.50% (quarter ended September 30, 2002), and the lowest return for a quarter was -6.06% (quarter ended September 30, 2008).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investor Shares -6.16 2.13 4.50 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 5-10 Year Credit Bond Index/1/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) -4.66 2.35 4.95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. 18 However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.22% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.04% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/1/ 0.26% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $27 $84 $146 $331 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 19
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $8.3 billion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date November 1, 1993 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation ITIGrade ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 71 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031885 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VFICX -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD GNMA FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a moderate level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) pass-through certificates, which are fixed income securities representing part ownership in a pool of mortgage loans supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The balance of the Fund's assets may be invested in U.S. Treasury or other U.S. government agency securities, as well as in repurchase agreements collateralized by such securities. Securities issued by most U.S. government agencies, other than the U.S. Treasury and GNMA, are neither guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury nor supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The Fund's dollar-weighted average maturity depends on homeowner prepayments of the underlying mortgages. Although the Fund does not observe specific maturity guidelines, the Fund's dollar-weighted average maturity will normally fall within an intermediate-term range (3 to 10 years). For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, homeowners will refinance their mortgages before their maturity dates, resulting in prepayment of mortgage-backed securities held by the Fund. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. Prepayment risk is high for the Fund. . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. In addition, when interest rates decline, GNMA prices typically do not rise as much as the prices of comparable bonds. This is because the market tends to discount GNMA prices for prepayment risk when interest rates decline. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. 21 Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 0.78% 2000 11.22% 2001 7.94% 2002 9.68% 2003 2.49% 2004 4.13% 2005 3.33% 2006 4.33% 2007 7.01% 2008 7.22% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 1.98%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 4.03% (quarter ended September 30, 2001), and the lowest return for a quarter was -1.24% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD GNMA FUND Investor Shares 7.22% 5.19% 5.77% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. GNMA Bond Index/1/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) 7.87% 5.39% 5.94% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 22
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.19% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.04% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.23% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $24 $74 $130 $293 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 23
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $29.7 billion --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor Wellington Management Company, LLP, Boston, Mass., since inception ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date June 27, 1980 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation GNMA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 36 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031307 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VFIIX ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD LONG-TERM TREASURY FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a high and sustainable level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities, which include bills, bonds, and notes issued by the U.S. Treasury. The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 15 to 30 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be high for the Fund because it invests mainly in long-term bonds, whose prices are much more sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of short-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. 25 Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 -8.66% 2000 19.72% 2001 4.31% 2002 16.67% 2003 2.68% 2004 7.12% 2005 6.61% 2006 1.74% 2007 9.24% 2008 22.52% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was -4.62%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 17.58% (quarter ended December 31, 2008), and the lowest return for a quarter was -5.23% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD LONG-TERM TREASURY FUND Investor Shares 22.52% 9.23% 7.83% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. Long Treasury Bond Index/1/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) 24.03% 9.73% 8.10% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 26
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.22% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.03% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/1/ 0.25% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $26 $80 $141 $318 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 27
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $3.4 billion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date May 19, 1986 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation LTTsry ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 83 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031505 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VUSTX -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD LONG-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a high and sustainable level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests in a variety of high-quality and, to a lesser extent, medium-quality fixed income securities, at least 80% of which will be intermediate- and long-term investment-grade securities. High-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or another independent rating agency; medium-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody's or another independent rating agency. (Investment-grade fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa3 and above by Moody's.) The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 15 to 25 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be high for the Fund because it invests mainly in long-term bonds, whose prices are much more sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of short-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be moderate for the Fund. To minimize the impact of call/prepayment risk, the advisor generally seeks to purchase bonds that have reasonable protection from being called. . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Although the Fund invests a limited portion of its assets in low-quality bonds, credit risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in bonds that are considered high-quality and, to a lesser extent, in bonds that are considered medium-quality. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. 29 Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 -6.23% 2000 11.76% 2001 9.57% 2002 13.22% 2003 6.26% 2004 8.94% 2005 5.13% 2006 2.86% 2007 3.75% 2008 2.29% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was -8.28%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 11.07% (quarter ended December 31, 2008), and the lowest return for a quarter was -8.28% (quarter ended March 31, 2009).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD LONG-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investor Shares 2.29% 4.57% 5.62% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. Long Credit A or Better Bond Index/1/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) -0.24% 3.94% 5.40% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 30
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.25% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.03% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/1/ 0.28% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $29 $90 $157 $356 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 31
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $5.9 billion --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor Wellington Management Company, LLP, Boston, Mass., since inception --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date July 9, 1973 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation LTIGrade --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 28 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031109 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VWESX ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
32 INVESTING IN VANGUARD BOND FUNDS The Vanguard Bond Funds are nine separate mutual funds, eight of which are offered through this prospectus (Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund is offered through a separate prospectus). Each Fund offered in this prospectus seeks to provide current income by investing in fixed income securities that meet defined standards for credit quality and maturity. These standards vary among the Funds, as shown in the following table. As a result, the levels of income provided by the Funds will vary, with the Short-Term Treasury Fund generally providing the least income and the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund generally providing the most income.
Dollar-Weighted Fund Primary Investments Average Maturity ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Treasury U.S. Treasury bonds 1-4 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Federal U.S. government agency 1-4 years bonds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Investment-Grade Investment-grade bonds 1-4 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term Treasury U.S. Treasury bonds 5-10 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term Investment-grade bonds 5-10 years Investment-Grade ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GNMA GNMA mortgage Generally 3-10 years certificates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Treasury U.S. Treasury bonds 15-30 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Investment-Grade Investment-grade bonds 15-25 years -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
33 MORE ON THE FUNDS This prospectus describes the primary risks you would face as a Fund shareholder. It is important to keep in mind one of the main axioms of investing: The higher the risk of losing money, the higher the potential reward. The reverse, also, is generally true: The lower the risk, the lower the potential reward. As you consider an investment in any mutual fund, you should take into account your personal tolerance for fluctuations in the securities markets. Look for this [FLAG LOGO] symbol throughout the prospectus. It is used to mark detailed information about the more significant risks that you would confront as a Fund shareholder. The following sections explain the primary investment strategies and policies that each Fund uses in pursuit of its objective. The Fund's board of trustees, which oversees the Fund's management, may change investment strategies or policies in the interest of shareholders without a shareholder vote, unless those strategies or policies are designated as fundamental. Note that each Fund's investment objective is not fundamental and may be changed without a shareholder vote. However, each Fund's 80% investment policy may be changed only upon 60 days' notice to shareholders. Market Exposure [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund is subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for short-term bond funds, moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, and high for long-term bond funds. Although bonds are often thought to be less risky than stocks, there have been periods when bond prices have fallen significantly because of rising interest rates. For instance, prices of long-term bonds fell by almost 48% between December 1976 and September 1981. To illustrate the relationship between bond prices and interest rates, the following table shows the effect of a 1% and a 2% change (both up and down) in interest rates on the values of three noncallable bonds of different maturities, each with a face value of $1,000.
How Interest Rate Changes Affect the Value of a $1,000 Bond/1/ After a 1% After a 1% After a 2% After a 2% Type of Bond (Maturity) Increase Decrease Increase Decrease ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term (2.5 years) $977 $1,024 $955 $1,048 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermediate-Term (10 years) 926 1,082 858 1,172 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Long-Term (20 years) 884 1,137 786 1,299 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Assuming a 5% coupon.
34 These figures are for illustration only; you should not regard them as an indication of future performance of the bond market as a whole or the Funds in particular. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BONDS AND INTEREST RATES As a rule, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall. The opposite is also true: Bond prices go up when interest rates fall. Why do bond prices and interest rates move in opposite directions? Let's assume that you hold a bond offering a 5% yield. A year later, interest rates are on the rise and bonds of comparable quality and maturity are offered with a 6% yield. With higher-yielding bonds available, you would have trouble selling your 5% bond for the price you paid--you would probably have to lower your asking price. On the other hand, if interest rates were falling and 4% bonds were being offered, you should be able to sell your 5% bond for more than you paid. How mortgage-backed securities are different: In general, declining interest rates will not lift the prices of mortgage-backed securities--such as GNMAs--as much as the prices of comparable bonds. Why? Because when interest rates fall, the bond market tends to discount the prices of mortgage-backed securities for prepayment risk--the possibility that homeowners will refinance their mortgages at lower rates and cause the bonds to be paid off prior to maturity. In part to compensate for this prepayment possibility, mortgage-backed securities tend to offer higher yields than other bonds of comparable credit quality and maturity. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes in interest rates can affect bond income as well as bond prices. [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund is subject to income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. A fund's income declines when interest rates fall because the fund then must invest in lower- yielding bonds. Income risk is generally higher for short-term bond funds and lower for long-term bond funds. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BOND MATURITIES A bond is issued with a specific maturity date--the date when the issuer must pay back the bond's principal (face value). Bond maturities range from less than 1 year to more than 30 years. Typically, the longer a bond's maturity, the more price risk you, as a bond investor, face as interest rates rise--but also the higher yield you could receive. Longer-term bonds are more suitable for investors willing to take a greater risk of price fluctuations to get higher and more stable interest income. Shorter-term bond investors should be willing to accept lower yields and greater income variability in return for less fluctuation in the value of their investment. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 35 Although falling interest rates tend to strengthen bond prices, they can cause other sorts of problems for bond fund investors--bond calls and prepayments. [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund (other than the GNMA Fund) is subject to call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. Call risk should be low for the Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund and the various Short-Term and Treasury Funds, and moderate for the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT CALLABLE BONDS Although bonds are issued with clearly defined maturities, in some cases the bond issuer has a right to call in (redeem) the bond earlier than its maturity date. When a bond is called, the bondholder must replace it with another bond that may have a lower yield than the original. One way for bond investors to protect themselves against call risk is to purchase a bond early in its lifetime, long before its call date. Another way is to buy bonds with lower coupons or interest rates, which make them less likely to be called. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund is subject to prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, homeowners will refinance their mortgages before their maturity dates, resulting in prepayment of mortgage- backed securities held by the Fund. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. Prepayment risk is high for the GNMA Fund, and low for the other Funds. [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund (other than the Short-, Intermediate-, and Long-Term Treasury Funds and the GNMA Fund) is subject to credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. 36 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT CREDIT QUALITY A bond's credit-quality rating is an assessment of the issuer's ability to pay interest on the bond and, ultimately, to repay the principal. Credit quality is evaluated by one of the independent bond-rating agencies (for example, Moody's or Standard & Poor's) or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor. The lower the rating, the greater the chance--in the rating agency's or advisor's opinion--that the bond issuer will default, or fail to meet its payment obligations. All things being equal, the lower a bond's credit rating, the higher its yield should be to compensate investors for assuming additional risk. Investment-grade bonds are those rated in one of the four highest ratings categories. A fund may treat an unrated bond as investment-grade if warranted by the advisor's analysis. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In absolute terms, the credit quality of each Fund is high or upper-medium, and, therefore, credit risk should be low. In relative terms, the Short-Term Treasury, Intermediate-Term Treasury, GNMA, and Long-Term Treasury Funds (which invest primarily in U.S. Treasury-issued or Treasury-backed securities) have the lowest credit risk--and generally the lowest yields--among the Funds. By contrast, the Short-Term Investment-Grade, Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade, and Long-Term Investment-Grade Funds generally have the highest credit risk--and generally the highest yields--among the Funds. The following table shows the dollar-weighted average credit quality of each Fund's holdings, as rated by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., as of January 31, 2009.
Fund Average Quality ------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term Treasury Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term Federal Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term Investment-Grade Aa3 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermediate-Term Treasury Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade A1 ------------------------------------------------------------------ GNMA Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Long-Term Treasury Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Long-Term Investment-Grade A1 ------------------------------------------------------------------
37 The following table details the Funds' credit quality policies, which apply at the time of investment, and illustrates the comparative credit risk encountered by an investor in each Fund. The Funds may hold on to bonds that are downgraded after purchase, even if they would no longer be eligible as new investments for a Fund.
Credit Ratings of the Funds' Investments (Percentage of Fund Assets) Issued or Backed High or by U.S. Gov't.,Its Highest Upper Agencies, and Quality Medium Medium Non-Investment-Grade Fund Instrumentalities (Non-Gov't.) Quality Quality or Unrated -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Treasury 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Federal 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term --------At least 65%-------- No more No more Investment-Grade than 30% than 5% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% Treasury -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term --------At least 65%-------- No more No more Investment-Grade than 30% than 5% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GNMA 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Treasury 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term --------At least 65%-------- No more No more Investment-Grade than 30% than 5% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each of the Investment-Grade Funds may invest no more than 30% of its assets in medium-quality fixed income securities, preferred stocks, and convertible securities and no more than 5% of its assets in non-investment-grade and unrated fixed income securities, preferred stocks, and convertible securities. Non-investment-grade bonds are those rated the equivalent of Moody's Ba1 or below, and unrated bonds are those that are not rated by any independent rating agency. To a limited extent, the Investment-Grade Funds are also exposed to event risk, which is the chance that corporate fixed income securities held by these Funds may suffer a substantial decline in credit quality and market value because of a restructuring of the companies that issued the securities, or because of other factors negatively affecting issuers. 38 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT TYPES OF BONDS Bonds are issued (sold) by many sources: Corporations issue corporate bonds; the federal government issues U.S. Treasury bonds; agencies of the federal government issue agency bonds; financial institutions issue asset-backed bonds; and mortgage holders issue "mortgage-backed" pass-through certificates. Each issuer is responsible for paying back the bond's initial value as well as for making periodic interest payments. Many bonds issued by government agencies and entities are neither guaranteed nor insured by the U.S. government. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following summary table is provided to help you distinguish among the Funds and their various risks.
Risks of the Funds Call/ Income Interest Rate Prepayment Fund Risk Risk Risk Credit Risk ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Treasury High Low Low Very Low ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Federal High Low Low Very Low ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term High Low Low Low Investment-Grade ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term Moderate Moderate Low Very Low Treasury ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term Moderate Moderate Low Low Investment-Grade ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GNMA Moderate Moderate High Very Low ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Treasury Low High Low Very Low ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Low High Moderate Low Investment-Grade -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
39 Security Selection The grid that follows shows, at a glance, the types of financial instruments that may be purchased by each Fund. Explanations of each type of financial instrument follow the grid.
Short-, Short-, Intermediate-, and Intermediate-, and Long-Term Long-Term Treasury Short-Term Investment-Grade GNMA Fund Funds Federal Fund Funds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate Debt . Obligations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Government & . . . . Agency Bonds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State & Municipal . Bonds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortgage-Backed . . . . Securities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortgage Dollar Rolls . . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash Investments Including Repurchase Agreements ./1/ ./1/ . ./1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Futures, Options, and . . . . Other Derivatives ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Asset-Backed . . Securities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- International Dollar-Denominated . Bonds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preferred Stocks . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Convertible Securities . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Collateralized Mortgage Obligations . . . . (CMOs) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Only repurchase agreements that are collateralized by U.S. Treasury or U.S. government agency securities.
. Corporate debt obligations--usually called bonds--represent loans by an investor to a corporation. . U.S. government and agency bonds represent loans by investors to the U.S. Treasury Department or a wide variety of government agencies and instrumentalities. Securities issued by most U.S. government entities are neither guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury nor backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. These entities include, among others, the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs), the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC). Securities issued by the U.S. Treasury and a small number of U.S. government agencies, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. 40 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT U.S. GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED ENTITIES A variety of U.S. government-sponsored entities (GSEs), such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs), issue debt and mortgage-backed securities. Although GSEs may be chartered or sponsored by acts of Congress, they are not funded by congressional appropriations. In September of 2008, the U.S. Treasury placed FNMA and FHLMC under conservatorship and appointed the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to manage their daily operations. In addition, the U.S. Treasury entered into purchase agreements with FNMA and FHLMC to provide them with capital in exchange for senior preferred stock. Generally, their securities are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. In most cases, these securities are supported only by the credit of the GSE, standing alone. In some cases, a GSE's securities may be supported by the ability of the GSE to borrow from the Treasury, or may be supported by the U.S. government in some other way. Securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), however, are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . State and municipal bonds represent loans by an investor to a state or municipal government, or to one of its agencies or instrumentalities. . Mortgage-backed securities represent an ownership interest in mortgage loans made by financial institutions to finance a borrower's real estate purchase. These loans are packaged by issuers for sale to investors. As the underlying mortgage loans are paid by borrowers, the investors receive payments of interest and principal. . Mortgage dollar rolls are transactions in which the Fund sells mortgage-backed securities to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to purchase similar securities in the future at a predetermined price. These transactions simulate an investment in mortgage-backed securities and have the potential to enhance the Fund's returns and reduce its administrative burdens, compared with holding mortgage-backed securities directly. These transactions may increase the Fund's portfolio turnover rate. Mortgage dollar rolls will be used only if consistent with the Fund's investment objective and risk profile. . Cash investments is a blanket term that describes a variety of short-term fixed income investments, including money market instruments, commercial paper, bank certificates of deposit, banker's acceptances, and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements represent short-term (normally overnight) loans by a Fund to commercial banks or large securities dealers. The Treasury Funds, the GNMA Fund, and the Short-Term Federal Fund may invest only in repurchase agreements that are collateralized by U.S. Treasury or U.S. government agency securities. Repurchase agreements can carry several risks. For instance, if the seller is unable to repurchase 41 the securities as promised, the Fund may experience a loss when trying to sell the securities to another buyer. Also, if the seller becomes insolvent, a bankruptcy court may determine that the securities do not belong to the Fund and order that the securities be used to pay off the seller's debts. The Funds' advisors believe that these risks can be controlled through careful security selection and monitoring. . Asset-backed securities are bonds that represent partial ownership in pools of consumer or commercial loans--most often credit card, automobile, or trade receivables. Asset-backed securities, which can be types of corporate fixed income obligations, are issued by entities formed solely for that purpose, but their value ultimately depends on repayments by underlying borrowers. A primary risk of asset-backed securities is that their maturity is difficult to predict, being driven by borrowers' prepayments. . International dollar-denominated bonds are bonds denominated in U.S. dollars and issued by foreign governments and companies. To the extent that a Fund owns foreign bonds, it is subject to country risk, which is the chance that world events--such as political upheaval, financial troubles, or natural disasters--will adversely affect the value of securities issued by companies in foreign countries. In addition, the prices of foreign bonds and the prices of U.S. bonds have, at times, moved in opposite directions. Because the bond's value is designated in dollars rather than in the currency of the issuer's country, the investor is not exposed to currency risk; rather, the issuer assumes the risk, usually to attract U.S. investors. . Preferred stocks distribute set dividends from the issuer. The preferred-stock holder's claim on the issuer's income and assets ranks before that of common-stock holders, but after that of bondholders. . Convertible securities are bonds or preferred stocks that are convertible into, or exchangeable for, common stocks. . Collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) are special bonds that are collateralized by mortgages or mortgage pass-through securities. Cash flow rights on underlying mortgages--the rights to receive principal and interest payments--are divided up and prioritized to create short-, intermediate-, and long-term bonds. CMOs rely on assumptions about the timing of cash flows on the underlying mortgages, including expected prepayment rates. The primary risk of a CMO is that these assumptions are wrong, which would either shorten or lengthen the bond's maturity. Each Fund will invest only in CMOs that are believed to be consistent with its maturity and credit-quality standards. [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund is subject to manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. The Funds are generally managed without regard to tax ramifications. 42 Other Investment Policies and Risks Besides investing in bonds and other fixed income securities, each Fund may make other kinds of investments to achieve its objective. Each Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. Illiquid securities are securities that a Fund may not be able to sell in the ordinary course of business. Restricted securities are a special type of illiquid security; these securities have not been publicly issued and legally can be resold only to qualified buyers. From time to time, the board of trustees may determine that particular restricted securities are not illiquid, and those securities may then be purchased by a Fund without limit. Vanguard may invest a small portion of the Short-Term, Intermediate-Term, and Long-Term Investment Grade Funds' assets in shares of bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs). ETFs provide returns similar to those of the bonds listed in the index or a subset of the index. Vanguard may purchase ETFs when doing so will facilitate cash management or potentially add value because the instruments are favorable priced. Vanguard receives no additional revenue from investing Fund assets in ETF Shares of other Vanguard funds. Fund assets invested in ETF Shares are excluded when allocating to the Fund its share of the costs of Vanguard operations. [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund may invest in derivatives. In general, derivatives may involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of the underlying securities, assets, or market indexes. Generally speaking, a derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a stock, bond, or currency), a physical asset (such as gold), or a market index (such as the S&P 500 Index). The Funds may invest in derivatives only if the expected risks and rewards of the derivatives are consistent with the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks of the Fund as disclosed in this prospectus. The advisors will not use derivatives to change the risk exposure of the Fund. In particular, derivatives will be used only where they may help the advisors: . Invest in eligible asset classes with greater efficiency and lower cost than is possible through direct investment; . Add value when these instruments are attractively priced; . Adjust sensitivity to changes in interest rates; or . Adjust the overall credit risk of the portfolio or to actively overweight or underweight credit risk to specific bond issuers. The Funds' derivative investments may include fixed income futures contracts, fixed income options, interest rate swaps, total return swaps, credit default swaps, or other derivatives. Losses (or gains) involving futures contracts can sometimes be substantial--in part because a relatively small price movement in a futures contract 43 may result in an immediate and substantial loss (or gain) for a fund. Similar risks exist for other types of derivatives. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT DERIVATIVES Derivatives can take many forms. Some forms of derivatives, such as exchange-traded futures and options on securities, commodities, or indexes, have been trading on regulated exchanges for decades. These types of derivatives are standardized contracts that can easily be bought and sold, and whose market values are determined and published daily. Nonstandardized derivatives (such as swap agreements), on the other hand, tend to be more specialized or complex, and may be harder to value. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash Management Each Fund's daily cash balance may be invested in one or more Vanguard CMT Funds, which are very low-cost money market funds. When investing in a Vanguard CMT Fund, each Fund bears its proportionate share of the at-cost expenses of the CMT Fund in which it invests. Temporary Investment Measures Each Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies when doing so is believed to be in the Fund's best interest, so long as the alternative is consistent with the Fund's investment objective. For instance, the Fund may invest beyond the normal limits in derivatives or ETFs that are consistent with the Fund's objective when those instruments are more favorably priced or provide needed liquidity, as might be the case when the Fund is transitioning assets from one advisor to another or receives large cash flows that it cannot prudently invest immediately. In addition, each Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its normal investment policies and strategies--for instance, by allocating substantial assets to cash, commercial paper, or other less volatile instruments--in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. In doing so, the Fund may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective. Frequent Trading or Market-Timing Background. Some investors try to profit from strategies involving frequent trading of mutual fund shares, such as market-timing. For funds holding foreign securities, investors may try to take advantage of an anticipated difference between the price of the fund's shares and price movements in overseas markets, a practice also known as time-zone arbitrage. Investors also may try to engage in frequent trading of funds 44 holding investments such as small-cap stocks and high-yield bonds. As money is shifted into and out of a fund by a shareholder engaging in frequent trading, a fund incurs costs for buying and selling securities, resulting in increased brokerage and administrative costs. These costs are borne by all fund shareholders, including the long-term investors who do not generate the costs. In addition, frequent trading may interfere with an advisor's ability to efficiently manage the fund. Policies to Address Frequent Trading. The Vanguard funds (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and Vanguard ETF/ TM/ Shares) do not knowingly accommodate frequent trading. The board of trustees of each Vanguard fund has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to detect and discourage frequent trading and, in some cases, to compensate the fund for the costs associated with it. Although there is no assurance that Vanguard will be able to detect or prevent frequent trading or market-timing in all circumstances, the following policies have been adopted to address these issues: . Each Vanguard fund reserves the right to reject any purchase request--including exchanges from other Vanguard funds--without notice and regardless of size. For example, a purchase request could be rejected if Vanguard determines that such purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance or because of a history of frequent trading by the investor. . Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and ETF Shares) generally prohibits, except as otherwise noted in the Investing With Vanguard section, a participant from exchanging into a fund account for 60 calendar days after the participant has exchanged out of that fund account. . Certain Vanguard funds charge shareholders purchase and/or redemption fees on transactions. See the Investing With Vanguard section of this prospectus for further details on Vanguard's transaction policies. Each fund (other than money market funds), in determining its net asset value, will, when appropriate, use fair-value pricing, as described in the Share Price section. Fair-value pricing may reduce or eliminate the profitability of certain frequent-trading strategies. Do not invest with Vanguard if you are a market-timer. 45 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT COSTS OF INVESTING Costs are an important consideration in choosing a mutual fund. That's because you, as a shareholder, pay the costs of operating a fund, plus any transaction costs incurred when the fund buys or sells securities. These costs can erode a substantial portion of the gross income or the capital appreciation a fund achieves. Even seemingly small differences in expenses can, over time, have a dramatic effect on a fund's performance. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate Although the Funds normally seek to invest for the long term, each Fund may sell securities regardless of how long they have been held. The Financial Highlights section of this prospectus shows historical turnover rates for the Funds. A turnover rate of 100%, for example, would mean that a Fund had sold and replaced securities valued at 100% of its net assets within a one-year period. Shorter-term bonds will mature or be sold--and need to be replaced--more frequently than longer-term bonds. As a result, shorter-term bond funds tend to have higher turnover rates than longer-term bond funds. The Short-Term Treasury Fund, in particular, has experienced high turnover rates in the past. The average turnover rate for bond funds was approximately 125%, as reported by Morningstar, Inc., on January 31, 2009. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT TURNOVER RATE Before investing in a mutual fund, you should review its turnover rate. This gives an indication of how transaction costs, which are not included in the fund's expense ratio, could affect the fund's future returns. In general, the greater the volume of buying and selling by the fund, the greater the impact that dealer markups and other transaction costs will have on its return. Also, funds with high turnover rates may be more likely to generate capital gains that must be distributed to shareholders as taxable income. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE FUNDS AND VANGUARD Each Fund is a member of The Vanguard Group, a family of 37 investment companies with more than 150 funds holding assets of approximately $1 trillion. All of the funds that are members of The Vanguard Group share in the expenses associated with administrative services and business operations, such as personnel, office space, equipment, and advertising. 46 Vanguard also provides marketing services to the funds. Although shareholders do not pay sales commissions or 12b-1 distribution fees, each fund (or in the case of a fund with multiple share classes, each share class of the fund) pays its allocated share of The Vanguard Group's marketing costs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT VANGUARD'S UNIQUE CORPORATE STRUCTURE The Vanguard Group is truly a mutual mutual fund company. It is owned jointly by the funds it oversees and thus indirectly by the shareholders in those funds. Most other mutual funds are operated by management companies that may be owned by one person, by a private group of individuals, or by public investors who own the management company's stock. The management fees charged by these companies include a profit component over and above the companies' cost of providing services. By contrast, Vanguard provides services to its member funds on an at-cost basis, with no profit component, which helps to keep the funds' expenses low. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTMENT ADVISORS Two investment advisors manage the Funds, subject to the supervision and oversight of the trustees and officers of the Funds. Wellington Management Company, LLP, serves as the advisor to the GNMA and Long-Term Investment-Grade Funds. The Vanguard Group, Inc., through its Fixed Income Group, serves as the advisor to the remaining Funds. . Wellington Management Company, LLP (Wellington Management), 75 State Street, Boston, MA 02109, is a Massachusetts limited liability partnership and an investment counseling firm that provides investment services to investment companies, employee benefit plans, endowments, foundations, and other institutions. Wellington Management and its predecessor organizations have provided investment advisory services for over 70 years. As of January 31, 2009, Wellington Management had investment management authority with respect to approximately $420 billion in assets. The firm receives a base fee that is based on certain annual percentage rates applied to the Funds' average daily net assets during the most recent fiscal quarter. . The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard), P.O. Box 2600, Valley Forge, PA 19482, which began operations in 1975. As of January 31, 2009, Vanguard served as advisor for approximately $844 billion in assets. For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009, the advisory expenses or fees for each Fund (other than the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund) represented an effective annual rate of 0.01% of each Fund's average net assets. For the Long-Term 47 Investment-Grade Fund, the advisory fee represented an effective annual rate of 0.02% of its average net assets. Under the terms of an SEC exemption, the Funds' board of trustees may, without prior approval from shareholders, change the terms of the GNMA and/or Long-Term Investment-Grade Funds' advisory agreements or hire a new investment advisor for these Funds--either as a replacement for the existing advisor or as an additional advisor. Any significant change in the Funds' advisory arrangements will be communicated to shareholders in writing. In addition, as the Funds' sponsor and overall manager, Vanguard may provide investment advisory services to the GNMA and/or Long-Term Investment-Grade Funds, on an at-cost basis, at any time. Vanguard may also recommend to the board of trustees that an advisor be hired, terminated, or replaced, or that terms of an existing advisory agreement be revised. For a discussion of why the board of trustees approved each Fund's investment advisory arrangements, see the most recent semiannual report to shareholders covering the fiscal period ended July 31. George U. Sauter, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of Vanguard. As Chief Investment Officer, he is responsible for the oversight of Vanguard's Quantitative Equity and Fixed Income Groups. The investments managed by these two groups include active quantitative equity funds, equity index funds, active bond funds, index bond funds, stable value portfolios, and money market funds. Since joining Vanguard in 1987, Mr. Sauter has been a key contributor to the development of Vanguard's stock indexing and active quantitative equity investment strategies. He received his A.B. in Economics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Chicago. Robert F. Auwaerter, Principal of Vanguard and head of Vanguard's Fixed Income Group. He has direct oversight responsibility for all money market funds, bond funds, and stable value portfolios managed by the Fixed Income Group. He has managed investment portfolios since 1978 and has been with Vanguard since 1981. He received his B.S. in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University. Kenneth E. Volpert, CFA, Principal of Vanguard and head of Vanguard's Taxable Bond Group. He has direct oversight responsibility for all taxable bond funds managed by the Fixed Income Group. He has managed investment portfolios since 1982 and has been with Vanguard since 1992. He received his B.S. from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. 48 The managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds are: Robert F. Auwaerter, head of Vanguard's Fixed Income Group and Principal of Vanguard. He has managed investment portfolios since 1978; has been with Vanguard since 1981; has managed the Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund since inception (co-managed since 2008) and the Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund since 1983 (co-managed since 2008); and has overseen all of the Fixed Income Group's portfolio management activities since 2003. Education: B.S., University of Pennsylvania; M.B.A., Northwestern University. Gregory S. Nassour, CFA, Principal of Vanguard. He has been with Vanguard since 1992; worked in investment management since 1994; and has co-managed the Short-Term Investment-Grade and Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Funds since 2008. Education: B.S., West Chester University; M.B.A., St. Joseph's University. David R. Glocke, Principal of Vanguard. He has worked in investment management since 1991; has managed investment portfolios for Vanguard since 1997; and has managed the Short-Term Treasury Fund since 2000 and the Intermediate-Term Treasury and Long-Term Treasury Funds since 2001. Education: B.S., University of Wisconsin. Ronald M. Reardon, Principal of Vanguard. He has worked in investment management for Vanguard since 2001 and has managed investment portfolios, including the Short-Term Federal Fund, since 2005. Education: B.S., The College of New Jersey; M.B.A., University of Rochester. Thomas L. Pappas, CFA, Senior Vice President and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager of Wellington Management. He has worked in investment management with Wellington Management since 1987; has assisted in managing the GNMA Fund since 1994; and has managed or co-managed the GNMA Fund since 2005. Education: B.S., Tufts University; M.S., Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lucius T. Hill, III, Senior Vice President and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager of Wellington Management. He has worked in investment management since 1983; has worked in investment management with Wellington Management since 1993; and has managed or co-managed the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund since February 2008. Education: B.A., Yale University; M.B.A., Columbia Business School. The Statement of Additional Information provides information about each portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts under management, and ownership of shares of the Funds. 49 DIVIDENDS, CAPITAL GAINS, AND TAXES Fund Distributions Each Fund distributes to shareholders virtually all of its net income (interest less expenses) as well as any net capital gains realized from the sale of its holdings. The Fund's income dividends accrue daily and are distributed on the first business day of every month; capital gains distributions generally occur annually in December. In addition, the Funds may occasionally make supplemental distributions at some other time during the year. Your distributions will be reinvested in additional Fund shares and accumulate on a tax-deferred basis if you are investing through an employer-sponsored retirement or savings plan. You will not owe taxes on these distributions until you begin withdrawals from the plan. You should consult your plan administrator, your plan's Summary Plan Description, or your tax advisor about the tax consequences of plan withdrawals. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT DISTRIBUTIONS As a shareholder, you are entitled to your portion of a fund's income from interest as well as capital gains from the fund's sale of investments. Income consists of interest the fund earns from its money market and bond investments. Capital gains are realized whenever the fund sells securities for higher prices than it paid for them. These capital gains are either short-term or long-term, depending on whether the fund held the securities for one year or less or for more than one year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHARE PRICE Share price, also known as net asset value (NAV), is calculated each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, generally 4 p.m., Eastern time. Each share class has its own NAV, which is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, allocated to each share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. On holidays or other days when the Exchange is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Fund does not transact purchase or redemption requests. However, on those days the value of the Fund's assets may be affected to the extent that the Fund holds foreign securities that trade on foreign markets that are open. Debt securities held by a Vanguard fund are valued based on information furnished by an independent pricing service or market quotations. Certain short-term debt instruments used to manage a fund's cash are valued on the basis of amortized cost. The values of any foreign securities held by a fund are converted into U.S. dollars using an exchange rate obtained from an independent third party. The values of any 50 mutual fund shares held by a fund are based on the NAVs of the shares. The values of any ETF or closed-end fund shares held by a fund are based on the market value of the shares. When a fund determines that pricing-service information or market quotations either are not readily available or do not accurately reflect the value of a security, the security is priced at its fair value (the amount that the owner might reasonably expect to receive upon the current sale of the security). A fund also may use fair-value pricing on bond market holidays when the fund is open for business (such as Columbus Day and Veterans Day). Fair-value prices are determined by Vanguard according to procedures adopted by the board of trustees. When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by a fund to calculate the NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Vanguard fund share prices can be found daily in the mutual fund listings of most major newspapers under various "Vanguard" headings. 51 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The following financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the Investor Shares' financial performance for the periods shown, and certain information reflects financial results for a single Investor Share. The total returns in each table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost each period on an investment in the Investor Shares (assuming reinvestment of all distributions). This information has been derived from the financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose reports--along with each Fund's financial statements--are included in the Funds' most recent annual reports to shareholders. You may obtain a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report online at www.vanguard.com or by contacting Vanguard by telephone or mail. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT HOW TO READ THE FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS TABLES This explanation uses the Short-Term Treasury Fund's Investor Shares as an example. The Investor Shares began fiscal year 2008 with a net asset value (price) of $10.80 per share. During the year, each Investor Share earned $0.251 from investment income (interest) and $0.225 from investments that had appreciated in value or that were sold for higher prices than the Fund paid for them. Shareholders received $0.386 per share in the form of dividend and capital gains distributions. A portion of each year's distributions may come from the prior year's income or capital gains. The share price at the end of the year was $10.89 reflecting earnings of $0.476 per share and distributions of $0.386 per share. This was an increase of $0.09 per share (from $10.80 at the beginning of the year to $10.89 at the end of the year). For a shareholder who reinvested the distributions in the purchase of more shares, the total return was 4.49% for the year. As of January 31, 2009, the Investor Shares had approximately $2.8 billion in net assets. For the year, the expense ratio was 0.21% ($2.10 per $1,000 of net assets), and the net investment income amounted to 2.15% of average net assets. The Fund sold and replaced securities valued at 156% of its net assets. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 52
SHORT-TERM TREASURY FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.80 $10.26 $10.31 $10.45 $10.64 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .251 .444 .436 .331 .279 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .225 .540 (.050) (.140) (.190) on Investments ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .476 .984 .386 .191 .089 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.283) (.444) (.436) (.331) (.279) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.103) -- -- -- -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.386) (.444) (.436) (.331) (.279) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $10.89 $10.80 $10.26 $10.31 $10.45 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return 4.49% 9.84% 3.82% 1.86% 0.85% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $2,812 $1,707 $1,328 $1,369 $1,854 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.21% 0.22% 0.26% 0.26% 0.24% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 2.15% 4.26% 4.24% 3.19% 2.65% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 156% 120% 114% 93% 108% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
53
SHORT-TERM FEDERAL FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.72 $10.26 $10.25 $10.39 $10.60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .409 .465 .420 .340 .291 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .090 .460 .010 (.140) (.189) on Investments ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .499 .925 .430 .200 .102 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.409) (.465) (.420) (.340) (.291) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains -- -- -- -- (.021) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.409) (.465) (.420) (.340) (.312) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $10.81 $10.72 $10.26 $10.25 $10.39 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return 4.78% 9.25% 4.29% 1.96% 0.98% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $2,142 $1,650 $1,514 $1,686 $2,403 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.21% 0.20% 0.20% 0.20% 0.20% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 3.83% 4.48% 4.10% 3.29% 2.77% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 109% 70% 89% 51% 49% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
54
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.76 $10.54 $10.50 $10.63 $10.81 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .477 .520 .479 .389 .355 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (.936) .216 .031 (.135) (.173) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.459) .736 .510 .254 .182 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.491) (.516) (.470) (.384) (.362) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital -- -- -- -- -- Gains ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.491) (.516) (.470) (.384) (.362) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $9.81 $10.76 $10.54 $10.50 $10.63 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return -4.35% 7.17% 4.96% 2.44% 1.71% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $9,557 $11,201 $10,364 $10,414 $13,049 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.21% 0.21% 0.21% 0.21% 0.18% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 4.65% 4.91% 4.55% 3.68% 3.31% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 49% 48% 43% 31% 37% -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
55
INTERMEDIATE-TERM TREASURY FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $11.62 $10.69 $10.85 $11.28 $11.45 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .413 .491 .499 .509 .504 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .419 .930 (.160) (.354) (.154) on Investments ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .832 1.421 .339 .155 .350 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.428) (.491) (.499) (.509) (.504) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.244) -- -- (.076) (.016) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.672) (.491) (.499) (.585) (.520) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $11.78 $11.62 $10.69 $10.85 $11.28 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return 7.29% 13.68% 3.22% 1.41% 3.14% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $2,999 $2,263 $1,676 $1,735 $2,169 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.25% 0.26% 0.26% 0.26% 0.24% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 3.47% 4.48% 4.66% 4.59% 4.45% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 88% 52% 87% 66% 61% -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
56
INTERMEDIATE-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $9.93 $9.66 $9.73 $10.08 $10.19 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .505 .501 .490 .466 .474 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (1.239) .270 (.071) (.332) (.055) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.734) .771 .419 .134 .419 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.506) (.501) (.489) (.466) (.474) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.050) -- -- (.018) (.055) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.556) (.501) (.489) (.484) (.529) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $8.64 $9.93 $9.66 $9.73 $10.08 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return -7.56% 8.21% 4.45% 1.36% 4.24% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $3,577 $2,650 $2,418 $2,447 $3,219 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.21% 0.21% 0.21% 0.21% 0.20% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 5.50% 5.16% 5.10% 4.71% 4.70% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 48% 48% 43% 51% 40% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
57
GNMA FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.47 $10.16 $10.29 $10.48 $10.52 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .511 .533 .522 .483 .480 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .060 .310 (.130) (.190) (.040) on Investments ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .571 .843 .392 .293 .440 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.511) (.533) (.522) (.483) (.480) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital -- -- -- -- -- Gains ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.511) (.533) (.522) (.483) (.480) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $10.53 $10.47 $10.16 $10.29 $10.48 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return 5.65% 8.56% 3.94% 2.88% 4.31% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $15,007 $12,916 $12,835 $13,905 $18,946 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.22% 0.21% 0.21% 0.21% 0.20% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 4.92% 5.22% 5.14% 4.67% 4.61% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 63% 21% 18% 38% 53% -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
58
LONG-TERM TREASURY FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $11.76 $10.99 $11.40 $11.76 $11.52 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Investment Income .499 .533 .547 .563 .574 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .563 .855 (.356) (.218) .314 on Investments ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total from Investment Operations 1.062 1.388 .191 .345 .888 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dividends from Net Investment Income (.502) (.533) (.547) (.563) (.574) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.110) (.085) (.054) (.142) (.074) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.612) (.618) (.601) (.705) (.648) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Asset Value, End of Period $12.21 $11.76 $10.99 $11.40 $11.76 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Return 9.25% 13.09% 1.80% 2.98% 8.01% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $1,897 $1,518 $1,262 $1,419 $1,490 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.25% 0.26% 0.26% 0.26% 0.24% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 4.19% 4.78% 4.96% 4.82% 5.02% Average Net Assets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Turnover Rate 80% 37% 68% 25% 38% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
59
LONG-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $9.02 $9.15 $9.37 $9.76 $9.40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .514 .523 .521 .515 .521 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (.829) (.130) (.220) (.390) .360 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.315) .393 .301 .125 .881 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.515) (.523) (.521) (.515) (.521) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains -- -- -- -- -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.515) (.523) (.521) (.515) (.521) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $8.19 $9.02 $9.15 $9.37 $9.76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return -3.45% 4.43% 3.39% 1.27% 9.77% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $3,471 $4,112 $4,196 $4,219 $4,328 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.23% 0.22% 0.25% 0.25% 0.25% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 6.09% 5.78% 5.73% 5.35% 5.58% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 24% 15% 15% 9% 16% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
60 INVESTING WITH VANGUARD One or more of the Funds are investment options in your retirement or savings plan. Your plan administrator or your employee benefits office can provide you with detailed information on how to participate in your plan and how to elect a Fund as an investment option. . If you have any questions about a Fund or Vanguard, including those about a Fund's investment objective, strategies, or risks, contact Vanguard Participant Services, toll-free, at 800-523-1188. . If you have questions about your account, contact your plan administrator or the organization that provides recordkeeping services for your plan. . Be sure to carefully read each topic that pertains to your transactions with Vanguard. Vanguard reserves the right to change its policies without prior notice to shareholders. Investment Options and Allocations Your plan's specific provisions may allow you to change your investment selections, the amount of your contributions, or how your contributions are allocated among the investment choices available to you. Contact your plan administrator or employee benefits office for more details. Transactions Contribution, exchange, or redemption requests must be in good order. Good order means that your request includes complete information on your contribution, exchange, or redemption, and that Vanguard has received the appropriate assets. In all cases, your transaction will be based on the next-determined NAV of the Fund's Investor Shares after Vanguard receives your request (or, in the case of new contributions, the next-determined NAV after Vanguard receives the order from your plan administrator). As long as this request is received before the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), you will receive that day's NAV. This is known as your trade date. NAVs are calculated only on days the NYSE is open for trading. You begin earning dividends on the next business day after your contribution trade date. Shares continue earning dividends until the next business day after your exchange or redemption trade date. Frequent Trading The exchange privilege (your ability to purchase shares of a fund using the proceeds from the simultaneous redemption of shares of another fund) may be available to you through your plan. Although we make every effort to maintain the exchange privilege, Vanguard reserves the right to revise or terminate this privilege, limit the amount of an exchange, or reject any exchange, at any time, without notice. Because excessive exchanges can 61 disrupt the management of the Vanguard funds and increase their transaction costs, Vanguard places certain limits on the exchange privilege. If you are exchanging out of any Vanguard fund (other than money market funds and short-term bond funds), you must wait 60 days before exchanging back into the fund. This policy applies, regardless of the dollar amount. Please note that the 60-day clock restarts after every exchange out of the fund. The frequent-trading policy does not apply to the following: exchange requests submitted by mail to Vanguard (exchange requests submitted by fax are not mail requests and remain subject to the policy); exchanges of shares purchased with participant payroll or employer contributions or loan repayments; exchanges of shares purchased with reinvested dividend or capital gains distributions; distributions, loans, and in-service withdrawals from a plan; redemptions of shares as part of a plan termination or at the direction of the plan; redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees; share or asset transfers or rollovers; reregistrations of shares within the same fund; conversions of shares from one share class to another in the same fund; and automated transactions executed during the first six months of a participant's enrollment in the Vanguard Managed Account Program. Before making an exchange to or from another fund available in your plan, consider the following: . Certain investment options, particularly funds made up of company stock or investment contracts, may be subject to unique restrictions. . Be sure to read the Fund's prospectus. Contact Vanguard Participant Services, toll-free, at 800-523-1188 for a copy. . Vanguard can accept exchanges only as permitted by your plan. Contact your plan administrator for details on other exchange policies that apply to your plan. Plans for which Vanguard does not serve as recordkeeper: If Vanguard does not serve as recordkeeper for your plan, your plan's recordkeeper will establish accounts in Vanguard funds for the benefit of its clients. In such accounts, we cannot always monitor the trading activity of individual clients. However, we review trading activity at the omnibus level, and if we detect suspicious activity, we will investigate and take appropriate action. If necessary, Vanguard may prohibit additional purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by an intermediary for the benefit of certain of the intermediary's clients. Intermediaries may also monitor participants' trading activity with respect to Vanguard funds. For those Vanguard funds that charge purchase or redemption fees, intermediaries that establish accounts in the Vanguard funds will be asked to assess purchase and redemption fees on participant accounts and remit these fees to the funds. The application of purchase and redemption fees and frequent-trading policies may vary 62 among intermediaries. There are no assurances that Vanguard will successfully identify all intermediaries or that intermediaries will properly assess purchase and redemption fees or administer frequent-trading policies. If a firm other than Vanguard serves as recordkeeper for your plan, please read that firm's materials carefully to learn of any other rules or fees that may apply. No cancellations. Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any transaction request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing a transaction request. Proof of a caller's authority. We reserve the right to refuse a telephone request if the caller is unable to provide the requested information or if we reasonably believe that the caller is not an individual authorized to act on the account. Before we allow a caller to act on an account, we may request the following information: . Authorization to act on the account (as the account owner or by legal documentation or other means). . Account registration and address. . Fund name and account number, if applicable. . Other information relating to the caller, the account holder, or the account. Uncashed Checks Vanguard will not pay interest on uncashed checks. Portfolio Holdings We generally post on our website at www.vanguard.com, in the Portfolio section of each Fund's Portfolio and Management page, a detailed list of the securities held by the Fund, as of the most recent calendar-quarter-end. This list is generally updated within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Vanguard may exclude any portion of these portfolio holdings from publication when deemed in the best interest of the Fund. Please consult the Fund's Statement of Additional Information or our website for a description of the policies and procedures that govern disclosure of the Fund's portfolio holdings. 63 ACCESSING FUND INFORMATION BY COMPUTER Vanguard on the World Wide Web WWW.VANGUARD.COM Use your personal computer to visit Vanguard's education-oriented website, which provides timely news and information about Vanguard funds and services; the online Education Center that offers a variety of mutual fund classes; and easy-to-use, interactive tools to help you create your own investment and retirement strategies. CFA/(R)/ is a trademark owned by CFA Institute. Standard & Poor's/(R)/, S&P/(R)/, S&P 500/(R)/, Standard & Poor's 500, and 500 are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., and have been licensed for use by The Vanguard Group, Inc. Vanguard mutual funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Standard & Poor's, and Standard & Poor's makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the funds. 64 GLOSSARY OF INVESTMENT TERMS Average Maturity. The average length of time until bonds held by a fund reach maturity and are repaid. In general, the longer the average maturity, the more a fund's share price fluctuates in response to changes in market interest rates. In calculating average maturity, a fund uses a bond's maturity or, if applicable, an earlier date on which the advisor believes it is likely that a maturity-shortening device (such as a call, put, refunding, prepayment or redemption provision, or an adjustable coupon) will cause the bond to be repaid. Bond. A debt security (IOU) issued by a corporation, government, or government agency in exchange for the money you lend it. In most instances, the issuer agrees to pay back the loan by a specific date and make regular interest payments until that date. Capital Gains Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of gains realized on securities that a fund has sold at a profit, minus any realized losses. Cash Investments. Cash deposits, short-term bank deposits, and money market instruments that include U.S. Treasury bills and notes, bank certificates of deposit (CDs), repurchase agreements, commercial paper, and banker's acceptances. Coupon. The interest rate paid by the issuer of a debt security until its maturity. It is expressed as an annual percentage of the face value of the security. Dividend Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of income from interest or dividends generated by a fund's investments. Expense Ratio. The percentage of a fund's average net assets used to pay its expenses during a fiscal year. The expense ratio includes management expenses--such as advisory fees, account maintenance, reporting, accounting, legal, and other administrative expenses--and any 12b-1 distribution fees. It does not include the transaction costs of buying and selling portfolio securities. Face Value. The amount to be paid at a bond's maturity; also known as the par value or principal. Fixed Income Security. An investment, such as a bond, representing a debt that must be repaid by a specified date, and on which the borrower must pay a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest. Inception Date. The date on which the assets of a fund (or one of its share classes) are first invested in accordance with the fund's investment objective. For funds with a subscription period, the inception date is the day after that period ends. Investment performance is measured from the inception date. Investment-Grade Bond. A debt security whose credit quality is considered by independent bond-rating agencies, or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor, to be sufficient to ensure timely payment of principal and interest under current economic circumstances. Debt securities rated in one of the four 65 highest rating categories are considered "investment-grade." Other debt securities may be considered by the advisor to be investment-grade. Principal. The face value of a debt instrument or the amount of money put into an investment. Securities. Stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other investment vehicles. Total Return. A percentage change, over a specified time period, in a mutual fund's net asset value, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions of dividends and capital gains. Volatility. The fluctuations in value of a mutual fund or other security. The greater a fund's volatility, the wider the fluctuations in its returns. Yield. Income (interest or dividends) earned by an investment, expressed as a percentage of the investment's price. 66 This page intentionally left blank. This page intentionally left blank. This page intentionally left blank. [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD /(R)/] Institutional Division P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900 CONNECT WITH VANGUARD/(R)/ > www.vanguard.com For More Information If you would like more information about Vanguard Bond Funds, the following documents are available free upon request: Annual/Semiannual Reports to Shareholders Additional information about the Funds' investments is available in the Funds' annual and semiannual reports to shareholders. In the annual reports, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds' performance during their last fiscal year. Statement of Additional Information (SAI) The SAI provides more detailed information about the Funds. The current annual and semiannual reports and the SAI are incorporated by reference into (and are thus legally a part of) this prospectus. To receive a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report or the SAI, or to request additional information about the Funds or other Vanguard funds, please visit www.vanguard.com or contact us as follows: The Vanguard Group Participant Services P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900 Telephone: 800-523-1188 Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-749-7273 Information Provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) You can review and copy information about the Funds (including the SAI) at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. To find out more about this public service, call the SEC at 202-551-8090. Reports and other information about the Funds are also available in the EDGAR database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov, or you can receive copies of this information, for a fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the Public Reference Section, Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC 20549-0102. Funds' Investment Company Act file number: 811-2368 (C) 2009 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor. I028 052009 [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD /(R)/] VANGUARD BOND FUNDS PROSPECTUS May 29, 2009 ADMIRAL /(TM)/ SHARES FOR PARTICIPANTS Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund Vanguard Short-Term Federal Fund Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund Vanguard GNMA Fund Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Fund Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund This prospectus contains financial data for the Funds through the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. CONTENTS Vanguard Fund Profiles 1 Investing in Vanguard Bond Funds 33 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Treasury 1 More on the Funds 34 Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Federal 5 The Funds and Vanguard 46 Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term 9 Investment 46 Investment-Grade Fund Advisors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term 13 Dividends, Capital Gains, and Taxes 49 Treasury Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term 17 Share Price 49 Investment-Grade Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GNMA Fund 21 Financial Highlights 51 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Treasury 25 Investing With Vanguard 60 Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term 29 Accessing Fund Information by Computer 63 Investment-Grade Fund ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Glossary of Investment Terms 64 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Reading This Prospectus Is Important This prospectus explains the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks associated with each Fund. To highlight terms and concepts important to mutual fund investors, we have provided Plain Talk/(R)/ explanations along the way. Reading the prospectus will help you decide whether a Fund is the right investment for you. We suggest that you keep this prospectus for future reference. This prospectus offers the Funds' Admiral Shares and is intended for participants in employer-sponsored retirement or savings plans. Another version--for investors who would like to open a personal investment account--can be obtained by calling Vanguard at 800-662-7447. An investment in a Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD SHORT-TERM TREASURY FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide current income while maintaining limited price volatility. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities, which include bills, bonds, and notes issued by the U.S. Treasury. The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 1 to 4 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks The Fund is designed for investors with a low tolerance for risk, but you could still lose money by investing in it. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in short-term bonds, whose prices are much less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Admiral Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. 1 Annual Total Returns--Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 2002 8.16% 2003 2.52% 2004 1.16% 2005 1.92% 2006 3.93% 2007 8.02% 2008 6.79% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 0.82%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 3.69% (quarter ended September 30, 2002), and the lowest return for a quarter was -1.30% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 Since 1 Year 5 Years Inception /1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD SHORT-TERM TREASURY FUND Admiral Shares 6.79% 4.33% 4.92% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Treasury Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) 8.83% 4.63% 5.06% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Since-inception returns are from February 13, 2001--the inception date of the Admiral Shares--through December 31, 2008. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 2
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.09% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.03% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/1/ 0.12% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $12 $39 $68 $154 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 3
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $6.8 billion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date Investor Shares--October 28, 1991 Admiral Shares--February 13, 2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation STsryAdml ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 532 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031851 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VFIRX -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD SHORT-TERM FEDERAL FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide current income while maintaining limited price volatility. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in short-term bonds issued by the U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities, many of which are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 1 to 4 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks The Fund is designed for investors with a low tolerance for risk, but you could still lose money by investing in it. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in short-term bonds, whose prices are much less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Credit risk should be very low for the Fund, because it invests only in bonds issued by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Admiral Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant 5 market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 2002 7.67% 2003 2.05% 2004 1.43% 2005 1.89% 2006 4.42% 2007 7.53% 2008 7.15% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 0.95%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 3.91% (quarter ended December 31, 2008), and the lowest return for a quarter was -1.48% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 Since 1 Year 5 Years Inception/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD SHORT-TERM FEDERAL FUND Admiral Shares 7.15% 4.46% 4.91% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Government/Bond Credit Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) 8.41% 4.61% 5.07% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Since-inception returns are from February 12, 2001--the inception date of the Admiral Shares--through December 31, 2008. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 6
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.09% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.03% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/1/ 0.12% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $12 $39 $68 $154 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 7
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $3.6 billion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date Investor Shares--December 31, 1987 Admiral Shares--February 12, 2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation STFedAdml ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 549 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031844 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VSGDX -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide current income while maintaining limited price volatility. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests in a variety of high-quality and, to a lesser extent, medium-quality fixed income securities, at least 80% of which will be short- and intermediate-term investment-grade securities. High-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or another independent rating agency; medium-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody's or another independent rating agency. (Investment-grade fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa3 and above by Moody's.) The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 1 to 4 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks The Fund is designed for investors with a low tolerance for risk, but you could still lose money by investing in it. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in short-term bonds, whose prices are much less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Although the Fund invests a limited portion of its assets in low-quality bonds, credit risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in bonds that are considered high-quality and, to a lesser extent, in bonds that are considered medium-quality. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. 9 Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Admiral Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 2002 5.29% 2003 4.28% 2004 2.19% 2005 2.30% 2006 5.11% 2007 5.98% 2008 -4.65% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 2.03%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 2.34% (quarter ended September 30, 2006), and the lowest return for a quarter was -3.39% (quarter ended September 30, 2008).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 Since 1 Year 5 Years Inception/1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Admiral Shares -4.65% 2.12% 3.37% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Credit Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) -1.13% 2.66% 4.45% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Since-inception returns are from February 12, 2001--the inception date of the Admiral Shares--through December 31, 2008. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in 10 this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.10% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.04% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/1/ 0.14% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $14 $45 $79 $179 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 11
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $18.8 billion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date Investor Shares--October 29, 1982 Admiral Shares--February 12, 2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation STIGradeAdml ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 539 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031836 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VFSUX -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM TREASURY FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a moderate and sustainable level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities, which include bills, bonds, and notes issued by the U.S. Treasury. The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 5 to 10 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests mainly in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Admiral Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. 13 Annual Total Returns--Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 2002 14.29% 2003 2.50% 2004 3.53% 2005 2.47% 2006 3.30% 2007 10.15% 2008 13.49% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 0.18%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 8.35% (quarter ended September 30, 2002), and the lowest return for a quarter was -3.19% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 Since 1 Year 5 Years Inception/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM TREASURY FUND Admiral Shares 13.49% 6.50% 6.98% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 5-10 Year Treasury Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) 16.77% 7.05% 7.23% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Since-inception returns are from February 12, 2001--the inception date of the Admiral Shares--through December 31, 2008. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 14
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.09% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.03% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/1/ 0.12% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $12 $39 $68 $154 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 15
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $7.3 billion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date Investor Shares--October 28, 1991 Admiral Shares--February 12, 2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation ITsryAdml ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 535 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031828 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VFIUX -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a moderate and sustainable level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests in a variety of high-quality and, to a lesser extent, medium-quality fixed income securities, at least 80% of which will be short- and intermediate-term investment-grade securities. High-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or another independent rating agency; medium-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody's or another independent rating agency. (Investment-grade fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa3 and above by Moody's.) The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 5 to 10 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests mainly in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Although the Fund invests a limited portion of its assets in low-quality bonds, credit risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in bonds that are considered high-quality and, to a lesser extent, in bonds that are considered medium-quality. 17 . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Admiral Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 2002 10.35% 2003 6.38% 2004 4.86% 2005 2.07% 2006 4.55% 2007 6.26% 2008 -6.06% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was -0.19%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 5.51% (quarter ended September 30, 2002), and the lowest return for a quarter was -6.04% (quarter ended September 30, 2008).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 Since 1 Year 5 Years Inception/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Admiral Shares -6.06% 2.24% 4.43% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 5-10 Year Credit Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) -4.66% 2.35% 4.94% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Since-inception returns are from February 12, 2001--the inception date of the Admiral Shares--through December 31, 2008. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
18 Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.11% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.03% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.14% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $14 $45 $79 $179 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 19
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $8.3 billion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date Investor Shares--November 1, 1993 Admiral Shares--February 12, 2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation ITIGradeAdml ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 571 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031810 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VFIDX -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD GNMA FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a moderate level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) pass-through certificates, which are fixed income securities representing part ownership in a pool of mortgage loans supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The balance of the Fund's assets may be invested in U.S. Treasury or other U.S. government agency securities, as well as in repurchase agreements collateralized by such securities. Securities issued by most U.S. government agencies, other than the U.S. Treasury and GNMA, are neither guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury nor supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The Fund's dollar-weighted average maturity depends on homeowner prepayments of the underlying mortgages. Although the Fund does not observe specific maturity guidelines, the Fund's dollar-weighted average maturity will normally fall within an intermediate-term range (3 to 10 years). For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, homeowners will refinance their mortgages before their maturity dates, resulting in prepayment of mortgage-backed securities held by the Fund. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. Prepayment risk is high for the Fund. . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. In addition, when interest rates decline, GNMA prices typically do not rise as much as the prices of comparable bonds. This is because the market tends to discount GNMA prices for prepayment risk when interest rates decline. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. 21 Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Admiral Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 2002 9.73% 2003 2.56% 2004 4.21% 2005 3.42% 2006 4.43% 2007 7.11% 2008 7.33% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 2.01%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 4.00% (quarter ended December 31, 2008), and the lowest return for a quarter was -1.22% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 Since 1 Year 5 Years Inception/1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD GNMA FUND 7.33% 5.29% 5.70% Admiral Shares -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. GNMA Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) 7.87% 5.39% 5.71% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Since-inception returns are from February 12, 2001--the inception date of the Admiral Shares--through December 31, 2008. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in 22 this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.10% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.03% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/1/ 0.13% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $13 $42 $73 $166 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 23
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $29.7 billion --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor Wellington Management Company, LLP, Boston, Mass., since inception --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date Investor Shares--June 27, 1980 Admiral Shares--February 12, 2001 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation GNMAAdml --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 536 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031794 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VFIJX ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD LONG-TERM TREASURY FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a high and sustainable level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities, which include bills, bonds, and notes issued by the U.S. Treasury. The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 15 to 30 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be high for the Fund because it invests mainly in long-term bonds, whose prices are much more sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of short-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Admiral Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. 25 Annual Total Returns--Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 2002 16.82% 2003 2.81% 2004 7.25% 2005 6.77% 2006 1.91% 2007 9.42% 2008 22.69% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was -4.59%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 17.62% (quarter ended December 31, 2008), and the lowest return for a quarter was -5.20% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 Since 1 Year 5 Years Inception/1/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD LONG-TERM TREASURY FUND Admiral Shares 22.69% 9.39% 8.85% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. Long Treasury Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction 24.03% 9.73% 9.01% for fees or expenses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Since-inception returns are from February 12, 2001--the inception date of the Admiral Shares--through December 31, 2008 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. 26
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.09% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.03% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.12% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $12 $39 $68 $154 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 27
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $3.4 billion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date Investor Shares--May 19, 1986 Admiral Shares--February 12, 2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation LTsryAdml ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 583 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031786 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VUSUX -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28 FUND PROFILE--VANGUARD LONG-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a high and sustainable level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests in a variety of high-quality and, to a lesser extent, medium-quality fixed income securities, at least 80% of which will be intermediate- and long-term investment-grade securities. High-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or another independent rating agency; medium-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody's or another independent rating agency. (Investment-grade fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa3 and above by Moody's.) The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 15 to 25 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be high for the Fund because it invests mainly in long-term bonds, whose prices are much more sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of short-term bonds. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be moderate for the Fund. To minimize the impact of call/prepayment risk, the advisor generally seeks to purchase bonds that have reasonable protection from being called. . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Although the Fund invests a limited portion of its assets in low-quality bonds, credit risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in bonds that are considered high-quality and, to a lesser extent, in bonds that are considered medium-quality. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. 29 Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Admiral Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 2002 13.32% 2003 6.36% 2004 9.06% 2005 5.27% 2006 2.99% 2007 3.86% 2008 2.40% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was -8.25%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 11.10% (quarter ended December 31, 2008), and the lowest return for a quarter was -8.25% (quarter ended March 31, 2009).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 Since 1 Year 5 Years Inception/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VANGUARD LONG-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Admiral Shares 2.40% 4.69% 6.31% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. Long Credit A or Better Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees or -0.24% 3.94% 6.09% expenses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Since-inception returns are from February 12, 2001--the inception date of the Admiral Shares--through December 31, 2008. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
30 Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.13% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.03% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.16% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $16 $52 $90 $205 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. 31
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $5.9 billion --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor Wellington Management Company, LLP, Boston, Mass., since inception --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date Investor Shares--July 9, 1973 Admiral Shares--February 12, 2001 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation LTIGradeAdml --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 568 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031778 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VWETX ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
32 INVESTING IN VANGUARD BOND FUNDS The Vanguard Bond Funds are nine separate mutual funds, eight of which are offered through this prospectus (Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund is offered through a separate prospectus). Each Fund offered in this prospectus seeks to provide current income by investing in fixed income securities that meet defined standards for credit quality and maturity. These standards vary among the Funds, as shown in the following table. As a result, the levels of income provided by the Funds will vary, with the Short-Term Treasury Fund generally providing the least income and the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund generally providing the most income. Dollar-Weighted Fund Primary Investments Average Maturity ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Treasury U.S. Treasury bonds 1-4 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Federal U.S. government agency 1-4 years bonds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Investment-Grade Investment-grade bonds 1-4 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term Treasury U.S. Treasury bonds 5-10 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term Investment-grade bonds 5-10 years Investment-Grade ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GNMA GNMA mortgage Generally 3-10 years certificates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Treasury U.S. Treasury bonds 15-30 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Investment-Grade Investment-grade bonds 15-25 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33 MORE ON THE FUNDS This prospectus describes the primary risks you would face as a Fund shareholder. It is important to keep in mind one of the main axioms of investing: The higher the risk of losing money, the higher the potential reward. The reverse, also, is generally true: The lower the risk, the lower the potential reward. As you consider an investment in any mutual fund, you should take into account your personal tolerance for fluctuations in the securities markets. Look for this [FLAG LOGO] symbol throughout the prospectus. It is used to mark detailed information about the more significant risks that you would confront as a Fund shareholder. The following sections explain the primary investment strategies and policies that each Fund uses in pursuit of its objective. The Fund's board of trustees, which oversees the Fund's management, may change investment strategies or policies in the interest of shareholders without a shareholder vote, unless those strategies or policies are designated as fundamental. Note that each Fund's investment objective is not fundamental and may be changed without a shareholder vote. However, each Fund's 80% investment policy may be changed only upon 60 days' notice to shareholders. Market Exposure [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund is subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for short-term bond funds, moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, and high for long-term bond funds. Although bonds are often thought to be less risky than stocks, there have been periods when bond prices have fallen significantly because of rising interest rates. For instance, prices of long-term bonds fell by almost 48% between December 1976 and September 1981. To illustrate the relationship between bond prices and interest rates, the following table shows the effect of a 1% and a 2% change (both up and down) in interest rates on the values of three noncallable bonds of different maturities, each with a face value of $1,000. How Interest Rate Changes Affect the Value of a $1,000 Bond/1/ After a 1% After a 1% After a 2% After a 2% Type of Bond (Maturity) Increase Decrease Increase Decrease ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term (2.5 years) $977 $1,024 $955 $1,048 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermediate-Term (10 years) 926 1,082 858 1,172 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Long-Term (20 years) 884 1,137 786 1,299 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Assuming a 5% coupon. 34 These figures are for illustration only; you should not regard them as an indication of future performance of the bond market as a whole or the Funds in particular. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLAIN TALK ABOUT BONDS AND INTEREST RATES As a rule, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall. The opposite is also true: Bond prices go up when interest rates fall. Why do bond prices and interest rates move in opposite directions? Let's assume that you hold a bond offering a 5% yield. A year later, interest rates are on the rise and bonds of comparable quality and maturity are offered with a 6% yield. With higher-yielding bonds available, you would have trouble selling your 5% bond for the price you paid--you would probably have to lower your asking price. On the other hand, if interest rates were falling and 4% bonds were being offered, you should be able to sell your 5% bond for more than you paid. How mortgage-backed securities are different: In general, declining interest rates will not lift the prices of mortgage-backed securities--such as GNMAs--as much as the prices of comparable bonds. Why? Because when interest rates fall, the bond market tends to discount the prices of mortgage-backed securities for prepayment risk--the possibility that homeowners will refinance their mortgages at lower rates and cause the bonds to be paid off prior to maturity. In part to compensate for this prepayment possibility, mortgage-backed securities tend to offer higher yields than other bonds of comparable credit quality and maturity. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Changes in interest rates can affect bond income as well as bond prices. [FLAG LOGO] Each Fund is subject to income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. A fund's income declines when interest rates fall because the fund then must invest in lower- yielding bonds. Income risk is generally higher for short-term bond funds and lower for long-term bond funds. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLAIN TALK ABOUT BOND MATURITIES A bond is issued with a specific maturity date--the date when the issuer must pay back the bond's principal (face value). Bond maturities range from less than 1 year to more than 30 years. Typically, the longer a bond's maturity, the more price risk you, as a bond investor, face as interest rates rise--but also the higher yield you could receive. Longer-term bonds are more suitable for investors willing to take a greater risk of price fluctuations to get higher and more stable interest income. Shorter-term bond investors should be willing to accept lower yields and greater income variability in return for less fluctuation in the value of their investment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 35 Although falling interest rates tend to strengthen bond prices, they can cause other sorts of problems for bond fund investors--bond calls and prepayments. [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund (other than the GNMA Fund) is subject to call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. Call risk should be low for the Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund and the various Short-Term and Treasury Funds, and moderate for the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Plain Talk About Callable Bonds Although bonds are issued with clearly defined maturities, in some cases the bond issuer has a right to call in (redeem) the bond earlier than its maturity date. When a bond is called, the bondholder must replace it with another bond that may have a lower yield than the original. One way for bond investors to protect themselves against call risk is to purchase a bond early in its lifetime, long before its call date. Another way is to buy bonds with lower coupons or interest rates, which make them less likely to be called. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund is subject to prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, homeowners will refinance their mortgages before their maturity dates, resulting in prepayment of mortgage- backed securities held by the Fund. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. Prepayment risk is high for the GNMA Fund, and low for the other Funds. [FLAG LOGO] Each Fund (other than the Short-, Intermediate-, and Long-Term Treasury Funds and the GNMA Fund) is subject to credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. 36 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLAIN TALK ABOUT CREDIT QUALITY A bond's credit-quality rating is an assessment of the issuer's ability to pay interest on the bond and, ultimately, to repay the principal. Credit quality is evaluated by one of the independent bond-rating agencies (for example, Moody's or Standard & Poor's) or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor. The lower the rating, the greater the chance--in the rating agency's or advisor's opinion--that the bond issuer will default, or fail to meet its payment obligations. All things being equal, the lower a bond's credit rating, the higher its yield should be to compensate investors for assuming additional risk. Investment-grade bonds are those rated in one of the four highest ratings categories. A fund may treat an unrated bond as investment-grade if warranted by the advisor's analysis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In absolute terms, the credit quality of each Fund is high or upper-medium, and, therefore, credit risk should be low. In relative terms, the Short-Term Treasury, Intermediate-Term Treasury, GNMA, and Long-Term Treasury Funds (which invest primarily in U.S. Treasury-issued or Treasury-backed securities) have the lowest credit risk--and generally the lowest yields--among the Funds. By contrast, the Short-Term Investment-Grade, Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade, and Long-Term Investment-Grade Funds generally have the highest credit risk--and generally the highest yields--among the Funds. The following table shows the dollar-weighted average credit quality of each Fund's holdings, as rated by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., as of January 31, 2009. Fund Average Quality ------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term Treasury Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term Federal Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term Investment-Grade Aa3 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermediate-Term Treasury Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade A1 ------------------------------------------------------------------ GNMA Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Long-Term Treasury Aaa ------------------------------------------------------------------ Long-Term Investment-Grade A1 ------------------------------------------------------------------ The following table details the Funds' credit quality policies, which apply at the time of investment, and illustrates the comparative credit risk encountered by an investor in each Fund. The Funds may hold on to bonds that are downgraded after purchase, even if they would no longer be eligible as new investments for a Fund. 37
Credit Ratings of the Funds' Investments (Percentage of Fund Assets) Issued or Backed High or by U.S. Gov't.,Its Highest Upper Agencies, and Quality Medium Medium Non-Investment-Grade Fund Instrumentalities (Non-Gov't.) Quality Quality or Unrated -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Treasury 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Federal 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term --------At least 65%-------- No more No more Investment-Grade than 30% than 5% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% Treasury -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term --------At least 65%-------- No more No more Investment-Grade than 30% than 5% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GNMA 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Treasury 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term --------At least 65%-------- No more No more Investment-Grade than 30% than 5% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each of the Investment-Grade Funds may invest no more than 30% of its assets in medium-quality fixed income securities, preferred stocks, and convertible securities and no more than 5% of its assets in non-investment-grade and unrated fixed income securities, preferred stocks, and convertible securities. Non-investment-grade bonds are those rated the equivalent of Moody's Ba1 or below, and unrated bonds are those that are not rated by any independent rating agency. To a limited extent, the Investment-Grade Funds are also exposed to event risk, which is the chance that corporate fixed income securities held by these Funds may suffer a substantial decline in credit quality and market value because of a restructuring of the companies that issued the securities, or because of other factors negatively affecting issuers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLAIN TALK ABOUT TYPES OF BONDS Bonds are issued (sold) by many sources: Corporations issue corporate bonds; the federal government issues U.S. Treasury bonds; agencies of the federal government issue agency bonds; financial institutions issue asset-backed bonds; and mortgage holders issue "mortgage-backed" pass-through certificates. Each issuer is responsible for paying back the bond's initial value as well as for making periodic interest payments. Many bonds issued by government agencies and entities are neither guaranteed nor insured by the U.S. government. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The following summary table is provided to help you distinguish among the Funds and their various risks. 38
Risks of the Funds Call/ Income Interest Rate Prepayment Fund Risk Risk Risk Credit Risk ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Treasury High Low Low Very Low ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term Federal High Low Low Very Low ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term High Low Low Low Investment-Grade ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term Moderate Moderate Low Very Low Treasury ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediate-Term Moderate Moderate Low Low Investment-Grade ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GNMA Moderate Moderate High Very Low ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Treasury Low High Low Very Low ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long-Term Low High Moderate Low Investment-Grade -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Security Selection The grid that follows shows, at a glance, the types of financial instruments that may be purchased by each Fund. Explanations of each type of financial instrument follow the grid.
Short-, Short-, Intermediate-, and Intermediate-, and Long-Term Long-Term Treasury Short-Term Investment-Grade GNMA Fund Funds Federal Fund Funds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate Debt . Obligations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Government & . . . . Agency Bonds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State & Municipal . Bonds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortgage-Backed . . . . Securities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortgage Dollar Rolls . . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash Investments Including Repurchase Agreements ./1/ ./1/ . ./1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Futures, Options, and . . . . Other Derivatives ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Asset-Backed . . Securities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- International Dollar-Denominated . Bonds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preferred Stocks . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Convertible Securities . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Collateralized Mortgage Obligations . . . . (CMOs) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Only repurchase agreements that are collateralized by U.S. Treasury or U.S. government agency securities.
39 . Corporate debt obligations--usually called bonds--represent loans by an investor to a corporation. . U.S. government and agency bonds represent loans by investors to the U.S. Treasury Department or a wide variety of government agencies and instrumentalities. Securities issued by most U.S. government entities are neither guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury nor backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. These entities include, among others, the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs), the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC). Securities issued by the U.S. Treasury and a small number of U.S. government agencies, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLAIN TALK ABOUT U.S. GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED ENTITIES A variety of U.S. government-sponsored entities (GSEs), such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs), issue debt and mortgage-backed securities. Although GSEs may be chartered or sponsored by acts of Congress, they are not funded by congressional appropriations. In September of 2008, the U.S. Treasury placed FNMA and FHLMC under conservatorship and appointed the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to manage their daily operations. In addition, the U.S. Treasury entered into purchase agreements with FNMA and FHLMC to provide them with capital in exchange for senior preferred stock. Generally, their securities are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. In most cases, these securities are supported only by the credit of the GSE, standing alone. In some cases, a GSE's securities may be supported by the ability of the GSE to borrow from the Treasury, or may be supported by the U.S. government in some other way. Securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), however, are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ . State and municipal bonds represent loans by an investor to a state or municipal government, or to one of its agencies or instrumentalities. . Mortgage-backed securities represent an ownership interest in mortgage loans made by financial institutions to finance a borrower's real estate purchase. These loans are packaged by issuers for sale to investors. As the underlying mortgage loans are paid by borrowers, the investors receive payments of interest and principal. . Mortgage dollar rolls are transactions in which the Fund sells mortgage-backed securities to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to purchase similar securities in the future at a predetermined price. These transactions simulate an investment in mortgage-- 40 backed securities and have the potential to enhance the Fund's returns and reduce its administrative burdens, compared with holding mortgage-backed securities directly. These transactions may increase the Fund's portfolio turnover rate. Mortgage dollar rolls will be used only if consistent with the Fund's investment objective and risk profile. . Cash investments is a blanket term that describes a variety of short-term fixed income investments, including money market instruments, commercial paper, bank certificates of deposit, banker's acceptances, and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements represent short-term (normally overnight) loans by a Fund to commercial banks or large securities dealers. The Treasury Funds, the GNMA Fund, and the Short-Term Federal Fund may invest only in repurchase agreements that are collateralized by U.S. Treasury or U.S. government agency securities. Repurchase agreements can carry several risks. For instance, if the seller is unable to repurchase the securities as promised, the Fund may experience a loss when trying to sell the securities to another buyer. Also, if the seller becomes insolvent, a bankruptcy court may determine that the securities do not belong to the Fund and order that the securities be used to pay off the seller's debts. The Funds' advisors believe that these risks can be controlled through careful security selection and monitoring. . Asset-backed securities are bonds that represent partial ownership in pools of consumer or commercial loans--most often credit card, automobile, or trade receivables. Asset-backed securities, which can be types of corporate fixed income obligations, are issued by entities formed solely for that purpose, but their value ultimately depends on repayments by underlying borrowers. A primary risk of asset-backed securities is that their maturity is difficult to predict, being driven by borrowers' prepayments. . International dollar-denominated bonds are bonds denominated in U.S. dollars and issued by foreign governments and companies. To the extent that a Fund owns foreign bonds, it is subject to country risk, which is the chance that world events--such as political upheaval, financial troubles, or natural disasters--will adversely affect the value of securities issued by companies in foreign countries. In addition, the prices of foreign bonds and the prices of U.S. bonds have, at times, moved in opposite directions. Because the bond's value is designated in dollars rather than in the currency of the issuer's country, the investor is not exposed to currency risk; rather, the issuer assumes the risk, usually to attract U.S. investors. . Preferred stocks distribute set dividends from the issuer. The preferred-stock holder's claim on the issuer's income and assets ranks before that of common-stock holders, but after that of bondholders. . Convertible securities are bonds or preferred stocks that are convertible into, or exchangeable for, common stocks. . Collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) are special bonds that are collateralized by mortgages or mortgage pass-through securities. Cash flow rights on underlying mortgages--the rights to receive principal and interest payments--are divided up and 41 prioritized to create short-, intermediate-, and long-term bonds. CMOs rely on assumptions about the timing of cash flows on the underlying mortgages, including expected prepayment rates. The primary risk of a CMO is that these assumptions are wrong, which would either shorten or lengthen the bond's maturity. Each Fund will invest only in CMOs that are believed to be consistent with its maturity and credit-quality standards. [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund is subject to manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. The Funds are generally managed without regard to tax ramifications. Other Investment Policies and Risks Besides investing in bonds and other fixed income securities, each Fund may make other kinds of investments to achieve its objective. Each Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. Illiquid securities are securities that a Fund may not be able to sell in the ordinary course of business. Restricted securities are a special type of illiquid security; these securities have not been publicly issued and legally can be resold only to qualified buyers. From time to time, the board of trustees may determine that particular restricted securities are not illiquid, and those securities may then be purchased by a Fund without limit. Vanguard may invest a small portion of the Short-Term, Intermediate-Term, and Long-Term Investment Grade Funds' assets in shares of bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs). ETFs provide returns similar to those of the bonds listed in the index or a subset of the index. Vanguard may purchase ETFs when doing so will facilitate cash management or potentially add value because the instruments are favorable priced. Vanguard receives no additional revenue from investing Fund assets in ETF Shares of other Vanguard funds. Fund assets invested in ETF Shares are excluded when allocating to the Fund its share of the costs of Vanguard operations. [FLAG LOGO]Each Fund may invest in derivatives. In general, derivatives may involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of the underlying securities, assets, or market indexes. Generally speaking, a derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a stock, bond, or currency), a physical asset (such as gold), or a market index (such as the S&P 500 Index). The Funds may invest in derivatives only if the expected risks and rewards of the derivatives are consistent with the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks of the Fund as disclosed in this prospectus. The advisors will not use derivatives to change the risk exposure of the Fund. In particular, derivatives will be used only where they may help the advisors: 42 . Invest in eligible asset classes with greater efficiency and lower cost than is possible through direct investment; . Add value when these instruments are attractively priced; . Adjust sensitivity to changes in interest rates; or . Adjust the overall credit risk of the portfolio or to actively overweight or underweight credit risk to specific bond issuers. The Funds' derivative investments may include fixed income futures contracts, fixed income options, interest rate swaps, total return swaps, credit default swaps, or other derivatives. Losses (or gains) involving futures contracts can sometimes be substantial--in part because a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in an immediate and substantial loss (or gain) for a fund. Similar risks exist for other types of derivatives. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLAIN TALK ABOUT DERIVATIVES Derivatives can take many forms. Some forms of derivatives, such as exchange-traded futures and options on securities, commodities, or indexes, have been trading on regulated exchanges for decades. These types of derivatives are standardized contracts that can easily be bought and sold, and whose market values are determined and published daily. Nonstandardized derivatives (such as swap agreements), on the other hand, tend to be more specialized or complex, and may be harder to value. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cash Management Each Fund's daily cash balance may be invested in one or more Vanguard CMT Funds, which are very low-cost money market funds. When investing in a Vanguard CMT Fund, each Fund bears its proportionate share of the at-cost expenses of the CMT Fund in which it invests. Temporary Investment Measures Each Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies when doing so is believed to be in the Fund's best interest, so long as the alternative is consistent with the Fund's investment objective. For instance, the Fund may invest beyond the normal limits in derivatives or ETFs that are consistent with the Fund's objective when those instruments are more favorably priced or provide needed liquidity, as might be the case when the Fund is transitioning assets from one advisor to another or receives large cash flows that it cannot prudently invest immediately. In addition, each Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its normal investment policies and strategies--for instance, by allocating 43 substantial assets to cash, commercial paper, or other less volatile instruments--in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. In doing so, the Fund may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective. Frequent Trading or Market-Timing Background. Some investors try to profit from strategies involving frequent trading of mutual fund shares, such as market-timing. For funds holding foreign securities, investors may try to take advantage of an anticipated difference between the price of the fund's shares and price movements in overseas markets, a practice also known as time-zone arbitrage. Investors also may try to engage in frequent trading of funds holding investments such as small-cap stocks and high-yield bonds. As money is shifted into and out of a fund by a shareholder engaging in frequent trading, a fund incurs costs for buying and selling securities, resulting in increased brokerage and administrative costs. These costs are borne by all fund shareholders, including the long-term investors who do not generate the costs. In addition, frequent trading may interfere with an advisor's ability to efficiently manage the fund. Policies to Address Frequent Trading. The Vanguard funds (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and Vanguard ETF/ TM/ Shares) do not knowingly accommodate frequent trading. The board of trustees of each Vanguard fund has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to detect and discourage frequent trading and, in some cases, to compensate the fund for the costs associated with it. Although there is no assurance that Vanguard will be able to detect or prevent frequent trading or market-timing in all circumstances, the following policies have been adopted to address these issues: . Each Vanguard fund reserves the right to reject any purchase request--including exchanges from other Vanguard funds--without notice and regardless of size. For example, a purchase request could be rejected if Vanguard determines that such purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance or because of a history of frequent trading by the investor. . Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and ETF Shares) generally prohibits, except as otherwise noted in the Investing With Vanguard section, a participant from exchanging into a fund account for 60 calendar days after the participant has exchanged out of that fund account. . Certain Vanguard funds charge shareholders purchase and/or redemption fees on transactions. See the Investing With Vanguard section of this prospectus for further details on Vanguard's transaction policies. 44 Each fund (other than money market funds), in determining its net asset value, will, when appropriate, use fair-value pricing, as described in the Share Price section. Fair-value pricing may reduce or eliminate the profitability of certain frequent-trading strategies. Do not invest with Vanguard if you are a market-timer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLAIN TALK ABOUT COSTS OF INVESTING Costs are an important consideration in choosing a mutual fund. That's because you, as a shareholder, pay the costs of operating a fund, plus any transaction costs incurred when the fund buys or sells securities. These costs can erode a substantial portion of the gross income or the capital appreciation a fund achieves. Even seemingly small differences in expenses can, over time, have a dramatic effect on a fund's performance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Turnover Rate Although the Funds normally seek to invest for the long term, each Fund may sell securities regardless of how long they have been held. The Financial Highlights section of this prospectus shows historical turnover rates for the Funds. A turnover rate of 100%, for example, would mean that a Fund had sold and replaced securities valued at 100% of its net assets within a one-year period. Shorter-term bonds will mature or be sold--and need to be replaced--more frequently than longer-term bonds. As a result, shorter-term bond funds tend to have higher turnover rates than longer-term bond funds. The Short-Term Treasury Fund, in particular, has experienced high turnover rates in the past. The average turnover rate for bond funds was approximately 125%, as reported by Morningstar, Inc., on January 31, 2009. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLAIN TALK ABOUT TURNOVER RATE Before investing in a mutual fund, you should review its turnover rate. This gives an indication of how transaction costs, which are not included in the fund's expense ratio, could affect the fund's future returns. In general, the greater the volume of buying and selling by the fund, the greater the impact that dealer markups and other transaction costs will have on its return. Also, funds with high turnover rates may be more likely to generate capital gains that must be distributed to shareholders as taxable income. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 45 THE FUNDS AND VANGUARD Each Fund is a member of The Vanguard Group, a family of 37 investment companies with more than 150 funds holding assets of approximately $1 trillion. All of the funds that are members of The Vanguard Group share in the expenses associated with administrative services and business operations, such as personnel, office space, equipment, and advertising. Vanguard also provides marketing services to the funds. Although shareholders do not pay sales commissions or 12b-1 distribution fees, each fund (or in the case of a fund with multiple share classes, each share class of the fund) pays its allocated share of The Vanguard Group's marketing costs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLAIN TALK ABOUT VANGUARD'S UNIQUE CORPORATE STRUCTURE The Vanguard Group is truly a mutual mutual fund company. It is owned jointly by the funds it oversees and thus indirectly by the shareholders in those funds. Most other mutual funds are operated by management companies that may be owned by one person, by a private group of individuals, or by public investors who own the management company's stock. The management fees charged by these companies include a profit component over and above the companies' cost of providing services. By contrast, Vanguard provides services to its member funds on an at-cost basis, with no profit component, which helps to keep the funds' expenses low. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ INVESTMENT ADVISORS Two investment advisors manage the Funds, subject to the supervision and oversight of the trustees and officers of the Funds. Wellington Management Company, LLP, serves as the advisor to the GNMA and Long-Term Investment-Grade Funds. The Vanguard Group, Inc., through its Fixed Income Group, serves as the advisor to the remaining Funds. . Wellington Management Company, LLP (Wellington Management), 75 State Street, Boston, MA 02109, is a Massachusetts limited liability partnership and an investment counseling firm that provides investment services to investment companies, employee benefit plans, endowments, foundations, and other institutions. Wellington Management and its predecessor organizations have provided investment advisory services for over 70 years. As of January 31, 2009, Wellington Management had investment management authority with respect to approximately $420 billion in assets. The firm receives a base fee that is based on certain annual percentage rates applied to the Funds' average daily net assets during the most recent fiscal quarter. 46 . The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard), P.O. Box 2600, Valley Forge, PA 19482, which began operations in 1975. As of January 31, 2009, Vanguard served as advisor for approximately $844 billion in assets. For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009, the advisory expenses or fees for each Fund (other than the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund) represented an effective annual rate of 0.01% of each Fund's average net assets. For the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund, the advisory fee represented an effective annual rate of 0.02% of its average net assets. Under the terms of an SEC exemption, the Funds' board of trustees may, without prior approval from shareholders, change the terms of the GNMA and/or Long-Term Investment-Grade Funds' advisory agreements or hire a new investment advisor for these Funds--either as a replacement for the existing advisor or as an additional advisor. Any significant change in the Funds' advisory arrangements will be communicated to shareholders in writing. In addition, as the Funds' sponsor and overall manager, Vanguard may provide investment advisory services to the GNMA and/or Long-Term Investment-Grade Funds, on an at-cost basis, at any time. Vanguard may also recommend to the board of trustees that an advisor be hired, terminated, or replaced, or that terms of an existing advisory agreement be revised. For a discussion of why the board of trustees approved each Fund's investment advisory arrangement, see the most recent semiannual report to shareholders covering the fiscal period ended July 31. George U. Sauter, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of Vanguard. As Chief Investment Officer, he is responsible for the oversight of Vanguard's Quantitative Equity and Fixed Income Groups. The investments managed by these two groups include active quantitative equity funds, equity index funds, active bond funds, index bond funds, stable value portfolios, and money market funds. Since joining Vanguard in 1987, Mr. Sauter has been a key contributor to the development of Vanguard's stock indexing and active quantitative equity investment strategies. He received his A.B. in Economics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Chicago. Robert F. Auwaerter, Principal of Vanguard and head of Vanguard's Fixed Income Group. He has direct oversight responsibility for all money market funds, bond funds, and stable value portfolios managed by the Fixed Income Group. He has managed investment portfolios since 1978 and has been with Vanguard since 1981. He received his B.S. in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University. 47 Kenneth E. Volpert, CFA, Principal of Vanguard and head of Vanguard's Taxable Bond Group. He has direct oversight responsibility for all taxable bond funds managed by the Fixed Income Group. He has managed investment portfolios since 1982 and has been with Vanguard since 1992. He received his B.S. from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. The managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds are: Robert F. Auwaerter, head of Vanguard's Fixed Income Group and Principal of Vanguard. He has managed investment portfolios since 1978; has been with Vanguard since 1981; has managed the Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund since inception (co-managed since 2008) and the Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund since 1983 (co-managed since 2008); and has overseen all of the Fixed Income Group's portfolio management activities since 2003. Education: B.S., University of Pennsylvania; M.B.A., Northwestern University. Gregory S. Nassour, CFA, Principal of Vanguard. He has been with Vanguard since 1992; worked in investment management since 1994; and has co-managed the Short-Term Investment-Grade and Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Funds since 2008. Education: B.S., West Chester University; M.B.A., St. Joseph's University. David R. Glocke, Principal of Vanguard. He has worked in investment management since 1991; has managed investment portfolios for Vanguard since 1997; and has managed the Short-Term Treasury Fund since 2000 and the Intermediate-Term Treasury and Long-Term Treasury Funds since 2001. Education: B.S., University of Wisconsin. Ronald M. Reardon, Principal of Vanguard. He has worked in investment management for Vanguard since 2001 and has managed investment portfolios, including the Short-Term Federal Fund, since 2005. Education: B.S., The College of New Jersey; M.B.A., University of Rochester. Thomas L. Pappas, CFA, Senior Vice President and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager of Wellington Management. He has worked in investment management with Wellington Management since 1987; has assisted in managing the GNMA Fund since 1994; and has managed or co-managed the GNMA Fund since 2005. Education: B.S., Tufts University; M.S., Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lucius T. Hill, III, Senior Vice President and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager of Wellington Management. He has worked in investment management since 1983; has worked in investment management with Wellington Management since 1993; and has managed or co-managed the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund since February 2008. Education: B.A., Yale University; M.B.A., Columbia Business School. The Statement of Additional Information provides information about each portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts under management, and ownership of shares of the Funds. 48 DIVIDENDS, CAPITAL GAINS, AND TAXES Fund Distributions Each Fund distributes to shareholders virtually all of its net income (interest less expenses) as well as any net capital gains realized from the sale of its holdings. The Fund's income dividends accrue daily and are distributed on the first business day of every month; capital gains distributions generally occur annually in December. In addition, the Funds may occasionally make supplemental distributions at some other time during the year. Your distributions will be reinvested in additional Fund shares and accumulate on a tax-deferred basis if you are investing through an employer-sponsored retirement or savings plan. You will not owe taxes on these distributions until you begin withdrawals from the plan. You should consult your plan administrator, your plan's Summary Plan Description, or your tax advisor about the tax consequences of plan withdrawals. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLAIN TALK ABOUT DISTRIBUTIONS As a shareholder, you are entitled to your portion of a fund's income from interest as well as capital gains from the fund's sale of investments. Income consists of interest the fund earns from its money market and bond investments. Capital gains are realized whenever the fund sells securities for higher prices than it paid for them. These capital gains are either short-term or long-term, depending on whether the fund held the securities for one year or less or for more than one year. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHARE PRICE Share price, also known as net asset value (NAV), is calculated each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, generally 4 p.m., Eastern time. Each share class has its own NAV, which is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, allocated to each share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. On holidays or other days when the Exchange is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Fund does not transact purchase or redemption requests. However, on those days the value of the Fund's assets may be affected to the extent that the Fund holds foreign securities that trade on foreign markets that are open. Debt securities held by a Vanguard fund are valued based on information furnished by an independent pricing service or market quotations. Certain short-term debt instruments used to manage a fund's cash are valued on the basis of amortized cost. The values of any foreign securities held by a fund are converted into U.S. dollars using an exchange rate obtained from an independent third party. The values of any 49 mutual fund shares held by a fund are based on the NAVs of the shares. The values of any ETF or closed-end fund shares held by a fund are based on the market value of the shares. When a fund determines that pricing-service information or market quotations either are not readily available or do not accurately reflect the value of a security, the security is priced at its fair value (the amount that the owner might reasonably expect to receive upon the current sale of the security). A fund also may use fair-value pricing on bond market holidays when the fund is open for business (such as Columbus Day and Veterans Day). Fair-value prices are determined by Vanguard according to procedures adopted by the board of trustees. When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by a fund to calculate the NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Vanguard fund share prices can be found daily in the mutual fund listings of most major newspapers under various "Vanguard" headings. 50 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The following financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the Admiral Shares' financial performance for the periods shown, and certain information reflects financial results for a single Admiral Share. The total returns in each table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost each period on an investment in the Admiral Shares (assuming reinvestment of all distributions). This information has been derived from the financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose reports--along with each Fund's financial statements--are included in the Funds' most recent annual reports to shareholders. You may obtain a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report online at www.vanguard.com or by contacting Vanguard by telephone or mail. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLAIN TALK ABOUT HOW TO READ THE FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS TABLES This explanation uses the Short-Term Treasury Fund's Admiral Shares as an example. The Admiral Shares began fiscal year 2009 with a net asset value (price) of $10.80 per share. During the year, each Admiral Share earned $0.262 from investment income (interest) and $0.225 from investments that had appreciated in value or that were sold for higher prices than the Fund paid for them. Shareholders received $0.397 per share in the form of dividend and capital gains distributions. A portion of each year's distributions may come from the prior year's income or capital gains. The share price at the end of the year was $10.89, reflecting earnings of $0.487 per share and distributions of $0.397 per share. This was an increase of $0.09 per share (from $10.80 at the beginning of the year to $10.89 at the end of the year). For a shareholder who reinvested the distributions in the purchase of more shares, the total return was 4.60% for the year. As of January 31, 2009, the Admiral Shares had approximately $3.9 billion in net assets. For the year, the expense ratio was 0.11% ($1.10 per $1,000 of net assets), and the net investment income amounted to 2.25% of average net assets. The Fund sold and replaced securities valued at 156% of its net assets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 51
SHORT-TERM TREASURY FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.80 $10.26 $10.31 $10.45 $10.64 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investment Operations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Investment Income .262 .457 .452 .348 .292 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .225 .540 (.050) (.140) (.190) on Investments ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total from Investment Operations .487 .997 .402 .208 .102 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dividends from Net Investment Income (.294) (.457) (.452) (.348) (.292) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.103) -- -- -- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Distributions (.397) (.457) (.452) (.348) (.292) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Asset Value, End of Period $10.89 $10.80 $10.26 $10.31 $10.45 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Return 4.60% 9.98% 3.98% 2.02% 0.97% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratios/Supplemental Data ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $3,945 $2,667 $2,179 $1,964 $1,605 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.11% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.12% Average Net Assets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratio of Net Investment Income to 2.25% 4.38% 4.40% 3.35% 2.77% Average Net Assets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Turnover Rate 156% 120% 114% 93% 108% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
52
SHORT-TERM FEDERAL FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.72 $10.26 $10.25 $10.39 $10.60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .420 .475 .431 .350 .300 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .090 .460 .010 (.140) (.189) on Investments ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .510 .935 .441 .210 .111 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.420) (.475) (.431) (.350) (.300) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains -- -- -- -- (.021) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.420) (.475) (.431) (.350) (.321) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $10.81 $10.72 $10.26 $10.25 $10.39 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return 4.89% 9.36% 4.39% 2.06% 1.06% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $1,467 $1,325 $1,063 $993 $690 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.11% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.12% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 3.93% 4.58% 4.20% 3.39% 2.86% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 109% 70% 89% 51% 49% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
53
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.76 $10.54 $10.50 $10.63 $10.81 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .487 .532 .490 .400 .363 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (.936) .216 .031 (.135) (.173) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.449) .748 .521 .265 .190 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.501) (.528) (.481) (.395) (.370) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital -- -- -- -- -- Gains ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.501) (.528) (.481) (.395) (.370) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $9.81 $10.76 $10.54 $10.50 $10.63 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return -4.26% 7.29% 5.07% 2.55% 1.79% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $8,225 $8,403 $6,993 $6,733 $4,254 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.11% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.11% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 4.75% 5.02% 4.66% 3.79% 3.38% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 49% 48% 43% 31% 37% -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
54
INTERMEDIATE-TERM TREASURY FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $11.62 $10.69 $10.85 $11.28 $11.45 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .429 .509 .516 .526 .518 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .419 .930 (.160) (.354) (.154) on Investments ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .848 1.439 .356 .172 .364 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.444) (.509) (.516) (.526) (.518) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.244) -- -- (.076) (.016) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.688) (.509) (.516) (.602) (.534) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $11.78 $11.62 $10.69 $10.85 $11.28 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return 7.44% 13.86% 3.38% 1.56% 3.27% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $4,267 $3,243 $2,274 $2,093 $1,665 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.11% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.12% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 3.61% 4.64% 4.82% 4.75% 4.58% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 88% 52% 87% 66% 61% -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
55
INTERMEDIATE-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $9.93 $9.66 $9.73 $10.08 $10.19 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .514 .511 .501 .477 .484 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (1.239) .270 (.071) (.332) (.055) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.725) .781 .430 .145 .429 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.515) (.511) (.500) (.477) (.484) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.050) -- -- (.018) (.055) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.565) (.511) (.500) (.495) (.539) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $8.64 $9.93 $9.66 $9.73 $10.08 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return -7.47% 8.33% 4.57% 1.47% 4.34% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $4,765 $3,455 $2,794 $2,550 $1,528 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.11% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 5.60% 5.27% 5.21% 4.82% 4.70% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 48% 48% 43% 51% 40% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
56
GNMA FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $10.47 $10.16 $10.29 $10.48 $10.52 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .522 .543 .532 .492 .487 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .060 .310 (.130) (.190) (.040) on Investments ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .582 .853 .402 .302 .447 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.522) (.543) (.532) (.492) (.487) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital -- -- -- -- -- Gains ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.522) (.543) (.532) (.492) (.487) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $10.53 $10.47 $10.16 $10.29 $10.48 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return 5.76% 8.67% 4.04% 2.97% 4.38% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $14,734 $10,978 $10,159 $10,281 $5,363 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.12% 0.11% 0.11% 0.11% 0.13% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 5.02% 5.32% 5.24% 4.77% 4.68% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 63% 21% 18% 38% 53% -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
57
LONG-TERM TREASURY FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $11.76 $10.99 $11.40 $11.76 $11.52 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Investment Income .516 .551 .564 .581 .588 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) .563 .855 (.356) (.218) .314 on Investments ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total from Investment Operations 1.079 1.406 .208 .363 .902 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dividends from Net Investment Income (.519) (.551) (.564) (.581) (.588) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.110) (.085) (.054) (.142) (.074) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.629) (.636) (.618) (.723) (.662) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Asset Value, End of Period $12.21 $11.76 $10.99 $11.40 $11.76 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Return 9.41% 13.27% 1.96% 3.14% 8.15% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $1,499 $1,190 $863 $809 $436 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.11% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.12% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 4.33% 4.94% 5.12% 4.99% 5.15% Average Net Assets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Turnover Rate 80% 37% 68% 25% 38% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
58
LONG-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $9.02 $9.15 $9.37 $9.76 $9.40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .522 .532 .533 .527 .531 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (.829) (.130) (.220) (.390) .360 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.307) .402 .313 .137 .891 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.523) (.532) (.533) (.527) (.531) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains -- -- -- -- -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.523) (.532) (.533) (.527) (.531) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End of Period $8.19 $9.02 $9.15 $9.37 $9.76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return -3.35% 4.53% 3.53% 1.40% 9.89% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $2,413 $1,627 $1,535 $1,430 $704 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to 0.13% 0.12% 0.12% 0.12% 0.14% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 6.19% 5.88% 5.86% 5.48% 5.69% Average Net Assets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 24% 15% 15% 9% 16% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
59 INVESTING WITH VANGUARD One or more of the Funds are investment options in your retirement or savings plan. Your plan administrator or your employee benefits office can provide you with detailed information on how to participate in your plan and how to elect a Fund as an investment option. . If you have any questions about a Fund or Vanguard, including those about a Fund's investment objective, strategies, or risks, contact Vanguard Participant Services, toll-free, at 800-523-1188. . If you have questions about your account, contact your plan administrator or the organization that provides recordkeeping services for your plan. . Be sure to carefully read each topic that pertains to your transactions with Vanguard. Vanguard reserves the right to change its policies without prior notice to shareholders. Investment Options and Allocations Your plan's specific provisions may allow you to change your investment selections, the amount of your contributions, or how your contributions are allocated among the investment choices available to you. Contact your plan administrator or employee benefits office for more details. Transactions Contribution, exchange, or redemption requests must be in good order. Good order means that your request includes complete information on your contribution, exchange, or redemption, and that Vanguard has received the appropriate assets. In all cases, your transaction will be based on the next-determined NAV of the Fund's Admiral Shares after Vanguard receives your request (or, in the case of new contributions, the next-determined NAV after Vanguard receives the order from your plan administrator). As long as this request is received before the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), you will receive that day's NAV. This is known as your trade date. NAVs are calculated only on days the NYSE is open for trading. You begin earning dividends on the next business day after your contribution trade date. Shares continue earning dividends until the next business day after your exchange or redemption trade date. Frequent Trading The exchange privilege (your ability to purchase shares of a fund using the proceeds from the simultaneous redemption of shares of another fund) may be available to you through your plan. Although we make every effort to maintain the exchange privilege, Vanguard reserves the right to revise or terminate this privilege, limit the amount of an exchange, or reject any exchange, at any time, without notice. Because excessive exchanges can 60 disrupt the management of the Vanguard funds and increase their transaction costs, Vanguard places certain limits on the exchange privilege. If you are exchanging out of any Vanguard fund (other than money market funds and short-term bond funds), you must wait 60 days before exchanging back into the fund. This policy applies, regardless of the dollar amount. Please note that the 60-day clock restarts after every exchange out of the fund. The frequent-trading policy does not apply to the following: exchange requests submitted by mail to Vanguard (exchange requests submitted by fax are not mail requests and remain subject to the policy); exchanges of shares purchased with participant payroll or employer contributions or loan repayments; exchanges of shares purchased with reinvested dividend or capital gains distributions; distributions, loans, and in-service withdrawals from a plan; redemptions of shares as part of a plan termination or at the direction of the plan; redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees; share or asset transfers or rollovers; reregistrations of shares within the same fund; conversions of shares from one share class to another in the same fund; and automated transactions executed during the first six months of a participant's enrollment in the Vanguard Managed Account Program. Before making an exchange to or from another fund available in your plan, consider the following: . Certain investment options, particularly funds made up of company stock or investment contracts, may be subject to unique restrictions. . Be sure to read the Fund's prospectus. Contact Vanguard Participant Services, toll-free, at 800-523-1188 for a copy. . Vanguard can accept exchanges only as permitted by your plan. Contact your plan administrator for details on other exchange policies that apply to your plan. Plans for which Vanguard does not serve as recordkeeper: If Vanguard does not serve as recordkeeper for your plan, your plan's recordkeeper will establish accounts in Vanguard funds for the benefit of its clients. In such accounts, we cannot always monitor the trading activity of individual clients. However, we review trading activity at the omnibus level, and if we detect suspicious activity, we will investigate and take appropriate action. If necessary, Vanguard may prohibit additional purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by an intermediary for the benefit of certain of the intermediary's clients. Intermediaries may also monitor participants' trading activity with respect to Vanguard funds. For those Vanguard funds that charge purchase or redemption fees, intermediaries that establish accounts in the Vanguard funds will be asked to assess purchase and redemption fees on participant accounts and remit these fees to the funds. The application of purchase and redemption fees and frequent-trading policies may vary 61 among intermediaries. There are no assurances that Vanguard will successfully identify all intermediaries or that intermediaries will properly assess purchase and redemption fees or administer frequent-trading policies. If a firm other than Vanguard serves as recordkeeper for your plan, please read that firm's materials carefully to learn of any other rules or fees that may apply. No cancellations. Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any transaction request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing a transaction request. Proof of a caller's authority. We reserve the right to refuse a telephone request if the caller is unable to provide the requested information or if we reasonably believe that the caller is not an individual authorized to act on the account. Before we allow a caller to act on an account, we may request the following information: . Authorization to act on the account (as the account owner or by legal documentation or other means). . Account registration and address. . Fund name and account number, if applicable. . Other information relating to the caller, the account holder, or the account. Uncashed Checks Vanguard will not pay interest on uncashed checks. Portfolio Holdings We generally post on our website at www.vanguard.com, in the Portfolio section of each Fund's Portfolio and Management page, a detailed list of the securities held by the Fund, as of the most recent calendar-quarter-end. This list is generally updated within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Vanguard may exclude any portion of these portfolio holdings from publication when deemed in the best interest of the Fund. Please consult the Fund's Statement of Additional Information or our website for a description of the policies and procedures that govern disclosure of the Fund's portfolio holdings. 62 ACCESSING FUND INFORMATION BY COMPUTER Vanguard on the World Wide Web WWW.VANGUARD.COM Use your personal computer to visit Vanguard's education-oriented website, which provides timely news and information about Vanguard funds and services; the online Education Center that offers a variety of mutual fund classes; and easy-to-use, interactive tools to help you create your own investment and retirement strategies. CFA/(R)/ is a trademark owned by CFA Institute. Standard & Poor's/(R)/, S&P/(R)/, S&P 500/(R)/, Standard & Poor's 500, and 500 are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., and have been licensed for use by The Vanguard Group, Inc. Vanguard mutual funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Standard & Poor's, and Standard & Poor's makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the funds. 63 GLOSSARY OF INVESTMENT TERMS Average Maturity. The average length of time until bonds held by a fund reach maturity and are repaid. In general, the longer the average maturity, the more a fund's share price fluctuates in response to changes in market interest rates. In calculating average maturity, a fund uses a bond's maturity or, if applicable, an earlier date on which the advisor believes it is likely that a maturity-shortening device (such as a call, put, refunding, prepayment or redemption provision, or an adjustable coupon) will cause the bond to be repaid. Bond. A debt security (IOU) issued by a corporation, government, or government agency in exchange for the money you lend it. In most instances, the issuer agrees to pay back the loan by a specific date and make regular interest payments until that date. Capital Gains Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of gains realized on securities that a fund has sold at a profit, minus any realized losses. Cash Investments. Cash deposits, short-term bank deposits, and money market instruments that include U.S. Treasury bills and notes, bank certificates of deposit (CDs), repurchase agreements, commercial paper, and banker's acceptances. Coupon. The interest rate paid by the issuer of a debt security until its maturity. It is expressed as an annual percentage of the face value of the security. Dividend Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of income from interest or dividends generated by a fund's investments. Expense Ratio. The percentage of a fund's average net assets used to pay its expenses during a fiscal year. The expense ratio includes management expenses--such as advisory fees, account maintenance, reporting, accounting, legal, and other administrative expenses--and any 12b-1 distribution fees. It does not include the transaction costs of buying and selling portfolio securities. Face Value. The amount to be paid at a bond's maturity; also known as the par value or principal. Fixed Income Security. An investment, such as a bond, representing a debt that must be repaid by a specified date, and on which the borrower must pay a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest. Inception Date. The date on which the assets of a fund (or one of its share classes) are first invested in accordance with the fund's investment objective. For funds with a subscription period, the inception date is the day after that period ends. Investment performance is measured from the inception date. Investment-Grade Bond. A debt security whose credit quality is considered by independent bond-rating agencies, or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor, to be sufficient to ensure timely payment of principal and interest under current economic circumstances. Debt securities rated in one of the four 64 highest rating categories are considered "investment-grade." Other debt securities may be considered by the advisor to be investment-grade. Principal. The face value of a debt instrument or the amount of money put into an investment. Securities. Stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other investment vehicles. Total Return. A percentage change, over a specified time period, in a mutual fund's net asset value, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions of dividends and capital gains. Volatility. The fluctuations in value of a mutual fund or other security. The greater a fund's volatility, the wider the fluctuations in its returns. Yield. Income (interest or dividends) earned by an investment, expressed as a percentage of the investment's price. [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD (/R/)] Institutional Division P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2600 CONNECT WITH VANGUARD/(R)/ > www.vanguard.com For More Information If you would like more information about Vanguard Bond Funds, the following documents are available free upon request: Annual/Semiannual Reports to Shareholders Additional information about the Funds' investments is available in the Funds' annual and semiannual reports to shareholders. In the annual reports, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds' performance during their last fiscal year. Statement of Additional Information (SAI) The SAI provides more detailed information about the Funds. The current annual and semiannual reports and the SAI are incorporated by reference into (and are thus legally a part of) this prospectus. To receive a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report or the SAI, or to request additional information about the Funds or other Vanguard funds, please visit www.vanguard.com or contact us as follows: The Vanguard Group Participant Services P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900 Telephone: 800-523-1188 Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-749-7273 Information Provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) You can review and copy information about the Funds (including the SAI) at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. To find out more about this public service, call the SEC at 202-551-8090. Reports and other information about the Funds are also available in the EDGAR database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov, or you can receive copies of this information, for a fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the Public Reference Section, Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC 20549-0102. Funds' Investment Company Act file number: 811-2368 (C) 2009 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor. I528 052009 [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD (/R/)] VANGUARD SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND PROSPECTUS May 29, 2009 INSTITUTIONAL SHARES This prospectus contains financial data for the Fund through the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. CONTENTS Fund Profile 1 Investing With Vanguard 22 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More on the Fund 6 Purchasing 22 Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Fund and Vanguard 15 Converting Shares 25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor 16 Redeeming Shares 26 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends, Capital Gains, and 17 Exchanging Shares 29 Taxes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Share Price 19 Frequent-Trading Limits 29 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial Highlights 20 Other Rules You Should Know 31 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fund and Account Updates 34 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contacting Vanguard 36 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Glossary of Investment Terms 38 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Reading This Prospectus Is Important This prospectus explains the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks associated with the Fund. To highlight terms and concepts important to mutual fund investors, we have provided Plain Talk/(R)/ explanations along the way. Reading the prospectus will help you decide whether the Fund is the right investment for you. We suggest that you keep this prospectus for future reference. Share Class Overview This prospectus offers the Fund's Institutional Shares, which are generally for investors who do not require special employee benefit plan services and who invest a minimum of $50 million. A separate prospectus offers the Fund's Investor Shares and Admiral(TM) Shares, which have investment minimums of $3,000 and $100,000, respectively. The Fund's separate share classes have different expenses; as a result, their investment performances will vary. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. FUND PROFILE Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide current income while maintaining limited price volatility. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests in a variety of high-quality and, to a lesser extent, medium-quality fixed income securities, at least 80% of which will be short- and intermediate-term investment-grade securities. High-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or another independent rating agency; medium-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody's or another independent rating agency. (Investment-grade fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa3 and above by Moody's.) The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 1 to 4 years. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Funds. Primary Risks The Fund is designed for investors with a low tolerance for risk, but you could still lose money by investing in it. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in short-term bonds, whose prices are much less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Although the Fund invests a limited portion of its assets in low-quality bonds, credit risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in bonds that are considered high-quality and, to a lesser extent, in bonds that are considered medium-quality. . Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. 1 Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Institutional Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the Institutional Shares compare with those of a relative market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Institutional Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART RANGE: -20% TO 40% 1999 3.43% 2000 8.29% 2001 8.27% 2002 5.35% 2003 4.32% 2004 2.21% 2005 2.34% 2006 5.14% 2007 6.01% 2008 -4.61% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 2.05%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 3.37% (quarter ended September 30, 2001), and the lowest return for a quarter was -3.39% (quarter ended September 30, 2008).
Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years VANGUARD SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND INSTITUTIONAL SHARES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes -4.61% 2.15% 4.01% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on Distributions -6.24 0.61 2.08 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -2.96 0.96 2.25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. 1-5 Year Credit Bond Index/1/ (reflects no deduction for fees, -1.13% 2.66% 4.79% expenses, or taxes) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Effective September 30, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Note on after-tax returns. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or 2 upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares will be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Institutional Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None/1/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.06% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.03% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/2/ 0.09% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 A $5 fee applies to wire redemptions under $5,000. 2 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Institutional Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 3 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $9 $29 $51 $115 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT FUND EXPENSES All mutual funds have operating expenses. These expenses, which are deducted from a fund's gross income, are expressed as a percentage of the net assets of the fund. We expect Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Institutional Shares' expense ratio for the current fiscal year to be 0.09%, or $0.90 per $1,000 of average net assets. The average 1-5 year investment grade fund had expenses in 2008 of 0.90%, or $9.00 per $1,000 of average net assets (derived from data provided by Lipper Inc., which reports on the mutual fund industry). Management expenses, which are one part of operating expenses, include investment advisory fees as well as other costs of managing a fund--such as account maintenance, reporting, accounting, legal, and other administrative expenses. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT COSTS OF INVESTING Costs are an important consideration in choosing a mutual fund. That's because you, as a shareholder, pay the costs of operating a fund, plus any transaction costs incurred when the fund buys or sells securities. These costs can erode a substantial portion of the gross income or the capital appreciation a fund achieves. Even seemingly small differences in expenses can, over time, have a dramatic effect on a fund's performance. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $18.8 billion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor The Vanguard Group, Inc., Valley Forge, Pa., since inception ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date Investor Shares--October 29, 1982 Institutional Shares--September 30, 1997 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minimum Initial Investment $50 million ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation STIGradeInst ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 858 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031877 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VFSIX -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 MORE ON THE FUND This prospectus describes the primary risks you would face as a Fund shareholder. It is important to keep in mind one of the main axioms of investing: The higher the risk of losing money, the higher the potential reward. The reverse, also, is generally true: The lower the risk, the lower the potential reward. As you consider an investment in any mutual fund, you should take into account your personal tolerance for fluctuations in the securities markets. Look for this [FLAG LOGO] symbol throughout the prospectus. It is used to mark detailed information about the more significant risks that you would confront as a Fund shareholder. The following sections explain the primary investment strategies and policies that the Fund uses in pursuit of its objective. The Fund's board of trustees, which oversees the Fund's management, may change investment strategies or policies in the interest of shareholders without a shareholder vote, unless those strategies or policies are designated as fundamental. Note that the Fund's investment objective is not fundamental and may be changed without a shareholder vote. However, the Fund's 80% investment policy may be changed only upon 60 days' notice to shareholders. Market Exposure The Fund invests mainly in bonds. As a result, it is subject to certain risks. [FLAG LOGO]The Fund is subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for short-term bond funds, moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, and high for long-term bond funds. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in short-term bonds, whose prices are much less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. Although bonds are often thought to be less risky than stocks, there have been periods when bond prices have fallen significantly because of rising interest rates. For instance, prices of long-term bonds fell by almost 48% between December 1976 and September 1981. To illustrate the relationship between bond prices and interest rates, the following table shows the effect of a 1% and a 2% change (both up and down) in interest rates on the value of a noncallable bond with a face value of $1,000. How Interest Rate Changes Affect the Value of a $1,000 Bond/1/ After a 1% After a 1% After a 2% After a 2% Type of Bond (Maturity) Increase Decrease Increase Decrease ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term (2.5 years) $977 $1,024 $955 $1,048 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Assuming a 5% coupon. 6 These figures are for illustration only; you should not regard them as an indication of future performance of the bond market as a whole or the Fund in particular. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BONDS AND INTEREST RATES As a rule, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall. The opposite is also true: Bond prices go up when interest rates fall. Why do bond prices and interest rates move in opposite directions? Let's assume that you hold a bond offering a 5% yield. A year later, interest rates are on the rise and bonds of comparable quality and maturity are offered with a 6% yield. With higher-yielding bonds available, you would have trouble selling your 5% bond for the price you paid--you would probably have to lower your asking price. On the other hand, if interest rates were falling and 4% bonds were being offered, you should be able to sell your 5% bond for more than you paid. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes in interest rates can affect bond income as well as bond prices. [FLAG LOGO]The Fund is subject to income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. A fund's income declines when interest rates fall because the fund then must invest in lower- yielding bonds. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BOND MATURITIES A bond is issued with a specific maturity date--the date when the issuer must pay back the bond's principal (face value). Bond maturities range from less than 1 year to more than 30 years. Typically, the longer a bond's maturity, the more price risk you, as a bond investor, face as interest rates rise--but also the higher yield you could receive. Longer-term bonds are more suitable for investors willing to take a greater risk of price fluctuations to get higher and more stable interest income. Shorter-term bond investors should be willing to accept lower yields and greater income variability in return for less fluctuation in the value of their investment. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 [FLAG LOGO]The Fund is subject to call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. For mortgage-backed securities, this risk is known as prepayment risk. Call/prepayment risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in securities that are not callable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT CALLABLE BONDS Although bonds are issued with clearly defined maturities, in some cases the bond issuer has a right to call in (redeem) the bond earlier than its maturity date. When a bond is called, the bondholder must replace it with another bond that may have a lower yield than the original. One way for bond investors to protect themselves against call risk is to purchase a bond early in its lifetime, long before its call date. Another way is to buy bonds with lower coupons or interest rates, which make them less likely to be called. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [FLAG LOGO]The Fund is subject to credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Although the Fund invests a limited portion of its assets in low-quality bonds, credit risk should be low for the Fund because it invests mainly in bonds that are considered high-quality, and, to a lesser extent, bonds that are considered medium-quality. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT CREDIT QUALITY A bond's credit-quality rating is an assessment of the issuer's ability to pay interest on the bond and, ultimately, to repay the principal. Credit quality is evaluated by one of the independent bond-rating agencies (for example, Moody's or Standard & Poor's) or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor. The lower the rating, the greater the chance--in the rating agency's or advisor's opinion--that the bond issuer will default, or fail to meet its payment obligations. All things being equal, the lower a bond's credit rating, the higher its yield should be to compensate investors for assuming additional risk. Investment-grade bonds are those rated in one of the four highest ratings categories. A fund may treat an unrated bond as investment-grade if warranted by the advisor's analysis. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Security Selection Because the Fund invests primarily in high-quality fixed income securities, credit risk should be low for the Fund. The dollar-weighted average credit quality of the Fund's holdings, as rated by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., was Aa3 as of January 31, 2009. The following table details the Fund's credit quality policies, which apply at the time of investment. The Fund may hold onto bonds that are downgraded after purchase, even if they would no longer be eligible as new investments for the Fund.
Credit Ratings of the Fund's Investments (Percentage of Fund Assets) Issued or Backed High or by U.S. Gov't., its Highest Agencies, and Quality Upper Non-Investment-Grade Instrumentalities (Non-Gov't.) Medium Quality Medium Quality or Unrated ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------At least 65%---------------- No more No more than 30% than 5% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Fund may invest no more than 30% of its assets in medium-quality fixed income securities, preferred stocks, and convertible securities, and no more than 5% of its assets in non-investment-grade and unrated fixed income securities, preferred stocks, and convertible securities. Non-investment-grade fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Moody's Ba1 or below; unrated bonds are those that are not rated by any independent rating agency. To a limited extent, the Fund is exposed to event risk, which is the chance that corporate fixed income securities held by the Fund may suffer a substantial decline in credit quality and market value because of a restructuring of the companies that issued the securities, or because of other factors negatively affecting issuers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT TYPES OF BONDS Bonds are issued (sold) by many sources: Corporations issue corporate bonds; the federal government issues U.S. Treasury bonds; agencies of the federal government issue agency bonds; financial institutions issue asset-backed bonds; and mortgage holders issue "mortgage-backed" pass-through certificates. Each issuer is responsible for paying back the bond's initial value as well as for making periodic interest payments. Many bonds issued by government agencies and entities are neither guaranteed nor insured by the U.S. government. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 The types of financial instruments that may be purchased by the Fund are identified and explained as follows: . Corporate debt obligations--usually called bonds--represent loans by an investor to a corporation. . U.S. government and agency bonds represent loans by investors to the U.S. Treasury Department or a wide variety of government agencies and instrumentalities. Securities issued by most U.S. government entities are neither guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury nor backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. These entities include, among others, the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs), the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC). Securities issued by the U.S. Treasury and a small number of U.S. government agencies, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT U.S. GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED ENTITIES A variety of U.S. government-sponsored entities (GSEs), such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs), issue debt and mortgage-backed securities. Although GSEs may be chartered or sponsored by acts of Congress, they are not funded by congressional appropriations. In September of 2008, the U.S. Treasury placed FNMA and FHLMC under conservatorship and appointed the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to manage their daily operations. In addition, the U.S. Treasury entered into purchase agreements with FNMA and FHLMC to provide them with capital in exchange for senior preferred stock. Generally, their securities are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. In most cases, these securities are supported only by the credit of the GSE, standing alone. In some cases, a GSE's securities may be supported by the ability of the GSE to borrow from the Treasury, or may be supported by the U.S. government in some other way. Securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), however, are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . State and municipal bonds represent loans by an investor to a state or municipal government, or to one of its agencies or instrumentalities. . Mortgage dollar rolls are transactions in which the Fund sells mortgage-backed securities to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to purchase similar securities in the future at a predetermined price. These transactions simulate an investment in mortgage-backed securities and have the potential to enhance the Fund's returns and reduce its administrative burdens, compared with holding mortgage-backed securities directly. 10 These transactions may increase the Fund's portfolio turnover rate. Mortgage dollar rolls will be used only if consistent with the Fund's investment objective and risk profile. . Cash investments is a blanket term that describes a variety of short-term fixed income investments, including money market instruments, commercial paper, bank certificates of deposit, banker's acceptances, and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements represent short-term (normally overnight) loans by the Fund to commercial banks or large securities dealers. . Asset-backed securities are bonds that represent partial ownership in pools of consumer or commercial loans--most often credit card, automobile, or trade receivables. Asset-backed securities, which can be types of corporate fixed income obligations, are issued by entities formed solely for that purpose, but their value ultimately depends on repayments by underlying borrowers. A primary risk of asset-backed securities is that their maturity is difficult to predict, being driven by borrowers' prepayments. . International dollar-denominated bonds are bonds denominated in U.S. dollars and issued by foreign governments and companies. To the extent that the Fund owns foreign bonds, it is subject to country risk, which is the chance that world events--such as political upheaval, financial troubles, or natural disasters--will adversely affect the value of securities issued by companies in foreign countries. In addition, the prices of foreign bonds and the prices of U.S. bonds have, at times, moved in opposite directions. Because the bond's value is designated in dollars rather than in the currency of the issuer's country, the investor is not exposed to currency risk; rather, the issuer assumes the risk, usually to attract U.S. investors. . Preferred stocks distribute set dividends from the issuer. The preferred-stock holder's claim on the issuer's income and assets ranks before that of common-stock holders, but after that of bondholders. . Convertible securities are bonds or preferred stocks that are convertible into, or exchangeable for, common stocks. . Collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) are special bonds that are collateralized by mortgages or mortgage pass-through securities. Cash flow rights on underlying mortgages--the rights to receive principal and interest payments--are divided up and prioritized to create short-, intermediate-, and long-term bonds. CMOs rely on assumptions about the timing of cash flows on the underlying mortgages, including expected prepayment rates. The primary risk of a CMO is that these assumptions are wrong, which would either shorten or lengthen the bond's maturity. The Fund will invest only in CMOs that are believed to be consistent with its maturity and credit-quality standards. [FLAG LOGO]The Fund is subject to manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. 11 The Fund is generally managed without regard to tax ramifications. Other Investment Policies and Risks Besides investing in bonds and other fixed income securities, the Fund may make other kinds of investments to achieve its objective. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. Illiquid securities are securities that the Fund may not be able to sell in the ordinary course of business. Restricted securities are a special type of illiquid security; these securities have not been publicly issued and legally can be resold only to qualified buyers. From time to time, the board of trustees may determine that particular restricted securities are not illiquid, and those securities may then be purchased by the Fund without limit. Vanguard may invest a small portion of the Fund's assets in shares of bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs). ETFs provide returns similar to those of the bonds listed in the index or a subset of the index. Vanguard may purchase ETFs when doing so will facilitate cash management or potentially add value because the instruments are favorably priced. Vanguard receives no additional revenue from investing Fund assets in Vanguard bond ETFs because Fund assets invested in ETF Shares are excluded when allocating to the Fund its share of the costs of Vanguard operations. [FLAG LOGO]The Fund may invest in derivatives. In general, derivatives may involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of the underlying securities, assets, or market indexes. Generally speaking, a derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a stock, bond, or currency), a physical asset (such as gold), or a market index (such as the S&P 500 Index). The Fund may invest in derivatives only if the expected risks and rewards of the derivatives are consistent with the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks of the Fund as disclosed in this prospectus. The advisor will not use derivatives to change the risk exposure of the Fund. In particular, derivatives will be used only where they may help the advisor: . Invest in eligible asset classes with greater efficiency and lower cost than is possible through direct investment; . Add value when these instruments are attractively priced; . Adjust sensitivity to changes in interest rates; or . Adjust the overall credit risk of the portfolio or to actively overweight or underweight credit risk to specific bond issuers. The Fund's derivative investments may include fixed income futures contracts, fixed income options, interest rate swaps, total return swaps, credit default swaps, or other derivatives. Losses (or gains) involving futures contracts can sometimes be substantial--in part because a relatively small price movement in a futures contract 12 may result in an immediate and substantial loss (or gain) for a fund. Similar risks exist for other types of derivatives. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT DERIVATIVES Derivatives can take many forms. Some forms of derivatives, such as exchange-traded futures and options on securities, commodities, or indexes, have been trading on regulated exchanges for decades. These types of derivatives are standardized contracts that can easily be bought and sold, and whose market values are determined and published daily. Nonstandardized derivatives (such as swap agreements), on the other hand, tend to be more specialized or complex, and may be harder to value. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash Management The Fund's daily cash balance may be invested in one or more Vanguard CMT Funds, which are very low-cost money market funds. When investing in a Vanguard CMT Fund, the Fund bears its proportionate share of the at-cost expenses of the CMT Fund in which it invests. Temporary Investment Measures The Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies when doing so is believed to be in the Fund's best interest, so long as the alternative is consistent with the Fund's investment objective. For instance, the Fund may invest beyond the normal limits in derivatives or ETFs that are consistent with the Fund's objective when those instruments are more favorably priced or provide needed liquidity, as might be the case when the Fund is transitioning assets from one advisor to another or receives large cash flows that it cannot prudently invest immediately. In addition, the Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its normal investment policies and strategies--for instance, by allocating substantial assets to cash, commercial paper, or other less volatile instruments--in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. In doing so, the Fund may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective. Frequent Trading or Market-Timing Background. Some investors try to profit from strategies involving frequent trading of mutual fund shares, such as market-timing. For funds holding foreign securities, investors may try to take advantage of an anticipated difference between the price of the fund's shares and price movements in overseas markets, a practice also known as time-zone arbitrage. Investors also may try to engage in frequent trading of funds 13 holding investments such as small-cap stocks and high-yield bonds. As money is shifted into and out of a fund by a shareholder engaging in frequent trading, a fund incurs costs for buying and selling securities, resulting in increased brokerage and administrative costs. These costs are borne by all fund shareholders, including the long-term investors who do not generate the costs. In addition, frequent trading may interfere with an advisor's ability to efficiently manage the fund. Policies to Address Frequent Trading. The Vanguard funds (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and Vanguard ETF(TM) Shares) do not knowingly accommodate frequent trading. The board of trustees of each Vanguard fund has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to detect and discourage frequent trading and, in some cases, to compensate the fund for the costs associated with it. Although there is no assurance that Vanguard will be able to detect or prevent frequent trading or market-timing in all circumstances, the following policies have been adopted to address these issues: . Each Vanguard fund reserves the right to reject any purchase request--including exchanges from other Vanguard funds--without notice and regardless of size. For example, a purchase request could be rejected if Vanguard determines that such purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance or because of a history of frequent trading by the investor. . Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and ETF Shares) generally prohibits, except as otherwise noted in the Investing With Vanguard section, an investor's purchases or exchanges into a fund account for 60 calendar days after the investor has redeemed or exchanged out of that fund account. . Certain Vanguard funds charge shareholders purchase and/or redemption fees on transactions. See the Investing With Vanguard section of this prospectus for further details on Vanguard's transaction policies. Each fund (other than money market funds), in determining its net asset value, will, when appropriate, use fair-value pricing, as described in the Share Price section. Fair-value pricing may reduce or eliminate the profitability of certain frequent-trading strategies. Do not invest with Vanguard if you are a market-timer. Turnover Rate Although the Fund normally seeks to invest for the long term, it may sell securities regardless of how long they have been held. The Financial Highlights section of this prospectus shows historical turnover rates for the Fund. A turnover rate of 100%, for example, would mean that the Fund had sold and replaced securities valued at 100% of its net assets within a one-year period. Shorter-term bonds will mature or be sold--and need to be replaced--more frequently than longer-term bonds. As a result, 14 shorter-term bond funds tend to have higher turnover rates than longer-term bond funds. The average turnover rate for domestic bond funds was approximately 125%, as reported by Morningstar, Inc., on January 31, 2009. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT TURNOVER RATE Before investing in a mutual fund, you should review its turnover rate. This gives an indication of how transaction costs, which are not included in the fund's expense ratio, could affect the fund's future returns. In general, the greater the volume of buying and selling by the fund, the greater the impact that dealer markups and other transaction costs will have on its return. Also, funds with high turnover rates may be more likely to generate capital gains that must be distributed to shareholders as taxable income. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE FUND AND VANGUARD The Fund is a member of The Vanguard Group, a family of 37 investment companies with more than 150 funds holding assets of approximately $1 trillion. All of the funds that are members of The Vanguard Group share in the expenses associated with administrative services and business operations, such as personnel, office space, equipment, and advertising. Vanguard also provides marketing services to the funds. Although shareholders do not pay sales commissions or 12b-1 distribution fees, each fund (or in the case of a fund with multiple share classes, each share class of the fund) pays its allocated share of The Vanguard Group's marketing costs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT VANGUARD'S UNIQUE CORPORATE STRUCTURE The Vanguard Group is truly a mutual mutual fund company. It is owned jointly by the funds it oversees and thus indirectly by the shareholders in those funds. Most other mutual funds are operated by management companies that may be owned by one person, by a private group of individuals, or by public investors who own the management company's stock. The management fees charged by these companies include a profit component over and above the companies' cost of providing services. By contrast, Vanguard provides services to its member funds on an at-cost basis, with no profit component, which helps to keep the funds' expenses low. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 INVESTMENT ADVISOR The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard), P.O. Box 2600, Valley Forge, PA 19482, which began operations in 1975, serves as advisor to the Fund through its Fixed Income Group. As of January 31, 2009, Vanguard served as advisor for approximately $844 billion in assets. Vanguard manages the Fund on an at-cost basis, subject to the supervision and oversight of the trustees and officers of the Fund. For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009, the advisory expenses represented an effective annual rate of 0.01% of the Fund's average net assets. For a discussion of why the board of trustees approved the Fund's investment advisory agreement, see the most recent semiannual report to shareholders covering the fiscal period ended July 31. George U. Sauter, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of Vanguard. As Chief Investment Officer, he is responsible for the oversight of Vanguard's Quantitative Equity and Fixed Income Groups. The investments managed by these two groups include active quantitative equity funds, equity index funds, active bond funds, index bond funds, stable value portfolios, and money market funds. Since joining Vanguard in 1987, Mr. Sauter has been a key contributor to the development of Vanguard's stock indexing and active quantitative equity investment strategies. He received his A.B. in Economics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Chicago. Robert F. Auwaerter, Principal of Vanguard and head of Vanguard's Fixed Income Group. He has direct oversight responsibility for all money market funds, bond funds, and stable value portfolios managed by the Fixed Income Group. He has managed investment portfolios since 1978 and has been with Vanguard since 1981. He received his B.S. in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University. Kenneth E. Volpert, CFA, Principal of Vanguard and head of Vanguard's Taxable Bond Group. He has direct oversight responsibility for all taxable bond funds managed by the Fixed Income Group. He has managed investment portfolios since 1982 and has been with Vanguard since 1992. He received his B.S. from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. The manager primarily responsible for day-to-day management of the Fund is: Robert F. Auwaerter, Principal of Vanguard. He has managed investment portfolios since 1978; has been with Vanguard since 1981; has managed the Fund since 1983; and has co-managed the Fund since 2008. Education: B.S., University of Pennsylvania; M.B.A., Northwestern University. 16 Gregory S. Nassour, CFA, Principal of Vanguard. He has been with Vanguard since 1992; has worked in investment management since 1994; and has co-managed the Fund since 2008. Education: B.S., West Chester University; M.B.A., St. Joseph's University. The Statement of Additional Information provides information about the portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts under management, and ownership of shares of the Fund. DIVIDENDS, CAPITAL GAINS, AND TAXES Fund Distributions The Fund distributes to shareholders virtually all of its net income (interest less expenses) as well as any net capital gains realized from the sale of its holdings. The Fund's income dividends accrue daily and are distributed on the first business day of every month; capital gains distributions generally occur annually in December. In addition, the Fund may occasionally make supplemental distributions at some other time during the year. You can receive distributions of income or capital gains in cash, or you can have them automatically reinvested in more shares of the Fund. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT DISTRIBUTIONS As a shareholder, you are entitled to your portion of a fund's income from interest as well as capital gains from the fund's sale of investments. Income consists of interest the fund earns from its money market and bond investments. Capital gains are realized whenever the fund sells securities for higher prices than it paid for them. These capital gains are either short-term or long-term, depending on whether the fund held the securities for one year or less or for more than one year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic Tax Points Vanguard will send you a statement each year showing the tax status of all your distributions. In addition, investors in taxable accounts should be aware of the following basic federal income tax points: . Distributions are taxable to you whether or not you reinvest these amounts in additional Fund shares. . Distributions declared in December--if paid to you by the end of January--are taxable as if received in December. . Any dividend and short-term capital gains distributions that you receive are taxable to you as ordinary income. . Any distributions of net long-term capital gains are taxable to you as long-term capital gains, no matter how long you've owned shares in the Fund. 17 . Capital gains distributions may vary considerably from year to year as a result of the Fund's normal investment activities and cash flows. . A sale or exchange of Fund shares is a taxable event. This means that you may have a capital gain to report as income, or a capital loss to report as a deduction, when you complete your tax return. Dividend and capital gains distributions that you receive, as well as your gains or losses from any sale or exchange of Fund shares, may be subject to state and local income taxes. Depending on your state's rules, however, any dividends attributable to interest earned on direct obligations of the U.S. government may be exempt from state and local taxes. Vanguard will notify you each year how much, if any, of your dividends may qualify for this exemption. . Any conversion between classes of shares of the same fund is a nontaxable event. By contrast, an exchange between classes of shares of different funds is a taxable event. General Information Backup withholding. By law, Vanguard must withhold 28% of any taxable distributions or redemptions from your account if you do not: . Provide us with your correct taxpayer identification number; . Certify that the taxpayer identification number is correct; and . Confirm that you are not subject to backup withholding. Similarly, Vanguard must withhold taxes from your account if the IRS instructs us to do so. Foreign investors. Vanguard funds generally are not sold outside the United States, except to certain qualified investors. If you reside outside the United States, please consult our website at www.vanguard.com and review "Non-U.S. investors." Foreign investors should be aware that U.S. withholding and estate taxes may apply to any investments in Vanguard funds. Invalid addresses. If a dividend or capital gains distribution check mailed to your address of record is returned as undeliverable, Vanguard will automatically reinvest all future distributions until you provide us with a valid mailing address. Tax consequences. This prospectus provides general tax information only. If you are investing through a tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA, special tax rules apply. Please consult your tax advisor for detailed information about a fund's tax consequences for you. 18 SHARE PRICE Share price, also known as net asset value (NAV), is calculated each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, generally 4 p.m., Eastern time. Each share class has its own NAV, which is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, allocated to each share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. On holidays or other days when the Exchange is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Fund does not transact purchase or redemption requests. However, on those days the value of the Fund's assets may be affected to the extent that the Fund holds foreign securities that trade on foreign markets that are open. Debt securities held by a Vanguard fund are valued based on information furnished by an independent pricing service or market quotations. Certain short-term debt instruments used to manage a fund's cash are valued on the basis of amortized cost. The values of any foreign securities held by a fund are converted into U.S. dollars using an exchange rate obtained from an independent third party. The values of any mutual fund shares held by a fund are based on the NAVs of the shares. The values of any ETF or closed-end fund shares held by a fund are based on the market value of the shares. When a fund determines that pricing-service information or market quotations either are not readily available or do not accurately reflect the value of a security, the security is priced at its fair value (the amount that the owner might reasonably expect to receive upon the current sale of the security). A fund also may use fair-value pricing on bond market holidays when the fund is open for business (such as Columbus Day and Veterans Day). Fair-value prices are determined by Vanguard according to procedures adopted by the board of trustees. When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by a fund to calculate the NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Vanguard fund share prices can be found daily in the mutual fund listings of most major newspapers under various "Vanguard" headings. 19 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The following financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Institutional Shares' financial performance for the periods shown, and certain information reflects financial results for a single Institutional Share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost each period on an investment in the Institutional Shares (assuming reinvestment of all distributions). This information has been derived from the financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report--along with the Fund's financial statements--is included in the Fund's most recent annual report to shareholders. You may obtain a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report online at www.vanguard.com or by contacting Vanguard by telephone or mail. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT HOW TO READ THE FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS TABLE The Institutional Shares began fiscal year 2009 with a net asset value (price) of $10.76 per share. During the year, each Institutional Share earned $0.491 from investment income (interest and dividends). There was a decline of 0.936 per share in the value of investments held or sold by the Fund, resulting in a net decline of 0.445 per share from investment operations. Shareholders received $0.505 per share in the form of dividend distributions. A portion of each year's distributions may come from the prior year's income or capital gains. The share price at the end of the year was $9.81, reflecting losses of $0.445 per share and distributions of $0.505 per share. This was a decrease of $0.95 per share (from $10.76 at the beginning of the year to $9.81 at the end of the year). For a shareholder who reinvested the distributions in the purchase of more shares, the total return was -4.22% for the year. As of January 31, 2009, the Institutional Shares had approximately $1 billion in net assets. For the year, the expense ratio was 0.07% ($0.70 per $1,000 of net assets), and the net investment income amounted to 4.79% of average net assets. The Fund sold and replaced securities valued at 49% of its net assets. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND INSTITUTIONAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, $10.76 $10.54 $10.50 $10.63 $10.81 Beginning of Period ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .491 .535 .493 .404 .366 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) (.936) .216 .031 (.135) (.173) on Investments ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment (.445) .751 .524 .269 .193 Operations ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net (.505) (.531) (.484) (.399) (.373) Investment Income ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from -- -- -- -- -- Realized Capital Gains ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.505) (.531) (.484) (.399) (.373) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Asset Value, End $9.81 $10.76 $10.54 $10.50 $10.63 of Period ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Return -4.22% 7.32% 5.11% 2.58% 1.81% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratios/Supplemental Data ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of $1,002 $451 $400 $517 $891 Period (Millions) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to Average 0.07% 0.07% 0.07% 0.07% 0.08% Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to 4.79% 5.05% 4.69% 3.82% 3.41% Average Net Assets ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 49% 48% 43% 31% 37% -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21 INVESTING WITH VANGUARD This section of the prospectus explains the basics of doing business with Vanguard. Be sure to carefully read each topic that pertains to your relationship with Vanguard. Vanguard reserves the right to change the following policies, without prior notice to shareholders. Please call or check online for current information. Each fund you hold in an account is a separate "fund account." For example, if you hold three funds in a nonretirement account titled in your own name, two funds in a nonretirement account titled jointly with your spouse, and one fund in an individual retirement account, you have six fund accounts--and this is true even if you hold the same fund in multiple accounts. Purchasing Shares Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to increase or decrease the minimum amount required to open or maintain a fund account, or to add to an existing fund account. Investment minimums may differ for certain categories of investors. Account Minimums for Institutional Shares To open and maintain an account. $50 million. Vanguard institutional clients may meet the minimum investment amount by aggregating up to three separate accounts within the same Fund. This policy does not apply to clients receiving special administrative services from Vanguard, nor does this policy apply to omnibus accounts maintained by financial intermediaries. Add to an existing account. By Automatic Investment Plan; $100 by check, exchange, wire, or electronic bank transfer (other than Automatic Investment Plan). How to Initiate a Purchase Request Be sure to check Exchanging Shares, Frequent-Trading Limits, and Other Rules You Should Know before placing your purchase request. Online. You may open certain types of accounts, request an electronic bank transfer, and make an exchange (using the proceeds from the redemption of shares from one Vanguard fund to simultaneously purchase shares of a different Vanguard fund) through our website at www.vanguard.com if you are a registered user. By telephone. You may call Vanguard to begin the account registration process or request that the account-opening forms be sent to you. You may also request a purchase of shares by wire, by electronic bank transfer, or by an exchange. See Contacting Vanguard. 22 By mail. You may send your account registration form and check to open a new fund account at Vanguard. To add to an existing fund account, you may send your check with an Invest-by-Mail form (from your account statement), with a deposit slip (available online), or with a written request. You may also send a written request to Vanguard to make an exchange. For a list of Vanguard addresses, see Contacting Vanguard. How to Pay for a Purchase By electronic bank transfer. You may purchase shares of a Vanguard fund through an electronic transfer of money held in a designated bank account. To establish the electronic bank transfer option on an account, you must designate a bank account online, complete a special form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form. After the option is set up on your account, you can purchase shares by electronic bank transfer on a regular schedule (Automatic Investment Plan) or from time to time. Your purchase request can be initiated online, by telephone, or by mail. By wire. Wiring instructions vary for different types of purchases. Please call Vanguard for instructions and policies on purchasing shares by wire. See Contacting Vanguard. By check. You may send a check to make initial or additional purchases to your fund account. Also see How to Initiate a Purchase Request: By mail. Make your check payable to Vanguard and include the appropriate fund number (e.g., Vanguard--858). See Contacting Vanguard. By exchange. You may purchase shares of a Vanguard fund using the proceeds from the simultaneous redemption of shares from another Vanguard fund. You may initiate an exchange online (if you are a registered user of Vanguard.com), by telephone, or by mail. See Exchanging Shares. Trade Date The trade date for any purchase request received in good order will depend on the day and time Vanguard receives your request, the manner in which you are paying, and the type of fund you are purchasing. Your purchase will be executed using the NAV as calculated on the trade date. NAVs are calculated only on days the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open for trading (a business day). For purchases by check into all funds other than money market funds, and for purchases by exchange or wire into all funds: If the purchase request is received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the same day. If the purchase request is received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the next business day. For purchases by check into money market funds: If the purchase request is received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE 23 (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the next business day. If the purchase request is received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the second business day following the day Vanguard receives the purchase request. Because money market instruments must be purchased with federal funds and it takes a money market mutual fund one business day to convert check proceeds into federal funds, the trade date will be one business day later than for other funds. For purchases by electronic bank transfer using an Automatic Investment Plan: Your trade date generally will be one business day before the date you designated for withdrawal from your bank account. For purchases by electronic bank transfer not using an Automatic Investment Plan: If the purchase request is received by Vanguard on a business day before 10 p.m., Eastern time, the trade date generally will be the next business day. If the purchase request is received on a business day after 10 p.m., Eastern time, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the second business day following the day Vanguard receives the request. If your purchase request is not accurate and complete, it may be rejected. See Other Rules You Should Know--Good Order. For further information about purchase transactions, consult our website at www.vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard. Earning Dividends You begin earning dividends on the business day following your trade date. When buying money market fund shares through a federal funds wire, however, you can begin earning dividends immediately by making a purchase request by telephone to Vanguard before 10:45 a.m., Eastern time (2 p.m., Eastern time, for Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund). Other Purchase Rules You Should Know Check purchases. All purchase checks must be written in U.S. dollars and must be drawn on a U.S. bank. Vanguard does not accept cash, traveler's checks, or money orders. In addition, Vanguard may refuse "starter checks" and checks that are not made payable to Vanguard. New accounts. We are required by law to obtain from you certain personal information that we will use to verify your identity. If you do not provide the information, we may not be able to open your account. If we are unable to verify your identity, Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to close your account or take such other steps as we deem reasonable. 24 Refused or rejected purchase requests. Vanguard reserves the right to stop selling fund shares or to reject any purchase request at any time and without prior notice, including, but not limited to, purchases requested by exchange from another Vanguard fund. This also includes the right to reject any purchase request because of a history of frequent trading by the investor or because the purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance. Large purchases. Please call Vanguard before attempting to invest a large dollar amount. No cancellations. Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any purchase request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing a purchase request. CONVERTING SHARES When a conversion occurs, you receive shares of one class in place of shares of another class of the same fund. At the time of conversion, the dollar value of the "new" shares you receive equals the dollar value of the "old" shares that were converted. In other words, the conversion has no effect on the value of your investment in the fund at the time of the conversion. However, the number of shares you own after the conversion may be greater than or less than the number of shares you owned before the conversion, depending on the net asset values of the two share classes. A conversion between share classes of the same fund is a nontaxable event. Trade Date The trade date for any conversion request received in good order will depend on the day and time Vanguard receives your request. Your conversion will be executed using the NAVs of the different share classes on the trade date. NAVs are calculated only on days that the NYSE is open for trading (a business day). For a conversion request received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the same day. For a conversion request received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the next business day. See Other Rules You Should Know. Conversions to Institutional Shares You are eligible for a self-directed conversion from another share class to Institutional Shares of the same Fund, provided that your account meets all Institutional Shares' eligibility requirements. Registered users of our website, www.vanguard.com, may request a conversion online, or you may contact Vanguard by telephone or by mail to request this transaction. Accounts that qualify for Institutional Shares will not be automatically converted. 25 Mandatory Conversions to Another Share Class If an account no longer meets the balance requirements for Institutional Shares, Vanguard may automatically convert the shares in the account to another share class, as appropriate. A decline in the account balance because of market movement may result in such a conversion. Vanguard will notify the investor in writing before any mandatory conversion occurs. Redeeming Shares How to Initiate a Redemption Request Be sure to check Exchanging Shares, Frequent-Trading Limits, and Other Rules You Should Know before placing your redemption request. Online. You may redeem shares, request an electronic bank transfer, and make an exchange (the purchase of shares of one Vanguard fund using the proceeds of a simultaneous redemption from another Vanguard fund) through our website at www.vanguard.com if you are a registered user. By telephone. You may call Vanguard to request a redemption of shares by wire, by electronic bank transfer, by check, or by an exchange. See Contacting Vanguard. By mail. You may send a written request to Vanguard to redeem from a fund account or to make an exchange. See Contacting Vanguard. By writing a check. If you've established the checkwriting service on your account, you can redeem shares by writing a check for $250 or more. How to Receive Redemption Proceeds By electronic bank transfer. You may have the proceeds of a fund redemption sent directly to a designated bank account. To establish the electronic bank transfer option on an account, you must designate a bank account online, complete a special form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form. After the option is set up on your account, you can redeem shares by electronic bank transfer on a regular schedule (Automatic Withdrawal Plan) or from time to time. Your redemption request can be initiated online, by telephone, or by mail. By wire. When redeeming from a money market fund or a bond fund, you may instruct Vanguard to wire your redemption proceeds ($1,000 minimum) to a previously designated bank account. Wire redemptions generally are not available for Vanguard's balanced or stock funds. The wire redemption option is not automatic; you must designate a bank account online, complete a special form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form. Vanguard generally charges a $5 fee for wire redemptions under $5,000. 26 By exchange. You may have the proceeds of a Vanguard fund redemption invested directly in shares of another Vanguard fund. You may initiate an exchange online (if you are a registered user of Vanguard.com), by telephone, or by mail. By check. If you have not chosen another redemption method, Vanguard will mail you a redemption check, normally within two business days of your trade date. Trade Date The trade date for any redemption request received in good order will depend on the day and time Vanguard receives your request and the manner in which you are redeeming. Your redemption will be executed using the NAV as calculated on the trade date. NAVs are calculated only on days that the NYSE is open for trading (a business day). For redemptions by check, exchange, or wire: If the redemption request is received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the same day. If the redemption request is received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the next business day. . Note on timing of wire redemptions from money market funds: For telephone requests received by Vanguard on a business day before 10:45 a.m., Eastern time (2 p.m., Eastern time, for Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund), the redemption proceeds generally will leave Vanguard by the close of business the same day. For telephone requests received by Vanguard on a business day after those cut-off times, or on a nonbusiness day, and for all requests other than by telephone, the redemption proceeds generally will leave Vanguard by the close of business on the next business day. . Note on timing of wire redemptions from bond funds: For requests received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the redemption proceeds generally will leave Vanguard by the close of business on the next business day. For requests received by Vanguard on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the redemption proceeds generally will leave Vanguard by the close of business on the second business day after Vanguard receives the request. For redemptions by electronic bank transfer using an Automatic Withdrawal Plan: Your trade date generally will be the date you designated for withdrawal of funds (redemption of shares) from your Vanguard account. Proceeds of redeemed shares generally will be credited to your designated bank account two business days after your trade date. If the date you designated for withdrawal of funds from your Vanguard account falls on a weekend, holiday, or other nonbusiness day, your trade date will be the previous business day. 27 For redemptions by electronic bank transfer not using an Automatic Withdrawal Plan: If the redemption request is received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the same day. If the redemption request is received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the next business day. If your redemption request is not accurate and complete, it may be rejected. See Other Rules You Should Know--Good Order. For further information about redemption transactions, consult our website at www.vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard. Earning Dividends Shares continue earning dividends through your trade date. For money market funds only, if you redeem shares with a same-day wire request before 10:45 a.m., Eastern time (2 p.m., Eastern time for Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund), the shares will stop earning dividends that same day. Other Redemption Rules You Should Know Documentation for certain accounts. Special documentation may be required to redeem from certain types of accounts, such as trust, corporate, nonprofit, or retirement accounts. Please call us before attempting to redeem from these types of accounts. Potentially disruptive redemptions. Vanguard reserves the right to pay all or part of a redemption in kind--that is, in the form of securities--if we reasonably believe that a cash redemption would negatively affect the fund's operation or performance or that the shareholder may be engaged in market-timing or frequent trading. Under these circumstances, Vanguard also reserves the right to delay payment of the redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days. By calling us before you attempt to redeem a large dollar amount, you may avoid in-kind or delayed payment of your redemption. Please see Frequent-Trading Limits for information about Vanguard's policies to limit frequent trading. Recently purchased shares. Although you can redeem shares at any time, proceeds may not be made available to you until the fund collects payment for your purchase. This may take up to ten calendar days for shares purchased by check or by electronic bank transfer. If you have written a check on a fund with checkwriting privileges, that check may be rejected if your fund account does not have a sufficient available balance. Share certificates. If you hold shares in certificates, those shares cannot be redeemed, exchanged, or converted until you return the certificates (unsigned) to Vanguard by registered mail. For the correct address, see Contacting Vanguard. 28 Address change. If you change your address online or by telephone, there may be a 15-day restriction on your ability to make online and telephone redemptions. You can request a redemption in writing at any time. Confirmations of address changes are sent to both the old and new addresses. Payment to a different person or address. At your request, we can make your redemption check payable, or wire your redemption proceeds, to a different person or send it to a different address. However, this requires the written consent of all registered account owners and may require a signature guarantee. You may obtain a signature guarantee from some commercial or savings banks, credit unions, trust companies, or member firms of a U.S. stock exchange. A notary public cannot provide a signature guarantee. No cancellations. Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any redemption request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing a redemption request. Emergency circumstances. Vanguard funds can postpone payment of redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days. In addition, Vanguard funds can suspend redemptions and/or postpone payments of redemption proceeds beyond seven calendar days at times when the NYSE is closed or during emergency circumstances, as determined by the SEC. Exchanging Shares An exchange occurs when you use the proceeds from the redemption of shares of one Vanguard fund to simultaneously purchase shares of a different Vanguard fund. You can make exchange requests online (if you are a registered user of Vanguard.com), by telephone, or by mail. See Purchasing Shares and Redeeming Shares. If the NYSE is open for regular trading (a business day) at the time an exchange request is received in good order, the trade date generally will be the same day. See Other Rules You Should Know--Good Order for additional information on all transaction requests. Please note that Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to revise or terminate the exchange privilege, limit the amount of any exchange, or reject an exchange, at any time, for any reason. Frequent-Trading Limits Because excessive transactions can disrupt management of a fund and increase the fund's costs for all shareholders, Vanguard places certain limits on frequent trading in the Vanguard funds. Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and ETF Shares) limits an investor's purchases or exchanges into a fund 29 account for 60 calendar days after the investor has redeemed or exchanged out of that fund account. For Vanguard Retirement Investment Program pooled plans, the policy applies to exchanges made online or by phone. The frequent-trading policy does not apply to the following: . Purchases of shares with reinvested dividend or capital gains distributions. . Transactions through Vanguard's Automatic Investment Plan, Automatic Exchange Service, Direct Deposit Service, Automatic Withdrawal Plan, Required Minimum Distribution Service, and Vanguard Small Business Online/(R)/. . Redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees. . Transaction requests submitted by mail to Vanguard from shareholders who hold their accounts directly with Vanguard. (Transaction requests submitted by fax are not mail transactions and are subject to the policy.) . Transfers and reregistrations of shares within the same fund. . Purchases of shares by asset transfer or direct rollover. . Conversions of shares from one share class to another in the same fund. . Checkwriting redemptions. . Section 529 college savings plans. . Certain approved institutional portfolios and asset allocation programs, as well as trades made by Vanguard funds that invest in other Vanguard funds. (Please note that shareholders of Vanguard's funds of funds are subject to the policy.) For participants in employer-sponsored defined contribution plans,* the frequent-trading policy does not apply to: . Purchases of shares with participant payroll or employer contributions or loan repayments. . Purchases of shares with reinvested dividend or capital gains distributions. . Distributions, loans, and in-service withdrawals from a plan. . Redemptions of shares as part of a plan termination or at the direction of the plan. . Automated transactions executed during the first six months of a participant's enrollment in the Vanguard Managed Account Program. . Redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees. . Share or asset transfers or rollovers. . Reregistrations of shares. . Conversions of shares from one share class to another in the same fund. 30 . Exchange requests submitted by mail to Vanguard. (Exchange requests submitted by fax are not mail requests and remain subject to the policy.) * The following Vanguard fund accounts are subject to the frequent-trading policy: SEP-IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, certain Section 403(b)(7) accounts, and Vanguard Retirement Plans for which Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company serves as trustee. Accounts Held by Institutions (Other Than Defined Contribution Plans) Vanguard will systematically monitor for frequent trading in institutional clients' accounts. If we detect suspicious trading activity, we will investigate and take appropriate action, which may include applying to a client's accounts the 60-day policy previously described, prohibiting a client's purchases of fund shares, and/or eliminating the client's exchange privilege. Accounts Held by Intermediaries When intermediaries establish accounts in Vanguard funds for the benefit of their clients, we cannot always monitor the trading activity of the individual clients. However, we review trading activity at the omnibus level, and if we detect suspicious activity, we will investigate and take appropriate action. If necessary, Vanguard may prohibit additional purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by an intermediary for the benefit of certain of the intermediary's clients. Intermediaries may also monitor their clients' trading activities with respect to Vanguard funds. For those Vanguard funds that charge purchase or redemption fees, intermediaries will be asked to assess purchase and redemption fees on shareholder and participant accounts and remit these fees to the funds. The application of purchase and redemption fees and frequent-trading policies may vary among intermediaries. There are no assurances that Vanguard will successfully identify all intermediaries or that intermediaries will properly assess purchase and redemption fees or administer frequent-trading policies. If you invest with Vanguard through an intermediary, please read that firm's materials carefully to learn of any other rules or fees that may apply. Other Rules You Should Know Prospectus and Shareholder Report Mailings Vanguard attempts to eliminate the unnecessary expense of duplicate mailings by sending just one prospectus and/or report when two or more shareholders have the same last name and address. You may request individual prospectuses and reports by contacting our Client Services Department in writing, by telephone, or by e-mail. 31 Vanguard.com Registration. If you are a registered user of Vanguard.com, you can use your personal computer to review your account holdings; to buy, sell, or exchange shares of most Vanguard funds; and to perform most other transactions. You must register for this service online. Electronic delivery. Vanguard can deliver your account statements, transaction confirmations, and fund financial reports electronically. If you are a registered user of Vanguard.com, you can consent to the electronic delivery of these documents by logging on and changing your mailing preference under "Account Profile." You can revoke your electronic consent at any time, and we will begin to send paper copies of these documents within 30 days of receiving your notice. Telephone Transactions Automatic. When we set up your account, we'll automatically enable you to do business with us by telephone, unless you instruct us otherwise in writing. Tele-Account/(R)/. To conduct account transactions through Vanguard's automated telephone service, you must first obtain a Personal Identification Number (PIN). Call Tele-Account at 800-662-6273 to obtain a PIN, and allow seven days after requesting the PIN before using this service. Proof of a caller's authority. We reserve the right to refuse a telephone request if the caller is unable to provide the requested information or if we reasonably believe that the caller is not an individual authorized to act on the account. Before we allow a caller to act on an account, we may request the following information: . Authorization to act on the account (as the account owner or by legal documentation or other means). . Account registration and address. . Fund name and account number, if applicable. . Other information relating to the caller, the account holder, or the account. Good Order We reserve the right to reject any transaction instructions that are not in "good order." Good order generally means that your instructions include: . The fund name and account number. . The amount of the transaction (stated in dollars, shares, or percentage). Written instructions also must include: . Signatures of all registered owners. 32 . Signature guarantees, if required for the type of transaction. (Call Vanguard for specific signature-guarantee requirements.) . Any supporting documentation that may be required. The requirements vary among types of accounts and transactions. Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to revise the requirements for good order. Future Trade-Date Requests Vanguard does not accept requests to hold a purchase, conversion, redemption, or exchange transaction for a future date. All such requests will receive trade dates as previously described in Purchasing Shares, Converting Shares, and Redeeming Shares. Vanguard reserves the right to return future-dated purchase checks. Accounts With More Than One Owner If an account has more than one owner or authorized person, Vanguard will accept telephone or online instructions from any one owner or authorized person. Responsibility for Fraud Vanguard will not be responsible for any account losses because of fraud if we reasonably believe that the person transacting business on an account is authorized to do so. Please take precautions to protect yourself from fraud. Keep your account information private, and immediately review any account statements that we provide to you. It is important that you contact Vanguard immediately about any transactions you believe to be unauthorized. Uncashed Checks Please cash your distribution or redemption checks promptly. Vanguard will not pay interest on uncashed checks. Unusual Circumstances If you experience difficulty contacting Vanguard online, by telephone, or by Tele-Account, you can send us your transaction request by regular or express mail. See Contacting Vanguard for addresses. Investing With Vanguard Through Other Firms You may purchase or sell shares of most Vanguard funds through a financial intermediary, such as a bank, broker, or investment advisor. Please consult your financial intermediary to determine which, if any, shares are available through that firm and to learn about other rules that may apply. 33 Low-Balance Accounts The Fund reserves the right to convert an investor's Institutional Shares to another share class, as appropriate, if the fund account balance falls below the minimum initial investment for any reason, including market fluctuation. Any such conversion will be preceded by written notice to the investor. Right to Change Policies In addition to the rights expressly stated elsewhere in this prospectus, Vanguard reserves the right to (1) alter, add, or discontinue any conditions of purchase (including eligibility requirements), redemption, exchange, conversion, service, or privilege at any time without prior notice; (2) accept initial purchases by telephone; (3) freeze any account and/or suspend account services if Vanguard has received reasonable notice of a dispute regarding the assets in an account, including notice of a dispute between the registered or beneficial account owners, or if we reasonably believe a fraudulent transaction may occur or has occurred; (4) temporarily freeze any account and/or suspend account services upon initial notification to Vanguard of the death of the shareholder until Vanguard receives required documentation in good order; (5) alter, impose, discontinue, or waive any redemption fee, account service fee, or other fees charged to a group of shareholders; and (6) redeem an account or suspend account privileges, without the owner's permission to do so, in cases of threatening conduct or suspicious, fraudulent, or illegal activity. Changes may affect any or all investors. These actions will be taken when, at the sole discretion of Vanguard management, we reasonably believe they are deemed to be in the best interest of a fund. Share Classes Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to change the eligibility requirements of its share classes, including the types of clients who are eligible to purchase each share class. Fund and Account Updates Confirmation Statements We will send (or provide online, whichever you prefer) a confirmation of your trade date and the amount of your transaction when you buy, sell, exchange, or convert shares. However, we will not send confirmations reflecting only checkwriting redemptions or the reinvestment of dividend or capital gains distributions. For any month in which you had a checkwriting redemption, a Checkwriting Activity Statement will be sent to you itemizing the checkwriting redemptions for that month. Promptly review each confirmation statement that we provide to you by mail or online. It is important that you contact Vanguard immediately with any questions you may 34 have about any transaction reflected on a confirmation statement, or Vanguard will consider the transaction properly processed. Portfolio Summaries We will send (or provide online, whichever you prefer) quarterly portfolio summaries to help you keep track of your accounts throughout the year. Each summary shows the market value of your account at the close of the statement period, as well as all distributions, purchases, redemptions, exchanges, transfers, and conversions for the current calendar year. Promptly review each summary that we provide to you by mail or online. It is important that you contact Vanguard immediately with any questions you may have about any transaction reflected on the summary, or Vanguard will consider the transaction properly processed. Tax Statements For most taxable accounts, we will send annual tax statements to assist you in preparing your income tax returns. These statements, which are generally mailed in January, will report the previous year's dividend and capital gains distributions, proceeds from the sale of shares, and distributions from IRAs and other retirement plans. Registered users can view these statements online. Average-Cost Review Statements For most taxable accounts, average-cost review statements will accompany annual 1099B tax forms. These tax forms show the average cost of shares that you redeemed during the previous calendar year, using the average-cost single-category method, which is one of the methods established by the IRS. Annual and Semiannual Reports We will send (or provide online, whichever you prefer) financial reports about Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund twice a year, in March and September. These comprehensive reports include overviews of the financial markets and provide the following specific Fund information: . Performance assessments and comparisons with industry benchmarks. . Reports from the advisor. . Financial statements with listings of Fund holdings. Portfolio Holdings We generally post on our website at www.vanguard.com, in the Portfolio section of the Fund's Portfolio & Management page, a detailed list of the securities held by the Fund, as of the most recent calendar-quarter-end. This list is generally updated within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Vanguard may exclude any portion of 35 these portfolio holdings from publication when deemed in the best interest of the Fund. Please consult the Fund's Statement of Additional Information or our website for a description of the policies and procedures that govern disclosure of the Fund's portfolio holdings. CONTACTING VANGUARD
Web Vanguard.com For the most complete source of Vanguard news 24 hours a day, 7 days For fund, account, and service information a week For most account transactions For literature requests ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phone ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard For automated fund and account information Tele-Account/(R)/ For exchange transactions (subject to limitations) 800-662-6273 Toll-free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (ON-BOARD) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investor Information For fund and service information 800-662-7447 (SHIP) For literature requests (Text telephone for Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., people with hearing Eastern time; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time impairment at 800-952-3335) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Client Services For account information 800-662-2739 (CREW) For most account transactions (Text telephone for Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., people with hearing Eastern time; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time impairment at 800-749-7273) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Institutional Division For information and services for large institutional investors 888-809-8102 Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Eastern time ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediary Sales For information and services for financial intermediaries Support including broker-dealers, trust institutions, insurance 800-997-2798 companies, and financial advisors Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Eastern time ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
36 Vanguard Addresses Please be sure to use the correct address, depending on your method of delivery. Use of an incorrect address could delay the processing of your transaction. Regular Mail (Individuals) The Vanguard Group P.O. Box 1110 Valley Forge, PA 19482-1110 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Regular Mail (Institutions) The Vanguard Group P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Registered, Express, or Overnight The Vanguard Group 455 Devon Park Drive Wayne, PA 19087-1815 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fund Number Please use the specific fund number when contacting us: Institutional Shares Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund 858 ------------------------------------------------------------------ CFA/(R)/ is a trademark owned by CFA Institute. Standard & Poor's/(R)/, S&P/(R)/, S&P 500/(R)/, Standard & Poor's 500, and 500 are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., and have been licensed for use by The Vanguard Group, Inc. Vanguard mutual funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Standard & Poor's, and Standard & Poor's makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the funds. 37 GLOSSARY OF INVESTMENT TERMS Average Maturity. The average length of time until bonds held by a fund reach maturity and are repaid. In general, the longer the average maturity, the more a fund's share price fluctuates in response to changes in market interest rates. In calculating average maturity, a fund uses a bond's maturity or, if applicable, an earlier date on which the advisor believes it is likely that a maturity-shortening device (such as a call, put, refunding, prepayment or redemption provision, or an adjustable coupon) will cause the bond to be repaid. Bond. A debt security (IOU) issued by a corporation, government, or government agency in exchange for the money you lend it. In most instances, the issuer agrees to pay back the loan by a specific date and make regular interest payments until that date. Capital Gains Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of gains realized on securities that a fund has sold at a profit, minus any realized losses. Cash Investments. Cash deposits, short-term bank deposits, and money market instruments that include U.S. Treasury bills and notes, bank certificates of deposit (CDs), repurchase agreements, commercial paper, and banker's acceptances. Coupon. The interest rate paid by the issuer of a debt security until its maturity. It is expressed as an annual percentage of the face value of the security. Dividend Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of income from interest or dividends generated by a fund's investments. Expense Ratio. The percentage of a fund's average net assets used to pay its expenses during a fiscal year. The expense ratio includes management expenses--such as advisory fees, account maintenance, reporting, accounting, legal, and other administrative expenses--and any 12b-1 distribution fees. It does not include the transaction costs of buying and selling portfolio securities. Face Value. The amount to be paid at a bond's maturity; also known as the par value or principal. Fixed Income Security. An investment, such as a bond, representing a debt that must be repaid by a specified date, and on which the borrower must pay a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest. Inception Date. The date on which the assets of a fund (or one of its share classes) are first invested in accordance with the fund's investment objective. For funds with a subscription period, the inception date is the day after that period ends. Investment performance is measured from the inception date. Investment-Grade Bond. A debt security whose credit quality is considered by independent bond-rating agencies, or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor, to be sufficient to ensure timely payment of principal and interest under current economic circumstances. Debt securities rated in one of the four 38 highest rating categories are considered "investment-grade." Other debt securities may be considered by the advisor to be investment-grade. Principal. The face value of a debt instrument or the amount of money put into an investment. Securities. Stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other investment vehicles. Total Return. A percentage change, over a specified time period, in a mutual fund's net asset value, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions of dividends and capital gains. Volatility. The fluctuations in value of a mutual fund or other security. The greater a fund's volatility, the wider the fluctuations in its returns. Yield. Income (interest or dividends) earned by an investment, expressed as a percentage of the investment's price. 39 This page intentionally left blank. This page intentionally left blank. [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD (/R/)] Institutional Division P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900 CONNECT WITH VANGUARD/(R)/ > www.vanguard.com For More Information If you would like more information about Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund, the following documents are available free upon request: Annual/Semiannual Reports to Shareholders Additional information about the Fund's investments is available in the Fund's annual and semiannual reports to shareholders. In the annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year. Statement of Additional Information (SAI) The SAI provides more detailed information about the Fund. The current annual and semiannual reports and the SAI are incorporated by reference into (and are thus legally a part of) this prospectus. To receive a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report or the SAI, or to request additional information about the Fund or other Vanguard funds, please visit www.vanguard.com or contact us as follows: If you are an individual investor: The Vanguard Group Investor Information Department P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900 Telephone: 800-662-7447 (SHIP); Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-952-3335 If you are a client of Vanguard's Institutional Division: The Vanguard Group Institutional Investor Information Department P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900 Telephone: 888-809-8102; Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-952-3335 If you are a current Vanguard shareholder and would like information about your account, account transactions, and/or account statements, please call: Client Services Department Telephone: 800-662-2739 (CREW); Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-749-7273 Information Provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) You can review and copy information about the Fund (including the SAI) at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. To find out more about this public service, call the SEC at 202-551-8090. Reports and other information about the Fund are also available in the EDGAR database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov, or you can receive copies of this information, for a fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the Public Reference Section, Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC 20549-0102. Fund's Investment Company Act file number: 811-2368 (C) 2009 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor. I858 052009 [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD/(R)/] VANGUARD HIGH-YIELD CORPORATE FUND PROSPECTUS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- May 29, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTOR SHARES & ADMIRAL/TM/ SHARES This prospectus contains financial data for the Fund through the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fund Profile 1 Investing With Vanguard 23 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More on the Fund 6 Purchasing Shares 23 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Fund and Vanguard 15 Converting Shares 26 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor 16 Redeeming Shares 27 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends, Capital Gains, and 17 Exchanging Shares 32 Taxes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Share Price 18 Frequent-Trading Limits 32 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial Highlights 20 Other Rules You Should Know 34 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fund and Account Updates 38 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contacting Vanguard 40 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Glossary of Investment Terms 42 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Reading This Prospectus Is Important This prospectus explains the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks associated with the Fund. To highlight terms and concepts important to mutual fund investors, we have provided Plain Talk/(R)/ explanations along the way. Reading the prospectus will help you decide whether the Fund is the right investment for you. We suggest that you keep this prospectus for future reference. Share Class Overview The Fund offers two separate classes of shares: Investor Shares and Admiral Shares. Please note that Admiral Shares are not available for: . SIMPLE IRAs and Section 403(b)(7) custodial accounts; . Other retirement plan accounts receiving special administrative services from Vanguard; or . Accounts maintained by financial intermediaries, except in limited circumstances. The Fund's separate share classes have different expenses; as a result, their investment performances will differ. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. FUND PROFILE Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a high level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests mainly in a diversified group of high-yielding, higher-risk corporate bonds--commonly known as "junk bonds"--with medium- and lower-range credit-quality ratings. The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in corporate bonds that are rated below Baa by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's); have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency; or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. The Fund may not invest more than 20% of its assets in any of the following, taken as a whole: bonds with credit ratings lower than B or the equivalent, convertible securities, preferred stocks, and fixed and floating rate loans of medium to lower-range credit quality. The loans that the Fund may invest in will be rated Baa or below by Moody's; have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency; or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. The Fund's high-yield bonds and loans mostly have short- and intermediate-term maturities. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Fund. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market, but with potentially greater volatility. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond or loan issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond or loan to decline. Credit risk should be high for the Fund, because it invests mainly in bonds and loans with medium- and lower-range credit quality ratings. . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond and loan prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests mainly in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. 1 . Liquidity risk, which is the chance that the Fund could experience difficulties in valuing and selling illiquid high-yield bonds or loans. In the event that the Fund needs to sell a portfolio security during periods of infrequent trading of the security, it may not receive full value for the security. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Because of the speculative nature of junk bonds, you should carefully consider the risks associated with this Fund before you purchase shares. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the share classes presented compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART [-40% to 40%] 1999 2.55% 2000 -0.88% 2001 2.90% 2002 1.73% 2003 17.20% 2004 8.52% 2005 2.77% 2006 8.24% 2007 2.04% 2008 -21.29% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 4.65%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 5.98% (quarter ended June 30, 2003), and the lowest return for a quarter was -13.94% (quarter ended December 31, 2008). 2
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund Investor Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes -21.29% -0.62% 1.92% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on Distributions -23.56 -3.16 -1.02 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -13.60 -1.78 -0.03 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Before Taxes -21.19% -0.50% -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High-Yield Bond Index/2/ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) -26.16% -0.80% 2.17 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 From the inception date of the Fund's Admiral Shares on November 12, 2001, through December 31, 2008, the average annual total returns were 2.23% for the Admiral Shares and 2.96% for the Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High-Yield Bond Index. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Note on after-tax returns. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are shown only for the Investor Shares and will differ for each share class in an amount approximately equal to the difference in expense ratios. After-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares will be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder. 3 Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares or Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) Investor Admiral Shares Shares --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee/1/ 1%/2/ 1%/2/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Account Service Fee (for fund account balances below $10,000) $20/year/3/ - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) Investor Admiral Shares Shares --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.28% 0.15% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.04% 0.03% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/4/ 0.32% 0.18% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 A $5 fee applies to wire redemptions under $5,000. 2 The 1% fee applies to shares redeemed within one year of purchase by selling or by exchanging to another fund, or if your shares are redeemed because your Fund account balance falls below the minimum initial investment for any reason, including market fluctuation. The fee is withheld from redemption proceeds and retained by the Fund. Shares held for one year or more are not subject to the 1% fee. 3 If applicable, the account service fee will be collected by redeeming fund shares in the amount of $20. 4 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
4 The following examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares or Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. They illustrate the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years ---------------------------------------------------------- Investor Shares $33 $103 $180 $406 ---------------------------------------------------------- Admiral Shares 18 58 101 230 ---------------------------------------------------------- These examples should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT FUND EXPENSES All mutual funds have operating expenses. These expenses, which are deducted from a fund's gross income, are expressed as a percentage of the net assets of the fund. We expect Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund's expense ratios for the current fiscal year to be as follows: for Investor Shares, 0.32%, or $3.20 per $1,000 of average net assets; for Admiral Shares, 0.18%, or $1.80 per $1,000 of average net assets. The average high-current-yield fund had expenses in 2008 of 1.25%, or $12.50 per $1,000 of average net assets (derived from data provided by Lipper Inc., which reports on the mutual fund industry). Management expenses, which are one part of operating expenses, include investment advisory fees as well as other costs of managing a fund--such as account maintenance, reporting, accounting, legal, and other administrative expenses. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT COSTS OF INVESTING Costs are an important consideration in choosing a mutual fund. That's because you, as a contract owner, pay the costs of operating a fund, plus any transaction costs incurred when the fund buys or sells securities. These costs can erode a substantial portion of the gross income or the capital appreciation a fund achieves. Even seemingly small differences in expenses can, over time, have a dramatic effect on a fund's performance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Assets (all share classes) $7.8 billion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investment Advisor Wellington Management Company, LLP, Boston, Mass., since inception ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Suitable for IRAs Yes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Inception Date December 27, 1978 November 12, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Minimum Initial Investment $3,000 $100,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conversion Features May be converted to Admiral May be converted to Investor Shares if you meet eligibility Shares if you are no longer requirements eligible for Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Newspaper Abbreviation HYCor HYCorAdml ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vanguard Fund Number 29 529 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CUSIP Number 922031208 922031760 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ticker Symbol VWEHX VWEAX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORE ON THE FUND This prospectus describes the primary risks you would face as a Fund shareholder. It is important to keep in mind one of the main axioms of investing: The higher the risk of losing money, the higher the potential reward. The reverse, also, is generally true: The lower the risk, the lower the potential reward. As you consider an investment in any mutual fund, you should take into account your personal tolerance for fluctuations in the securities markets. Look for this FLAG LOGO symbol throughout the prospectus. It is used to mark detailed information about the more significant risks that you would confront as a Fund shareholder. The following sections explain the primary investment strategies and policies that the Fund uses in pursuit of its objective. The Fund's board of trustees, which oversees the Fund's management, may change investment strategies or policies in the interest of shareholders without a shareholder vote, unless those strategies or policies are designated as fundamental. Note that the Fund's investment objective is not fundamental and may be changed without a shareholder vote. However, the Fund's policy of investing at least 80% of its assets in corporate bonds that are rated below 6 Moody's Baa (or have an equivalent rating) may only be changed upon 60 days' notice to shareholders. Market Exposure The Fund invests mainly in a diversified group of high-yielding, higher-risk corporate bonds, commonly known as "junk bonds," which are mostly short- and intermediate-term. The Fund also invests in fixed and floating rate loans of medium- to lower-range credit quality; these loans are mostly short and intermediate term. As a result of this investment strategy, the Fund is subject to certain risks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT HIGH-YIELD BONDS High-yield bonds, or "junk bonds," are issued by companies or other entities whose ability to pay interest and principal on the debt in a timely manner is considered questionable. Such bonds are rated "below investment-grade" by independent rating agencies. Because they are riskier than investment-grade bonds, high-yield bonds typically must pay more interest to attract investors. Some high-yield bonds are issued by smaller, less-seasoned companies, while others are issued as part of a corporate restructuring, such as an acquisition, merger, or leveraged buyout. Some high-yield bonds were once rated as investment-grade but have been downgraded to junk-bond status because of financial difficulties experienced by their issuers. Conversely, an issuer's improving financial condition may result in an upgrading of its junk bonds to investment-grade status. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FLAG LOGO Because of its investment in junk bonds, the Fund is subject to high credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. For more information about credit risk, see "Security Selection." FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests mainly in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. 7 Although bonds are often thought to be less risky than stocks, there have been periods when bond prices have fallen significantly because of rising interest rates. For instance, prices of long-term bonds fell by almost 48% between December 1976 and September 1981. To illustrate the relationship between bond prices and interest rates, the following table shows the effect of a 1% and a 2% change (both up and down) in interest rates on the values of three noncallable bonds of different maturities, each with a face value of $1,000. How Interest Rate Changes Affect the Value of a $1,000 Bond/1/ After a 1% After a 1% After a 2% After a 2% Type of Bond (Maturity) Increase Decrease Increase Decrease ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term (2.5 years) $977 $1,024 $955 $1,048 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermediate-Term (10 years) 926 1,082 858 1,172 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Long-Term (20 years) 884 1,137 786 1,299 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Assuming a 5% coupon. These figures are for illustration only; you should not regard them as an indication of future performance of the bond market as a whole or the Fund in particular. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BONDS AND INTEREST RATES As a rule, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall. The opposite is also true: Bond prices go up when interest rates fall. Why do bond prices and interest rates move in opposite directions? Let's assume that you hold a bond offering a 5% yield. A year later, interest rates are on the rise and bonds of comparable quality and maturity are offered with a 6% yield. With higher-yielding bonds available, you would have trouble selling your 5% bond for the price you paid--you would probably have to lower your asking price. On the other hand, if interest rates were falling and 4% bonds were being offered, you should be able to sell your 5% bond for more than you paid. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes in interest rates can affect bond income as well as bond prices. FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. A fund's income declines when interest rates fall because the fund then must invest in lower-yielding bonds. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. 8 The Fund is subject to prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of loans may prepay the loan principal before its maturity date. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interests rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BOND MATURITIES A bond is issued with a specific maturity date--the date when the issuer must pay back the bond's principal (face value). Bond maturities range from less than 1 year to more than 30 years. Typically, the longer a bond's maturity, the more price risk you, as a bond investor, face as interest rates rise--but also the higher yield you could receive. Longer-term bonds are more suitable for investors willing to take a greater risk of price fluctuations to get higher and more stable interest income. Shorter-term bond investors should be willing to accept lower yields and greater income variability in return for less fluctuation in the value of their investment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Fund may enter into mortgage-dollar-roll transactions, in which the Fund sells mortgage-backed securities to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to purchase similar securities in the future at a predetermined price. These transactions simulate an investment in mortgage-backed securities and have the potential to enhance the Fund's returns and reduce its administrative burdens, compared with holding mortgage-backed securities directly. These transactions may increase the Fund's portfolio turnover rate. Mortgage dollar rolls will be used only if consistent with the Fund's investment objective and risk profile. Security Selection Wellington Management Company, LLP (Wellington Management), advisor to the Fund, seeks to minimize the substantial investment risk posed by junk bonds, primarily through its use of solid credit research and broad diversification among issuers. FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. The Fund is generally managed without regard to tax ramifications. The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in corporate bonds that are rated below Baa by Moody's, or have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency. If unrated, a bond must be, in the advisor's opinion, comparable to those ratings. 9 The Fund may not invest more than 20% of its assets in any of the following, taken as a whole: bonds that are rated less than B or the equivalent, convertible securities, preferred stocks, and (iv) fixed and floating rate loans of medium to lower-range credit quality. The loans that the Fund may invest in will be rated Baa or below by Moody's, or have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency. If unrated, a loan must be, in the advisor's opinion, comparable to those ratings. The Fund's loans may include secondary assignments of fully-collateralized, unsubordinated, fixed or floating-rate loans made by banks or other financial institutions to corporations and other entities in connection with leveraged buy out transactions or other financing transactions. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in government securities and/or bonds that are rated Baa or above by Moody's or have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency. These are commonly referred to as investment-grade securities. The Fund will only invest in bonds and loans that, at the time of initial investment, are rated Caa or higher by Moody's; have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency; or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. In the past, the Fund has not invested in non-cash-flow-producing high-yield bonds, such as zero coupon bonds (which pay interest only at maturity) or payment-in-kind bonds (which pay interest in the form of additional securities). Although it has no present plans to do so, the Fund may invest up to 5% of its assets in such bonds in the future. The Fund may invest in bonds issued by foreign governments and companies, so long as the securities are denominated in U.S. dollars. To the extent that the Fund owns foreign bonds, it is subject to country risk, which is the chance that world events--such as political upheaval, financial troubles, or natural disasters--will adversely affect the value of securities issued by companies in foreign countries. Because the bond's value is designated in dollars rather than in the currency of the issuer's country, the Fund is not exposed to currency risk; rather the issuer assumes the risk, usually to attract U.S. investors. Certain investment restrictions, such as required minimum or maximum investment in a particular type of security, are measured at the time the Fund purchases a security. The market value, credit quality, or other characteristics of the Fund's securities may change after they are purchased, and this may cause the amount of the Fund's assets invested in such securities to exceed the stated maximum restrictions or fall below the stated minimum restrictions. If any of these changes occur, the Fund would not be considered to be in violation of the investment restriction. However, purchases by the Fund during the time it is above or below the stated restriction, during normal market conditions, would be in compliance with applicable restrictions. 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT CREDIT QUALITY A bond's credit-quality rating is an assessment of the issuer's ability to pay interest on the bond and, ultimately, to repay the principal. Credit quality is evaluated by one of the independent bond-rating agencies (for example, Moody's or Standard & Poor's) or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor. The lower the rating, the greater the chance--in the rating agency's or advisor's opinion--that the bond issuer will default, or fail to meet its payment obligations. All things being equal, the lower a bond's credit rating, the higher its yield should be to compensate investors for assuming additional risk. Investment-grade bonds are those rated in one of the four highest ratings categories. A fund may treat an unrated bond as investment-grade if warranted by the advisor's analysis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bonds that are rated below Moody's Baa or have an equivalent rating, such as those held by the Fund, are classified as non-investment-grade. These bonds carry a high degree of risk and are considered speculative by the major rating agencies. Credit quality in the high-yield bond market can change suddenly and unexpectedly, and even recently issued credit ratings may not fully reflect the actual risks posed by a particular high-yield bond. For these reasons, it is the Fund's policy not to rely primarily on ratings issued by established credit-rating agencies, but to utilize these ratings in conjunction with the advisor's own independent and ongoing review of credit quality. Wellington Management selects bonds on a company-by-company basis, emphasizing fundamental research and a long-term investment horizon. The analysis focuses on the nature of a company's business, its strategy, and the quality of its management. Based on this analysis, the advisor looks for companies whose prospects are stable or improving and whose bonds offer an attractive yield. Companies with improving prospects are normally more attractive because they offer better assurance of debt repayment and greater potential for capital appreciation. As of January 31, 2009, the Fund's holdings had the following credit-quality characteristics: Percentage of Fund's Credit Quality Net Assets ------------------------------------------- Aaa/AAA 3.1% ------------------------------------------- Baa/BBB 7.6 ------------------------------------------- Ba/BB 37.9 ------------------------------------------- B 41.7 ------------------------------------------- Below B/Other 9.7 ------------------------------------------- 11 To minimize credit risk, the Fund normally diversifies its holdings among debt of at least 100 separate issuers, representing many industries. As of January 31, 2009, the Fund held debt of 257 corporate issuers. This diversification should lessen the negative impact to the Fund of a particular issuer's failure to pay either principal or interest. FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to liquidity risk, which is the chance that the Fund could experience difficulties in valuing and selling illiquid high-yield bonds or loans. In the event that the Fund needs to sell a portfolio security during periods of infrequent trading of the security, it may not receive full value for the security. FLAG LOGO The Fund may invest in derivatives. In general, derivatives may involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of the underlying securities, assets, or market indexes. Generally speaking, a derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a stock, bond, or currency), a physical asset (such as gold), or a market index (such as the S&P 500 Index). The Fund may invest in derivatives only if the expected risks and rewards of the derivatives are consistent with the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks of the Fund as disclosed in this prospectus. The advisor will not use derivatives to change the risk exposure of the Fund. In particular, derivatives will be used only where they may help the advisor: . Invest in eligible asset classes with greater efficiency and lower cost than is possible through direct investment; . Add value when these instruments are attractively priced; or . Adjust sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The Fund's derivative investments may include fixed income futures contracts, fixed income options, interest rate swaps, total return swaps, credit default swaps, or other derivatives. Losses (or gains) involving futures contracts can sometimes be substantial--in part because a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in an immediate and substantial loss (or gain) for a fund. Similar risks exist for other types of derivatives. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT DERIVATIVES Derivatives can take many forms. Some forms of derivatives, such as exchange-traded futures and options on securities, commodities, or indexes, have been trading on regulated exchanges for decades. These types of derivatives are standardized contracts that can easily be bought and sold, and whose market values are determined and published daily. Nonstandardized derivatives (such as swap agreements), on the other hand, tend to be more specialized or complex, and may be harder to value. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Cash Management The Fund's daily cash balance may be invested in one or more Vanguard CMT Funds, which are very low-cost money market funds. When investing in a Vanguard CMT Fund, the Fund bears its proportionate share of the at-cost expenses of the CMT Fund in which it invests. Temporary Investment Measures The Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies when doing so is believed to be in the Fund's best interest, so long as the alternative is consistent with the Fund's investment objective. For instance, the Fund may invest beyond the normal limits in derivatives or ETFs that are consistent with the Fund's objective when those instruments are more favorably priced or provide needed liquidity, as might be the case when the Fund is transitioning assets from one advisor to another or receives large cash flows that it cannot prudently invest immediately. In addition, the Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its normal investment policies and strategies--for instance, by allocating substantial assets to cash investments, commercial paper, U.S. Treasury securities, or other less volatile instruments--in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. Such conditions could include a temporary decline in the availability of corporate bonds rated below Baa by Moody's or bonds that have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency. In doing so, the Fund may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective. Redemption and Account Service Fees The Fund charges a 1% fee on shares redeemed before they have been held for one year. The fee applies if you redeem shares by selling or by exchanging to another Vanguard fund, or if Vanguard liquidates your Fund account because the balance falls below the minimum initial investment for any reason, including market fluctuation. Shares you have held the longest will be redeemed first. Unlike a sales charge or a load paid to a broker or a fund management company, the redemption fee is paid directly to the Fund to offset the costs of buying and selling securities. The redemption fee is designed to ensure that short-term investors pay their share of the Fund's transaction costs and that long-term investors do not subsidize the activities of short-term traders. An account service fee of $20 per year applies to certain fund accounts whose balances are less than $10,000. See the FUND PROFILE and INVESTING WITH VANGUARD for more information about fees. 13 Frequent Trading or Market-Timing Background. Some investors try to profit from strategies involving frequent trading of mutual fund shares, such as market-timing. For funds holding foreign securities, investors may try to take advantage of an anticipated difference between the price of the fund's shares and price movements in overseas markets, a practice also known as time-zone arbitrage. Investors also may try to engage in frequent trading of funds holding investments such as small-cap stocks and high-yield bonds. As money is shifted into and out of a fund by a shareholder engaging in frequent trading, a fund incurs costs for buying and selling securities, resulting in increased brokerage and administrative costs. These costs are borne by all fund shareholders, including the long-term investors who do not generate the costs. In addition, frequent trading may interfere with an advisor's ability to efficiently manage the fund. Policies to Address Frequent Trading. The Vanguard funds (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and Vanguard ETF(TM) Shares) do not knowingly accommodate frequent trading. The board of trustees of each Vanguard fund has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to detect and discourage frequent trading and, in some cases, to compensate the fund for the costs associated with it. Although there is no assurance that Vanguard will be able to detect or prevent frequent trading or market-timing in all circumstances, the following policies have been adopted to address these issues: . Each Vanguard fund reserves the right to reject any purchase request--including exchanges from other Vanguard funds--without notice and regardless of size. For example, a purchase request could be rejected if Vanguard determines that such purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance or because of a history of frequent trading by the investor. . Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and ETF Shares) generally prohibits, except as otherwise noted in the Investing With Vanguard section, an investor's purchases or exchanges into a fund account for 60 calendar days after the investor has redeemed or exchanged out of that fund account. . Certain Vanguard funds charge shareholders purchase and/or redemption fees on transactions. See the Investing With Vanguard section of this prospectus for further details on Vanguard's transaction policies. Each fund (other than money market funds), in determining its net asset value, will, when appropriate, use fair-value pricing, as described in the Share Price section. Fair-value pricing may reduce or eliminate the profitability of certain frequent-trading strategies. Do not invest with Vanguard if you are a market-timer. 14 Turnover Rate Although the Fund normally seeks to invest for the long term, it may sell securities regardless of how long they have been held. The Financial Highlights section of this prospectus shows historical turnover rates for the Fund. A turnover rate of 100%, for example, would mean that the Fund had sold and replaced securities valued at 100% of its net assets within a one-year period. The average turnover rate for high-yield corporate funds was approximately 67%, as reported by Morningstar, Inc., on January 31, 2009. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT TURNOVER RATE Before investing in a mutual fund, you should review its turnover rate. This gives an indication of how transaction costs, which are not included in the fund's expense ratio, could affect the fund's future returns. In general, the greater the volume of buying and selling by the fund, the greater the impact that dealer markups and other transaction costs will have on its return. Also, funds with high turnover rates may be more likely to generate capital gains that must be distributed to shareholders as taxable income. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE FUND AND VANGUARD The Fund is a member of The Vanguard Group, a family of 37 investment companies with more than 150 funds holding assets of approximately $1 trillion. All of the funds that are members of The Vanguard Group share in the expenses associated with administrative services and business operations, such as personnel, office space, equipment, and advertising. Vanguard also provides marketing services to the funds. Although shareholders do not pay sales commissions or 12b-1 distribution fees, each fund (or in the case of a fund with multiple share classes, each share class of the fund) pays its allocated share of The Vanguard Group's marketing costs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT VANGUARD'S UNIQUE CORPORATE STRUCTURE The Vanguard Group is truly a mutual mutual fund company. It is owned jointly by the funds it oversees and thus indirectly by the shareholders in those funds. Most other mutual funds are operated by management companies that may be owned by one person, by a private group of individuals, or by public investors who own the management company's stock. The management fees charged by these companies include a profit component over and above the companies' cost of providing services. By contrast, Vanguard provides services to its member funds on an at-cost basis, with no profit component, which helps to keep the funds' expenses low. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 INVESTMENT ADVISOR Wellington Management Company, LLP (Wellington Management), 75 State Street, Boston, MA 02109, is a Massachusetts limited liability partnership and a professional investment counseling firm that provides investment services to investment companies, employee benefit plans, endowments, foundations, and other institutions. Wellington Management and its predecessor organizations have provided investment advisory services for over 70 years. As of January 31, 2009, Wellington Management managed approximately $420 billion in assets. The firm's advisory fee is paid quarterly and is based on certain annual percentage rates applied to the Fund's average daily net assets for each quarter. For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009, the advisory fee represented an effective annual rate of 0.04% of the Fund's average net assets. Under the terms of an SEC exemption, the Fund's board of trustees may, without prior approval from shareholders, change the terms of an advisory agreement or hire a new investment advisor--either as a replacement for an existing advisor or as an additional advisor. Any significant change in the Fund's advisory arrangements will be communicated to shareholders in writing. In addition, as the Fund's sponsor and overall manager, The Vanguard Group may provide investment advisory services to the Fund, on an at-cost basis, at any time. Vanguard may also recommend to the board of trustees that an advisor be hired, terminated, or replaced, or that the terms of an existing advisory agreement be revised. For a discussion of why the board of trustees approved the Fund's investment advisory agreement, see the most recent semiannual report to shareholders covering the fiscal period ended July 31. The manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund is: MICHAEL L. HONG, CFA, Vice President, and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager of Wellington Management. He has worked in investment management with Wellington Management since 1997 and has managed the Fund since February 2008. Education: A.B. Harvard College. The Statement of Additional Information provides information about the portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts under management, and ownership of shares of the Fund 16 DIVIDENDS, CAPITAL GAINS, AND TAXES Fund Distributions The Fund distributes to shareholders virtually all of its net income (interest less expenses) as well as any net capital gains realized from the sale of its holdings. The Fund's income dividends accrue daily and are distributed on the first business day of every month; capital gains distributions generally occur annually in December. In addition, the Fund may occasionally make supplemental distributions at some other time during the year. You can receive distributions of income or capital gains in cash, or you can have them automatically reinvested in more shares of the Fund. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT DISTRIBUTIONS As a shareholder, you are entitled to your portion of a fund's income from interest as well as capital gains from the fund's sale of investments. Income consists of interest the fund earns from its money market and bond investments. Capital gains are realized whenever the fund sells securities for higher prices than it paid for them. These capital gains are either short-term or long-term, depending on whether the fund held the securities for one year or less or for more than one year. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic Tax Points Vanguard will send you a statement each year showing the tax status of all your distributions. In addition, investors in taxable accounts should be aware of the following basic federal income tax points: . Distributions are taxable to you whether or not you reinvest these amounts in additional Fund shares. . Distributions declared in December--if paid to you by the end of January--are taxable as if received in December. . Any dividend and short-term capital gains distributions that you receive are taxable to you as ordinary income. . Any distributions of net long-term capital gains are taxable to you as long-term capital gains, no matter how long you've owned shares in the Fund. . Capital gains distributions may vary considerably from year to year as a result of the Fund's normal investment activities and cash flows. . A sale or exchange of Fund shares is a taxable event. This means that you may have a capital gain to report as income, or a capital loss to report as a deduction, when you complete your tax return. . Any conversion between classes of shares of the same fund is a nontaxable event. By contrast, an exchange between classes of shares of different funds is a taxable event. 17 Dividend and capital gains distributions that you receive, as well as your gains or losses from any sale or exchange of Fund shares, may be subject to state and local income taxes. Depending on your state's rules, however, any dividends attributable to interest earned on direct obligations of the U.S. government may be exempt from state and local taxes. Vanguard will notify you each year how much, if any, of your dividends may qualify for this exemption. General Information Backup withholding. By law, Vanguard must withhold 28% of any taxable distributions or redemptions from your account if you do not: . Provide us with your correct taxpayer identification number; . Certify that the taxpayer identification number is correct; and . Confirm that you are not subject to backup withholding. Similarly, Vanguard must withhold taxes from your account if the IRS instructs us to do so. Foreign investors. Vanguard funds generally are not sold outside the United States, except to certain qualified investors. If you reside outside the United States, please consult our website at www.vanguard.com and review "Non-U.S. investors." Foreign investors should be aware that U.S. withholding and estate taxes may apply to any investments in Vanguard funds. Invalid addresses. If a dividend or capital gains distribution check mailed to your address of record is returned as undeliverable, Vanguard will automatically reinvest all future distributions until you provide us with a valid mailing address. Tax consequences. This prospectus provides general tax information only. If you are investing through a tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA, special tax rules apply. Please consult your tax advisor for detailed information about a fund's tax consequences for you. SHARE PRICE Share price, also known as net asset value (NAV), is calculated each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, generally 4 p.m., Eastern time. Each share class has its own NAV, which is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, allocated to each share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. On holidays or other days when the Exchange is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Fund does not transact purchase or redemption requests. 18 Debt securities held by a Vanguard fund are valued based on information furnished by an independent pricing service or market quotations. Certain short-term debt instruments used to manage a fund's cash are valued on the basis of amortized cost. The values of any mutual fund shares held by a fund are based on the NAVs of the shares. The values of any ETF or closed-end fund shares held by a fund are based on the market value of the shares. When a fund determines that pricing-service information or market quotations either are not readily available or do not accurately reflect the value of a security, the security is priced at its fair value (the amount that the owner might reasonably expect to receive upon the current sale of the security). A fund also may use fair-value pricing on bond market holidays when the fund is open for business (such as Columbus Day and Veterans Day). Fair-value prices are determined by Vanguard according to procedures adopted by the board of trustees. When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by a fund to calculate the NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Vanguard fund share prices can be found daily in the mutual fund listings of most major newspapers under various "Vanguard" headings. 19 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The following financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the Fund's financial performance for the periods shown, and certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in each table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost each period on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all distributions). This information has been derived from the financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report--along with the Fund's financial statements--is included in the Fund's most recent annual report to shareholders. You may obtain a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report online at www.vanguard.com or by contacting Vanguard by telephone or mail. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT HOW TO READ THE FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS TABLES This explanation uses the Fund's Investor Shares as an example. The Investor Shares began fiscal year 2009 with a net asset value (price) of $5.82 per share. During the year, each Investor Share earned $0.43 from investment income (interest). There was a decline of $1.34 per share in the value of investments held or sold by the Fund, resulting in a net decline of $0.91 per share from investment operations. Shareholders received $0.43 per share in the form of dividend distributions. A portion of each year's distributions may come from the prior year's income or capital gains. The share price at the end of the year was $4.48, reflecting losses of $0.91 per share and distributions of $0.43 per share. This was a decrease of $1.34 per share (from $5.82 at the beginning of the year to $4.48 at the end of the year). For a shareholder who reinvested the distributions in the purchase of more shares, the total return was -16.19% for the year. As of January 31, 2009, the Investor Shares had approximately $3.9 billion in net assets. For the year, the expense ratio was 0.27% ($2.70 per $1,000 of net assets), and the net investment income amounted to 8.33% of average net assets. The Fund sold and replaced securities valued at 21% of its net assets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20
HIGH-YIELD CORPORATE FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $5.82 $6.22 $6.19 $6.39 $6.40 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .430 .446 .438 .437 .460 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (1.340) (.400) .030 (.200) (.010) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.910) .046 .468 .237 .450 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISTRIBUTIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.430) (.446) (.438) (.437) (.460) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains -- -- -- -- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.430) (.446) (.438) (.437) (.460) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $4.48 $5.82 $6.22 $6.19 $6.39 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL RETURN/1/ -16.19% 0.70% 7.89% 3.89% 7.34% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $3,944 $4,602 $5,146 $5,214 $7,246 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to Average Net Assets 0.27% 0.25% 0.26% 0.25% 0.22% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets 8.33% 7.34% 7.13% 7.01% 7.26% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 21% 26% 47% 44% 51% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Total returns do not reflect the 1% fee assessed on redemptions of shares held for less than one year, nor do they include the account service fee that may be applicable to certain accounts with balances below $10,000.
21
HIGH-YIELD CORPORATE FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, -------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $5.82 $6.22 $6.19 $6.39 $6.40 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .437 .454 .446 .445 .466 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (1.340) (.400) .030 (.200) (.010) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.903) .054 .476 .245 .456 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISTRIBUTIONS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.437) (.454) (.446) (.445) (.466) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains -- -- -- -- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.437) (.454) (.446) (.445) (.466) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $4.48 $5.82 $6.22 $6.19 $6.39 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL RETURN/1/ -16.09% 0.83% 8.03% 4.04% 7.44% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $3,885 $4,287 $4,320 $3,856 $2,225 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to Average Net Assets 0.15% 0.13% 0.13% 0.12% 0.12% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets 8.45% 7.46% 7.26% 7.14% 7.36% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 21% 26% 47% 44% 51% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Total returns do not reflect the 1% fee assessed on redemptions of shares held for less than one year.
22 INVESTING WITH VANGUARD This section of the prospectus explains the basics of doing business with Vanguard. Be sure to carefully read each topic that pertains to your relationship with Vanguard. Vanguard reserves the right to change the following policies, without prior notice to shareholders. Please call or check online for current information. Each fund you hold in an account is a separate "fund account." For example, if you hold three funds in a nonretirement account titled in your own name, two funds in a nonretirement account titled jointly with your spouse, and one fund in an individual retirement account, you have six fund accounts--and this is true even if you hold the same fund in multiple accounts. PURCHASING SHARES Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to increase or decrease the minimum amount required to open, convert shares to, or maintain a fund account, or to add to an existing fund account. Investment minimums may differ for certain categories of investors. Account Minimums for Investor Shares To open and maintain an account. $3,000. Add to an existing account. By Automatic Investment Plan; $100 by check, exchange, wire, or electronic bank transfer (other than Automatic Investment Plan). Account Minimums for Admiral Shares To open and maintain an account. $100,000 for new investors. Shareholders who are registered on Vanguard.com, have held shares of the Fund for ten years, and have $50,000 or more in the same Fund account are eligible to convert their Investor Shares to Admiral Shares. See Converting Shares. Institutional clients should contact Vanguard for information on special rules that may apply to them. Add to an existing account. By Automatic Investment Plan; $100 by check, exchange, wire, or electronic bank transfer (other than Automatic Investment Plan). How to Initiate a Purchase Request Be sure to check Exchanging Shares, Frequent-Trading Limits, and Other Rules You Should Know before placing your purchase request. Online. You may open certain types of accounts, request an electronic bank transfer, and make an exchange (using the proceeds from the redemption of shares from one Vanguard fund to simultaneously purchase shares of a different Vanguard fund) through our website at www.vanguard.com if you are a registered user. 23 By telephone. You may call Vanguard to begin the account registration process or request that the account-opening forms be sent to you. You may also request a purchase of shares by wire, by electronic bank transfer, or by an exchange. See Contacting Vanguard. By mail. You may send your account registration form and check to open a new fund account at Vanguard. To add to an existing fund account, you may send your check with an Invest-by-Mail form (from your account statement), with a deposit slip (available online), or with a written request. You may also send a written request to Vanguard to make an exchange. For a list of Vanguard addresses, see Contacting Vanguard. How to Pay for a Purchase By electronic bank transfer. You may purchase shares of a Vanguard fund through an electronic transfer of money held in a designated bank account. To establish the electronic bank transfer option on an account, you must designate a bank account online, complete a special form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form. After the option is set up on your account, you can purchase shares by electronic bank transfer on a regular schedule (Automatic Investment Plan) or from time to time. Your purchase request can be initiated online, by telephone, or by mail. By wire. Wiring instructions vary for different types of purchases. Please call Vanguard for instructions and policies on purchasing shares by wire. See Contacting Vanguard. By check. You may send a check to make initial or additional purchases to your fund account. Also see How to Initiate a Purchase Request: By mail. Make your check payable to Vanguard and include the appropriate fund number (e.g., Vanguard--xx). For a list of Fund numbers (for share classes in this prospectus), see Contacting Vanguard. By exchange. You may purchase shares of a Vanguard fund using the proceeds from the simultaneous redemption of shares from another Vanguard fund. You may initiate an exchange online (if you are a registered user of Vanguard.com), by telephone, or by mail. See Exchanging Shares. Trade Date The trade date for any purchase request received in good order will depend on the day and time Vanguard receives your request, the manner in which you are paying, and the type of fund you are purchasing. Your purchase will be executed using the NAV as calculated on the trade date. NAVs are calculated only on days the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open for trading (a business day). For purchases by check into all funds other than money market funds, and for purchases by exchange or wire into all funds: If the purchase request is received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the same day. If the purchase request is 24 received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the next business day. For purchases by check into money market funds: If the purchase request is received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the next business day. If the purchase request is received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the second business day following the day Vanguard receives the purchase request. Because money market instruments must be purchased with federal funds and it takes a money market mutual fund one business day to convert check proceeds into federal funds, the trade date will be one business day later than for other funds. For purchases by electronic bank transfer using an Automatic Investment Plan: Your trade date generally will be one business day before the date you designated for withdrawal from your bank account. For purchases by electronic bank transfer not using an Automatic Investment Plan: If the purchase request is received by Vanguard on a business day before 10 p.m., Eastern time, the trade date generally will be the next business day. If the purchase request is received on a business day after 10 p.m., Eastern time, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the second business day following the day Vanguard receives the request. If your purchase request is not accurate and complete, it may be rejected. See Other Rules You Should Know--Good Order. For further information about purchase transactions, consult our website at www.vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard. Earning Dividends You begin earning dividends on the business day following your trade date. When buying money market fund shares through a federal funds wire, however, you can begin earning dividends immediately by making a purchase request by telephone to Vanguard before 10:45 a.m., Eastern time (2 p.m., Eastern time, for Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund). Other Purchase Rules You Should Know Admiral Shares. Please note that Admiral Shares are not available for: . SIMPLE IRAs and Section 403(b)(7) custodial accounts; . Other retirement plan accounts receiving special administrative services from Vanguard; or . Accounts maintained by financial intermediaries, except in limited circumstances. 25 Check purchases. All purchase checks must be written in U.S. dollars and must be drawn on a U.S. bank. Vanguard does not accept cash, traveler's checks, or money orders. In addition, Vanguard may refuse "starter checks" and checks that are not made payable to Vanguard. New accounts. We are required by law to obtain from you certain personal information that we will use to verify your identity. If you do not provide the information, we may not be able to open your account. If we are unable to verify your identity, Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to close your account or take such other steps as we deem reasonable. Refused or rejected purchase requests. Vanguard reserves the right to stop selling fund shares or to reject any purchase request at any time and without prior notice, including, but not limited to, purchases requested by exchange from another Vanguard fund. This also includes the right to reject any purchase request because of a history of frequent trading by the investor or because the purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance. Large purchases. Please call Vanguard before attempting to invest a large dollar amount. No cancellations. Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any purchase request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing a purchase request. CONVERTING SHARES When a conversion occurs, you receive shares of one class in place of shares of another class of the same fund. At the time of conversion, the dollar value of the "new" shares you receive equals the dollar value of the "old" shares that were converted. In other words, the conversion has no effect on the value of your investment in the fund at the time of the conversion. However, the number of shares you own after the conversion may be greater than or less than the number of shares you owned before the conversion, depending on the net asset values of the two share classes. A conversion between share classes of the same fund is a nontaxable event. Trade Date The trade date for any conversion request received in good order will depend on the day and time Vanguard receives your request. Your conversion will be executed using the NAVs of the different share classes on the trade date. NAVs are calculated only on days that the NYSE is open for trading (a business day). 26 For a conversion request received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the same day. For a conversion request received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the next business day. See Other Rules You Should Know. Conversions From Investor Shares to Admiral Shares Self-directed conversions. If your account balance in the Fund is at least $100,000, you may ask Vanguard to convert your Investor Shares to Admiral Shares. You can make conversion requests online (if you are a registered user of Vanguard.com), by telephone, or by mail. See Contacting Vanguard. Automatic conversions. Vanguard conducts periodic reviews of account balances and may, if your account balance in the Fund exceeds $100,000, automatically convert your Investor Shares to Admiral Shares. You will be notified before an automatic conversion occurs and will have an opportunity to instruct Vanguard not to effect the conversion. Tenure conversions. You are eligible for a tenure conversion from Investor Shares to Admiral Shares if you have had an account in the Fund for ten years, that account balance is at least $50,000, and you are registered with Vanguard.com. You may request a tenure conversion online, by telephone, or by mail. Mandatory Conversions to Investor Shares If an account no longer meets the balance requirements for Admiral Shares, Vanguard may automatically convert the shares in the account to Investor Shares. A decline in the account balance because of market movement may result in such a conversion. Vanguard will notify the investor in writing before any mandatory conversion occurs. REDEEMING SHARES How to Initiate a Redemption Request Be sure to check Exchanging Shares, Frequent-Trading Limits, and Other Rules You Should Know before placing your redemption request. Online. You may redeem shares, request an electronic bank transfer, and make an exchange (the purchase of shares of one Vanguard fund using the proceeds of a simultaneous redemption from another Vanguard fund) through our website at www.vanguard.com if you are a registered user. 27 By telephone. You may call Vanguard to request a redemption of shares by wire, by electronic bank transfer, by check, or by an exchange. See Contacting Vanguard. By mail. You may send a written request to Vanguard to redeem from a fund account or to make an exchange. See Contacting Vanguard. How to Receive Redemption Proceeds By electronic bank transfer. You may have the proceeds of a fund redemption sent directly to a designated bank account. To establish the electronic bank transfer option on an account, you must designate a bank account online, complete a special form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form. After the option is set up on your account, you can redeem shares by electronic bank transfer on a regular schedule (Automatic Withdrawal Plan) or from time to time. Your redemption request can be initiated online, by telephone, or by mail. By wire. When redeeming from a money market fund or a bond fund, you may instruct Vanguard to wire your redemption proceeds ($1,000 minimum) to a previously designated bank account. Wire redemptions generally are not available for Vanguard's balanced or stock funds. The wire redemption option is not automatic; you must designate a bank account online, complete a special form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form. Vanguard generally charges a $5 fee for wire redemptions under $5,000. By exchange. You may have the proceeds of a Vanguard fund redemption invested directly in shares of another Vanguard fund. You may initiate an exchange online (if you are a registered user of Vanguard.com), by telephone, or by mail. By check. If you have not chosen another redemption method, Vanguard will mail you a redemption check, normally within two business days of your trade date. Trade Date The trade date for any redemption request received in good order will depend on the day and time Vanguard receives your request and the manner in which you are redeeming. Your redemption will be executed using the NAV as calculated on the trade date. NAVs are calculated only on days that the NYSE is open for trading (a business day). For redemptions by check, exchange, or wire: If the redemption request is received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the same day. If the redemption request is received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the next business day. 28 . Note on timing of wire redemptions from money market funds: For telephone requests received by Vanguard on a business day before 10:45 a.m., Eastern time (2 p.m., Eastern time, for Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund), the redemption proceeds generally will leave Vanguard by the close of business the same day. For telephone requests received by Vanguard on a business day after those cut-off times, or on a nonbusiness day, and for all requests other than by telephone, the redemption proceeds generally will leave Vanguard by the close of business on the next business day. . Note on timing of wire redemptions from bond funds: For requests received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the redemption proceeds generally will leave Vanguard by the close of business on the next business day. For requests received by Vanguard on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the redemption proceeds generally will leave Vanguard by the close of business on the second business day after Vanguard receives the request. For redemptions by electronic bank transfer using an Automatic Withdrawal Plan: Your trade date generally will be the date you designated for withdrawal of funds (redemption of shares) from your Vanguard account. Proceeds of redeemed shares generally will be credited to your designated bank account two business days after your trade date. If the date you designated for withdrawal of funds from your Vanguard account falls on a weekend, holiday, or other nonbusiness day, your trade date will be the previous business day. For redemptions by electronic bank transfer not using an Automatic Withdrawal Plan: If the redemption request is received by Vanguard on a business day before the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), the trade date will be the same day. If the redemption request is received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the next business day. If your redemption request is not accurate and complete, it may be rejected. See Other Rules You Should Know--Good Order. For further information about redemption transactions, consult our website at www.vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard. Earning Dividends Shares continue earning dividends through your trade date. 29 Redemption Fee The Fund charges a 1% fee on shares redeemed before they have been held for one year. The fee applies if you redeem shares by selling or by exchanging to another Vanguard fund, or if Vanguard liquidates your Fund account because the balance falls below the minimum initial investment for any reason, including market fluctuation. The fee is withheld from redemption proceeds and is paid directly to the Fund. Shares held for one year or more are not subject to the 1% fee. In an effort to reduce or eliminate the redemption fees you pay, if you redeem less than your full investment in the Fund, we will first redeem those shares not subject to the fee, followed by those shares you have held the longest. Redemption fees will not apply to Vanguard fund account redemptions in the following circumstances: (1) redemptions of shares purchased with reinvested dividend and capital gains distributions; redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees; redemptions of shares to revoke an IRA within the period of time set forth in the Vanguard Traditional and Roth IRA Disclosure Document or to remove excess shareholder contributions to an IRA; and redemptions from Section 529 college savings plans; (2) share transfers, rollovers, or reregistrations within the same fund; (3) conversions of shares from one share class to another in the same fund; and (4) for a one-year period, shares rolled over to an IRA held at Vanguard from a retirement plan for which Vanguard serves as recordkeeper.* In addition, redemption fees will not apply to (1) distributions by shareholders age 701/2 or older from traditional IRAs, rollover IRAs, SEP-IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, certain Individual Section 403(b)(7) Custodial Accounts, and Vanguard Retirement Plans and Vanguard Individual 401(k) Plans for which Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company serves as trustee; and (2) distributions by beneficiaries from inherited IRAs, certain Individual Section 403(b)(7) Custodial Accounts, and Vanguard Retirement Plans and Vanguard Individual 401(k) Plans for which Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company serves as trustee. Also, participants in employer-sponsored defined contribution plans* will not incur redemption fees for the following: exchanges of shares purchased with participant payroll or employer contributions; distributions, loans, and in-service withdrawals from a plan, redemptions or transfers of shares as part of a plan termination or at the direction of the plan; and direct rollovers into IRAs. Participants will incur redemption fees if, after making an exchange, transfer, or rollover into a fund with a redemption fee, the participant makes a subsequent exchange out of that fund within the redemption-fee period. If Vanguard does not serve as recordkeeper for your plan, redemption fees may be applied differently. Please read your recordkeeper's plan materials carefully to learn of any other rules or fees that may apply. Also see Frequent-Trading Limits--Accounts Held by Intermediaries for information about the assessment of redemption fees by intermediaries. 30 * The following Vanguard fund accounts will be subject to redemption fees: SEP-IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, certain Section 403(b)(7) accounts, Vanguard Retirement Investment Program pooled plans, and Vanguard Retirement Plans for which Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company serves as trustee. Other Redemption Rules You Should Know Documentation for certain accounts. Special documentation may be required to redeem from certain types of accounts, such as trust, corporate, nonprofit, or retirement accounts. Please call us before attempting to redeem from these types of accounts. Potentially disruptive redemptions. Vanguard reserves the right to pay all or part of a redemption in kind--that is, in the form of securities--if we reasonably believe that a cash redemption would negatively affect the fund's operation or performance or that the shareholder may be engaged in market-timing or frequent trading. Under these circumstances, Vanguard also reserves the right to delay payment of the redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days. By calling us before you attempt to redeem a large dollar amount, you may avoid in-kind or delayed payment of your redemption. Please see Frequent-Trading Limits for information about Vanguard's policies to limit frequent trading. Recently purchased shares. Although you can redeem shares at any time, proceeds may not be made available to you until the fund collects payment for your purchase. This may take up to ten calendar days for shares purchased by check or by electronic bank transfer. If you have written a check on a fund with checkwriting privileges, that check may be rejected if your fund account does not have a sufficient available balance. Share certificates. If you hold shares in certificates, those shares cannot be redeemed, exchanged, or converted until you return the certificates (unsigned) to Vanguard by registered mail. For the correct address, see Contacting Vanguard. Address change. If you change your address online or by telephone, there may be a 15-day restriction on your ability to make online and telephone redemptions. You can request a redemption in writing at any time. Confirmations of address changes are sent to both the old and new addresses. Payment to a different person or address. At your request, we can make your redemption check payable, or wire your redemption proceeds, to a different person or send it to a different address. However, this requires the written consent of all registered account owners and may require a signature guarantee. You may obtain a signature guarantee from some commercial or savings banks, credit unions, trust companies, or member firms of a U.S. stock exchange. A notary public cannot provide a signature guarantee. 31 No cancellations. Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any redemption request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing a redemption request. Emergency circumstances. Vanguard funds can postpone payment of redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days. In addition, Vanguard funds can suspend redemptions and/or postpone payments of redemption proceeds beyond seven calendar days at times when the NYSE is closed or during emergency circumstances, as determined by the SEC. EXCHANGING SHARES An exchange occurs when you use the proceeds from the redemption of shares of one Vanguard fund to simultaneously purchase shares of a different Vanguard fund. You can make exchange requests online (if you are a registered user of Vanguard.com), by telephone, or by mail. See Purchasing Shares and Redeeming Shares. If the NYSE is open for regular trading (a business day) at the time an exchange request is received in good order, the trade date generally will be the same day. See Other Rules You Should Know--Good Order for additional information on all transaction requests. Please note that Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to revise or terminate the exchange privilege, limit the amount of any exchange, or reject an exchange, at any time, for any reason. FREQUENT-TRADING LIMITS Because excessive transactions can disrupt management of a fund and increase the fund's costs for all shareholders, Vanguard places certain limits on frequent trading in the Vanguard funds. Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and ETF Shares) limits an investor's purchases or exchanges into a fund account for 60 calendar days after the investor has redeemed or exchanged out of that fund account. For Vanguard Retirement Investment Program pooled plans, the policy applies to exchanges made online or by phone. The frequent-trading policy does not apply to the following: . Purchases of shares with reinvested dividend or capital gains distributions. . Transactions through Vanguard's Automatic Investment Plan, Automatic Exchange Service, Direct Deposit Service, Automatic Withdrawal Plan, Required Minimum Distribution Service, and Vanguard Small Business Online/(R)/. . Redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees. 32 . Transaction requests submitted by mail to Vanguard from shareholders who hold their accounts directly with Vanguard. (Transaction requests submitted by fax are not mail transactions and are subject to the policy.) . Transfers and reregistrations of shares within the same fund. . Purchases of shares by asset transfer or direct rollover. . Conversions of shares from one share class to another in the same fund. . Checkwriting redemptions. . Section 529 college savings plans. . Certain approved institutional portfolios and asset allocation programs, as well as trades made by Vanguard funds that invest in other Vanguard funds. (Please note that shareholders of Vanguard's funds of funds are subject to the policy.) For participants in employer-sponsored defined contribution plans,* the frequent-trading policy does not apply to: . Purchases of shares with participant payroll or employer contributions or loan repayments. . Purchases of shares with reinvested dividend or capital gains distributions. . Distributions, loans, and in-service withdrawals from a plan. . Redemptions of shares as part of a plan termination or at the direction of the plan. . Automated transactions executed during the first six months of a participant's enrollment in the Vanguard Managed Account Program. . Redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees. . Share or asset transfers or rollovers. . Reregistrations of shares. . Conversions of shares from one share class to another in the same fund. . Exchange requests submitted by mail to Vanguard. (Exchange requests submitted by fax are not mail requests and remain subject to the policy.) * The following Vanguard fund accounts are subject to the frequent-trading policy: SEP-IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, certain Section 403(b)(7) accounts, and Vanguard Retirement Plans for which Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company serves as trustee. Accounts Held by Institutions (Other Than Defined Contribution Plans) Vanguard will systematically monitor for frequent trading in institutional clients' accounts. If we detect suspicious trading activity, we will investigate and take appropriate action, which may include applying to a client's accounts the 60-day policy previously described, prohibiting a client's purchases of fund shares, and/or eliminating the client's exchange privilege. 33 Accounts Held by Intermediaries When intermediaries establish accounts in Vanguard funds for the benefit of their clients, we cannot always monitor the trading activity of the individual clients. However, we review trading activity at the omnibus level, and if we detect suspicious activity, we will investigate and take appropriate action. If necessary, Vanguard may prohibit additional purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by an intermediary for the benefit of certain of the intermediary's clients. Intermediaries may also monitor their clients' trading activities with respect to Vanguard funds. For those Vanguard funds that charge purchase or redemption fees, intermediaries will be asked to assess purchase and redemption fees on shareholder and participant accounts and remit these fees to the funds. The application of purchase and redemption fees and frequent-trading policies may vary among intermediaries. There are no assurances that Vanguard will successfully identify all intermediaries or that intermediaries will properly assess purchase and redemption fees or administer frequent-trading policies. If you invest with Vanguard through an intermediary, please read that firm's materials carefully to learn of any other rules or fees that may apply. OTHER RULES YOU SHOULD KNOW Prospectus and Shareholder Report Mailings Vanguard attempts to eliminate the unnecessary expense of duplicate mailings by sending just one prospectus and/or report when two or more shareholders have the same last name and address. You may request individual prospectuses and reports by contacting our Client Services Department in writing, by telephone, or by e-mail. Vanguard.com Registration. If you are a registered user of Vanguard.com, you can use your personal computer to review your account holdings; to buy, sell, or exchange shares of most Vanguard funds; and to perform most other transactions. You must register for this service online. Electronic delivery. Vanguard can deliver your account statements, transaction confirmations, and fund financial reports electronically. If you are a registered user of Vanguard.com, you can consent to the electronic delivery of these documents by logging on and changing your mailing preference under "Account Profile." You can revoke your electronic consent at any time, and we will begin to send paper copies of these documents within 30 days of receiving your notice. Telephone Transactions Automatic. When we set up your account, we'll automatically enable you to do business with us by telephone, unless you instruct us otherwise in writing. 34 Tele-Account/(R)/. To conduct account transactions through Vanguard's automated telephone service, you must first obtain a Personal Identification Number (PIN). Call Tele-Account at 800-662-6273 to obtain a PIN, and allow seven days after requesting the PIN before using this service. Proof of a caller's authority. We reserve the right to refuse a telephone request if the caller is unable to provide the requested information or if we reasonably believe that the caller is not an individual authorized to act on the account. Before we allow a caller to act on an account, we may request the following information: . Authorization to act on the account (as the account owner or by legal documentation or other means). . Account registration and address. . Fund name and account number, if applicable. . Other information relating to the caller, the account holder, or the account. Good Order We reserve the right to reject any transaction instructions that are not in "good order." Good order generally means that your instructions include: . The fund name and account number. . The amount of the transaction (stated in dollars, shares, or percentage). Written instructions also must include: . Signatures of all registered owners. . Signature guarantees, if required for the type of transaction. (Call Vanguard for specific signature-guarantee requirements.) . Any supporting documentation that may be required. The requirements vary among types of accounts and transactions. Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to revise the requirements for good order. Future Trade-Date Requests Vanguard does not accept requests to hold a purchase, conversion, redemption, or exchange transaction for a future date. All such requests will receive trade dates as previously described in Purchasing Shares, Converting Shares, and Redeeming Shares. Vanguard reserves the right to return future-dated purchase checks. Accounts With More Than One Owner If an account has more than one owner or authorized person, Vanguard will accept telephone or online instructions from any one owner or authorized person. 35 Responsibility for Fraud Vanguard will not be responsible for any account losses because of fraud if we reasonably believe that the person transacting business on an account is authorized to do so. Please take precautions to protect yourself from fraud. Keep your account information private, and immediately review any account statements that we provide to you. It is important that you contact Vanguard immediately about any transactions you believe to be unauthorized. Uncashed Checks Please cash your distribution or redemption checks promptly. Vanguard will not pay interest on uncashed checks. Unusual Circumstances If you experience difficulty contacting Vanguard online, by telephone, or by Tele-Account, you can send us your transaction request by regular or express mail. See Contacting Vanguard for addresses. Investing With Vanguard Through Other Firms You may purchase or sell shares of most Vanguard funds through a financial intermediary, such as a bank, broker, or investment advisor. Please consult your financial intermediary to determine which, if any, shares are available through that firm and to learn about other rules that may apply. Please see Frequent-Trading Limits--Accounts Held by Intermediaries for information about the assessment of redemption fees and monitoring of frequent trading for accounts held by intermediaries. Account Service Fee For most shareholders, Vanguard charges a $20 account service fee on all fund accounts that have a balance below $10,000 for any reason, including market fluctuation. The account service fee applies to both retirement and nonretirement fund accounts and will be assessed on fund accounts in all Vanguard funds, regardless of a fund's minimum investment amount. The fee, which will be collected by redeeming fund shares in the amount of $20, will be deducted from a fund account only once per calendar year. If you register on Vanguard.com and elect to receive electronic delivery of statements, reports, and other materials for all of your fund accounts, the account service fee for balances below $10,000 will not be charged, so long as that election remains in effect. 36 The account service fee also does not apply to the following: . Money market sweep accounts owned in connection with a Vanguard Brokerage Services/(R)/ account. . Accounts held through intermediaries. . Accounts held by Voyager, Voyager Select, and Flagship members. Membership is based on total household assets held at Vanguard, with a minimum of $100,000 to qualify for Vanguard Voyager Services/(R)/, $500,000 for Vanguard Voyager Select Services/(R)/, and $1 million for Vanguard Flagship Services/(R)/. Vanguard determines membership by aggregating assets of all eligible accounts held by the investor and immediate family members who reside at the same address. Aggregate assets include investments in Vanguard mutual funds, Vanguard ETFs/TM/, annuities through Vanguard, the Vanguard 529 Plan, certain small-business accounts, and employer-sponsored retirement plans for which Vanguard provides recordkeeping services. . Participant accounts in employer-sponsored defined contribution plans.* Please consult your enrollment materials for the rules that apply to your account. . Section 529 college savings plans. * The following Vanguard fund accounts have alternative fee structures: SIMPLE IRAs, certain Section 403(b)(7) accounts, Vanguard Retirement Investment Program pooled plans, and Vanguard Retirement Plans for which Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company serves as trustee. Low-Balance Accounts The Fund reserves the right to liquidate a fund account whose balance falls below the minimum initial investment for any reason, including market fluctuation. This policy applies to nonretirement fund accounts and accounts that are held through intermediaries. Shares redeemed in accordance with this policy will be subject to applicable redemption fees. Right to Change Policies In addition to the rights expressly stated elsewhere in this prospectus, Vanguard reserves the right to (1) alter, add, or discontinue any conditions of purchase (including eligibility requirements), redemption, exchange, conversion, service, or privilege at any time without prior notice; (2) accept initial purchases by telephone; (3) freeze any account and/or suspend account services if Vanguard has received reasonable notice of a dispute regarding the assets in an account, including notice of a dispute between the registered or beneficial account owners, or if we reasonably believe a fraudulent transaction may occur or has occurred; (4) temporarily freeze any account and/or suspend account services upon initial notification to Vanguard of the death of the shareholder until Vanguard receives required documentation in good order; (5) alter, 37 impose, discontinue, or waive any redemption fee, account service fee, or other fees charged to a group of shareholders; and (6) redeem an account or suspend account privileges, without the owner's permission to do so, in cases of threatening conduct or suspicious, fraudulent, or illegal activity. Changes may affect any or all investors. These actions will be taken when, at the sole discretion of Vanguard management, we reasonably believe they are deemed to be in the best interest of a fund. Share Classes Vanguard reserves the right, without prior notice, to change the eligibility requirements of its share classes, including the types of clients who are eligible to purchase each share class. FUND AND ACCOUNT UPDATES Confirmation Statements We will send (or provide online, whichever you prefer) a confirmation of your trade date and the amount of your transaction when you buy, sell, exchange, or convert shares. However, we will not send confirmations reflecting only checkwriting redemptions or the reinvestment of dividend or capital gains distributions. For any month in which you had a checkwriting redemption, a Checkwriting Activity Statement will be sent to you itemizing the checkwriting redemptions for that month. Promptly review each confirmation statement that we provide to you by mail or online. It is important that you contact Vanguard immediately with any questions you may have about any transaction reflected on a confirmation statement, or Vanguard will consider the transaction properly processed. Portfolio Summaries We will send (or provide online, whichever you prefer) quarterly portfolio summaries to help you keep track of your accounts throughout the year. Each summary shows the market value of your account at the close of the statement period, as well as all distributions, purchases, redemptions, exchanges, transfers, and conversions for the current calendar year. Promptly review each summary that we provide to you by mail or online. It is important that you contact Vanguard immediately with any questions you may have about any transaction reflected on the summary, or Vanguard will consider the transaction properly processed. 38 Tax Statements For most taxable accounts, we will send annual tax statements to assist you in preparing your income tax returns. These statements, which are generally mailed in January, will report the previous year's dividend and capital gains distributions, proceeds from the sale of shares, and distributions from IRAs and other retirement plans. Registered users can view these statements online. Average-Cost Review Statements For most taxable accounts, average-cost review statements will accompany annual 1099B tax forms. These tax forms show the average cost of shares that you redeemed during the previous calendar year, using the average-cost single-category method, which is one of the methods established by the IRS. Annual and Semiannual Reports We will send (or provide online, whichever you prefer) financial reports about Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund twice a year, in March and September. These comprehensive reports include overviews of the financial markets and provide the following specific Fund information: . Performance assessments and comparisons with industry benchmarks. . Reports from the advisor. . Financial statements with listings of Fund holdings. Portfolio Holdings We generally post on our website at www.vanguard.com, in the Portfolio section of the Fund's Portfolio & Management page, a detailed list of the securities held by the Fund, as of the most recent calendar-quarter-end. This list is generally updated within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Vanguard may exclude any portion of these portfolio holdings from publication when deemed in the best interest of the Fund. Please consult the Fund's Statement of Additional Information or our website for a description of the policies and procedures that govern disclosure of the Fund's portfolio holdings. 39 CONTACTING VANGUARD
Web ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard.com For the most complete source of Vanguard news 24 hours a day, 7 days For fund, account, and service information a week For most account transactions For literature requests ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phone ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard For automated fund and account information Tele-Account/(R)/ For exchange transactions (subject to limitations) 800-662-6273 Toll-free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (ON-BOARD) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investor Information For fund and service information 800-662-7447 (SHIP) For literature requests (Text telephone for Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., people with hearing Eastern time; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time impairment at 800-952-3335) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Client Services For account information 800-662-2739 (CREW) For most account transactions (Text telephone for Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., people with hearing Eastern time; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time impairment at 800-749-7273) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Admiral Service Center For Admiral account information 888-237-9949 For most Admiral transactions Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern time; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Institutional Division For information and services for large institutional investors 888-809-8102 Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Eastern time ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermediary Sales For information and services for financial intermediaries Support including broker-dealers, trust institutions, insurance 800-997-2798 companies, and financial advisors Business hours only: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Eastern time ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Vanguard Addresses Please be sure to use the correct address, depending on your method of delivery. Use of an incorrect address could delay the processing of your transaction. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Regular Mail (Individuals) The Vanguard Group P.O. Box 1110 Valley Forge, PA 19482-1110 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Regular Mail (Institutions) The Vanguard Group P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Registered, Express, or Overnight The Vanguard Group 455 Devon Park Drive Wayne, PA 19087-1815 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fund Numbers Please use the specific fund number when contacting us: Investor Shares Admiral Shares ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund 29 529 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CFA/(R)/ is a trademark owned by CFA Institute. Standard & Poor's/(R)/, S&P/(R)/, S&P 500/(R)/, Standard & Poor's 500, and 500 are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., and have been licensed for use by The Vanguard Group, Inc. Vanguard mutual funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Standard & Poor's, and Standard & Poor's makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the funds. 41 GLOSSARY OF INVESTMENT TERMS Average Maturity. The average length of time until bonds held by a fund reach maturity and are repaid. In general, the longer the average maturity, the more a fund's share price fluctuates in response to changes in market interest rates. In calculating average maturity, a fund uses a bond's maturity or, if applicable, an earlier date on which the advisor believes it is likely that a maturity-shortening device (such as a call, put, refunding, prepayment or redemption provision, or an adjustable coupon) will cause the bond to be repaid. Capital Gains Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of gains realized on securities that a fund has sold at a profit, minus any realized losses. Cash Investments. Cash deposits, short-term bank deposits, and money market instruments that include U.S. Treasury bills and notes, bank certificates of deposit (CDs), repurchase agreements, commercial paper, and banker's acceptances. Corporate Bond. An IOU issued by a business that wants to borrow money. As with other types of bonds, the issuer promises to repay the borrowed money on a specific date and to make interest payments in the meantime. Coupon. The interest rate paid by the issuer of a debt security until its maturity. It is expressed as an annual percentage of the face value of the security. Dividend Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of income from interest or dividends generated by a fund's investments. Expense Ratio. The percentage of a fund's average net assets used to pay its expenses during a fiscal year. The expense ratio includes management expenses--such as advisory fees, account maintenance, reporting, accounting, legal, and other administrative expenses--and any 12b-1 distribution fees. It does not include the transaction costs of buying and selling portfolio securities. Face Value. The amount to be paid at a bond's maturity; also known as the par value or principal. Fixed Income Security. An investment, such as a bond, representing a debt that must be repaid by a specified date, and on which the borrower must pay a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest. Inception Date. The date on which the assets of a fund (or one of its share classes) are first invested in accordance with the fund's investment objective. For funds with a subscription period, the inception date is the day after that period ends. Investment performance is measured from the inception date. 42 Investment-Grade Bond. A debt security whose credit quality is considered by independent bond-rating agencies, or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor, to be sufficient to ensure timely payment of principal and interest under current economic circumstances. Debt securities rated in one of the four highest rating categories are considered "investment-grade." Other debt securities may be considered by the advisor to be investment-grade. Non-Investment-Grade Bond. A debt security whose credit-quality is considered by independent bond-rating agencies, or through independent analysis conducted by a fund advisor, to be uncertain. These high-risk corporate bonds have a credit-quality rating equivalent to or below Moody's Ba or Standard & Poor's BB and are commonly referred to as "junk bonds." Securities. Stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other investment vehicles. Total Return. A percentage change, over a specified time period, in a mutual fund's net asset value, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions of dividends and capital gains. Volatility. The fluctuations in value of a mutual fund or other security. The greater a fund's volatility, the wider the fluctuations in its returns. Yield. Income (interest or dividends) earned by an investment, expressed as a percentage of the investment's price. 43 This page intentionally left blank. This page intentionally left blank. [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD/(R)/] P.O. Box 2600 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2600 CONNECT WITH VANGUARD/(R)/ > www.vanguard.com For More Information If you would like more information about Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund, the following documents are available free upon request: Annual/Semiannual Reports to Shareholders Additional information about the Fund's investments is available in the Fund's annual and semiannual reports to shareholders. In the annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year. Statement of Additional Information (SAI) The SAI provides more detailed information about the Fund. The current annual and semiannual reports and the SAI are incorporated by reference into (and are thus legally a part of) this prospectus. To receive a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report or the SAI, or to request additional information about the Fund or other Vanguard funds, please visit www.vanguard.com or contact us as follows: The Vanguard Group Investor Information Department P.O. Box 2600 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2600 Telephone: 800-662-7447 (SHIP) Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-952-3335 If you are a current Vanguard shareholder and would like information about your account, account transactions, and/or account statements, please call: Client Services Department Telephone: 800-662-2739 (CREW) Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-749-7273 Information Provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) You can review and copy information about the Fund (including the SAI) at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. To find out more about this public service, call the SEC at 202-551-8090. Reports and other information about the Fund are also available in the EDGAR database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov, or you can receive copies of this information, for a fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the Public Reference Section, Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC 20549-0102. Fund's Investment Company Act file number: 811-2368 (C) 2009 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor. P029 052009 [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD/(R)/] VANGUARD HIGH-YIELD CORPORATE FUND PROSPECTUS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- May 29, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTOR SHARES FOR PARTICIPANTS This prospectus contains financial data for the Fund through the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fund Profile 1 Financial Highlights 18 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More on the Fund 5 Investing With Vanguard 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Fund and Vanguard 14 Accessing Fund Information by Computer 23 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor 15 Glossary of Investment Terms 24 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends, Capital 16 Gains, and Taxes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Share Price 16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Reading This Prospectus Is Important This prospectus explains the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks associated with the Fund. To highlight terms and concepts important to mutual fund investors, we have provided Plain Talk/(R)/ explanations along the way. Reading the prospectus will help you decide whether the Fund is the right investment for you. We suggest that you keep this prospectus for future reference. This prospectus offers the Funds' Investor Shares and is intended for participants in employer-sponsored retirement or savings plans. Another version--for investors who would like to open a personal investment account--can be obtained by calling Vanguard at 800-662-7447. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. FUND PROFILE Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a high level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests mainly in a diversified group of high-yielding, higher-risk corporate bonds--commonly known as "junk bonds"--with medium- and lower-range credit-quality ratings. The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in corporate bonds that are rated below Baa by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's); have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency; or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. The Fund may not invest more than 20% of its assets in any of the following, taken as a whole: bonds with credit ratings lower than B or the equivalent, convertible securities, preferred stocks, and fixed and floating rate loans of medium- to lower-range credit quality. The loans that the Fund may invest in will be rated Baa or below by Moody's; have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency; or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. The Fund's high-yield bonds and loans mostly have short- and intermediate-term maturities. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see More on the Fund. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market, but with potentially greater volatility. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond or loan issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond or loan to decline. Credit risk should be high for the Fund, because it invests mainly in bonds and loans with medium- and lower-range credit quality ratings. . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond and loan prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests mainly in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. 1 . Liquidity risk, which is the chance that the Fund could experience difficulties in valuing and selling illiquid high-yield bonds or loans. In the event that the Fund needs to sell a portfolio security during periods of infrequent trading of the security, it may not receive full value for the security. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Because of the speculative nature of junk bonds, you should carefully consider the risks associated with this Fund before you purchase shares. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART [-40% to 40%] 1999 2.55% 2000 -0.88% 2001 2.90% 2002 1.73% 2003 17.20% 2004 8.52% 2005 2.77% 2006 8.24% 2007 2.04% 2008 -21.29% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 4.65%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 5.98% (quarter ended June 30, 2003), and the lowest return for a quarter was -13.94% (quarter ended December 31, 2008). 2
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund Investor Shares -21.29% -0.62% 1.92% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High-Yield Bond Index/1/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) -26.16% -0.80% 2.17% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee 1%/1/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.28% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.04% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/2/ 0.32% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The 1% fee applies if you redeem shares within one year of purchase by selling or by exchanging to another fund. The fee is withheld from redemption proceeds and retained by the Fund. Shares held for one year or more are not subject to the 1% fee. 2 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
3 The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $33 $103 $180 $406 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT FUND EXPENSES All mutual funds have operating expenses. These expenses, which are deducted from a fund's gross income, are expressed as a percentage of the net assets of the fund. We expect Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund Investor Shares' expense ratio for the current fiscal year to be 0.32%, or $3.20 per $1,000 of average net assets. The average high-current-yield fund had expenses in 2008 of 1.25%, or $12.50 per $1,000 of average net assets (derived from data provided by Lipper Inc., which reports on the mutual fund industry). Management expenses, which are one part of operating expenses, include investment advisory fees as well as other costs of managing a fund--such as account maintenance, reporting, accounting, legal, and other administrative expenses. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT COSTS OF INVESTING Costs are an important consideration in choosing a mutual fund. That's because you, as a contract owner, pay the costs of operating a fund, plus any transaction costs incurred when the fund buys or sells securities. These costs can erode a substantial portion of the gross income or the capital appreciation a fund achieves. Even seemingly small differences in expenses can, over time, have a dramatic effect on a fund's performance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $7.8 billion --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor Wellington Management Company, LLP, Boston, Mass., since inception --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date December 27, 1978 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation HYCor --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 29 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031208 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VWEHX ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORE ON THE FUND This prospectus describes the primary risks you would face as a Fund shareholder. It is important to keep in mind one of the main axioms of investing: The higher the risk of losing money, the higher the potential reward. The reverse, also, is generally true: The lower the risk, the lower the potential reward. As you consider an investment in any mutual fund, you should take into account your personal tolerance for fluctuations in the securities markets. Look for this FLAG LOGO symbol throughout the prospectus. It is used to mark detailed information about the more significant risks that you would confront as a Fund shareholder. The following sections explain the primary investment strategies and policies that the Fund uses in pursuit of its objective. The Fund's board of trustees, which oversees the Fund's management, may change investment strategies or policies in the interest of shareholders without a shareholder vote, unless those strategies or policies are designated as fundamental. Note that the Fund's investment objective is not fundamental and may be changed without a shareholder vote. However, the Fund's policy of investing at least 80% of its assets in corporate bonds that are rated below Moody's Baa (or have an equivalent rating) may only be changed upon 60 days' notice to shareholders. 5 Market Exposure The Fund invests mainly in a diversified group of high-yielding, higher-risk corporate bonds, commonly known as "junk bonds," which are mostly short- and intermediate-term. The Fund also invests in fixed and floating rate loans of medium- to lower-range credit quality; these loans are mostly short and intermediate term. As a result of this investment strategy, the Fund is subject to certain risks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT HIGH-YIELD BONDS High-yield bonds, or "junk bonds," are issued by companies or other entities whose ability to pay interest and principal on the debt in a timely manner is considered questionable. Such bonds are rated "below investment-grade" by independent rating agencies. Because they are riskier than investment-grade bonds, high-yield bonds typically must pay more interest to attract investors. Some high-yield bonds are issued by smaller, less-seasoned companies, while others are issued as part of a corporate restructuring, such as an acquisition, merger, or leveraged buyout. Some high-yield bonds were once rated as investment-grade but have been downgraded to junk-bond status because of financial difficulties experienced by their issuers. Conversely, an issuer's improving financial condition may result in an upgrading of its junk bonds to investment-grade status. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FLAG LOGO Because of its investment in junk bonds, the Fund is subject to high credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. For more information about credit risk, see "Security Selection." FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests mainly in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. Although bonds are often thought to be less risky than stocks, there have been periods when bond prices have fallen significantly because of rising interest rates. For instance, prices of long-term bonds fell by almost 48% between December 1976 and September 1981. 6 To illustrate the relationship between bond prices and interest rates, the following table shows the effect of a 1% and a 2% change (both up and down) in interest rates on the values of three noncallable bonds of different maturities, each with a face value of $1,000. How Interest Rate Changes Affect the Value of a $1,000 Bond/1/ After a 1% After a 1% After a 2% After a 2% Type of Bond (Maturity) Increase Decrease Increase Decrease ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term (2.5 years) $977 $1,024 $955 $1,048 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermediate-Term (10 years) 926 1,082 858 1,172 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Long-Term (20 years) 884 1,137 786 1,299 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Assuming a 5% coupon. These figures are for illustration only; you should not regard them as an indication of future performance of the bond market as a whole or the Fund in particular. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BONDS AND INTEREST RATES As a rule, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall. The opposite is also true: Bond prices go up when interest rates fall. Why do bond prices and interest rates move in opposite directions? Let's assume that you hold a bond offering a 5% yield. A year later, interest rates are on the rise and bonds of comparable quality and maturity are offered with a 6% yield. With higher-yielding bonds available, you would have trouble selling your 5% bond for the price you paid--you would probably have to lower your asking price. On the other hand, if interest rates were falling and 4% bonds were being offered, you should be able to sell your 5% bond for more than you paid. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes in interest rates can affect bond income as well as bond prices. FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. A fund's income declines when interest rates fall because the fund then must invest in lower-yielding bonds. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. 7 The Fund is subject to prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of loans may prepay the loan principal before its maturity date. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interests rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BOND MATURITIES A bond is issued with a specific maturity date--the date when the issuer must pay back the bond's principal (face value). Bond maturities range from less than 1 year to more than 30 years. Typically, the longer a bond's maturity, the more price risk you, as a bond investor, face as interest rates rise--but also the higher yield you could receive. Longer-term bonds are more suitable for investors willing to take a greater risk of price fluctuations to get higher and more stable interest income. Shorter-term bond investors should be willing to accept lower yields and greater income variability in return for less fluctuation in the value of their investment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Fund may enter into mortgage-dollar-roll transactions, in which the Fund sells mortgage-backed securities to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to purchase similar securities in the future at a predetermined price. These transactions simulate an investment in mortgage-backed securities and have the potential to enhance the Fund's returns and reduce its administrative burdens, compared with holding mortgage-backed securities directly. These transactions may increase the Fund's portfolio turnover rate. Mortgage dollar rolls will be used only if consistent with the Fund's investment objective and risk profile. Security Selection Wellington Management Company, LLP (Wellington Management), advisor to the Fund, seeks to minimize the substantial investment risk posed by junk bonds, primarily through its use of solid credit research and broad diversification among issuers. FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. The Fund is generally managed without regard to tax ramifications. The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in corporate bonds that are rated below Baa by Moody's, or have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency. If unrated, a bond must be, in the advisor's opinion, comparable to those ratings. 8 The Fund may not invest more than 20% of its assets in any of the following, taken as a whole: bonds that are rated less than B or the equivalent, convertible securities, preferred stocks, and fixed and floating rate loans of medium to lower-range credit quality. The loans that the Fund may invest in will be rated Baa or below by Moody's, or have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency. If unrated, a loan must be, in the advisor's opinion, comparable to those ratings. The Fund's loans may include secondary assignments of fully-collateralized, unsubordinated, fixed or floating-rate loans made by banks or other financial institutions to corporations and other entities in connection with leveraged buy out transactions or other financing transactions. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in government securities and/or bonds that are rated Baa or above by Moody's or have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency. These are commonly referred to as investment-grade securities. The Fund will only invest in bonds and loans that, at the time of initial investment, are rated Caa or higher by Moody's; have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency; or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. In the past, the Fund has not invested in non-cash-flow-producing high-yield bonds, such as zero coupon bonds (which pay interest only at maturity) or payment-in-kind bonds (which pay interest in the form of additional securities). Although it has no present plans to do so, the Fund may invest up to 5% of its assets in such bonds in the future. The Fund may invest in bonds issued by foreign governments and companies, so long as the securities are denominated in U.S. dollars. To the extent that the Fund owns foreign bonds, it is subject to country risk, which is the chance that world events--such as political upheaval, financial troubles, or natural disasters--will adversely affect the value of securities issued by companies in foreign countries. Because the bond's value is designated in dollars rather than in the currency of the issuer's country, the Fund is not exposed to currency risk; rather the issuer assumes the risk, usually to attract U.S. investors. Certain investment restrictions, such as required minimum or maximum investment in a particular type of security, are measured at the time the Fund purchases a security. The market value, credit quality, or other characteristics of the Fund's securities may change after they are purchased, and this may cause the amount of the Fund's assets invested in such securities to exceed the stated maximum restrictions or fall below the stated minimum restrictions. If any of these changes occur, the Fund would not be considered to be in violation of the investment restriction. However, purchases by the Fund during the time it is above or below the stated restriction, during normal market conditions, would be in compliance with applicable restrictions. 9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT CREDIT QUALITY A bond's credit-quality rating is an assessment of the issuer's ability to pay interest on the bond and, ultimately, to repay the principal. Credit quality is evaluated by one of the independent bond-rating agencies (for example, Moody's or Standard & Poor's) or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor. The lower the rating, the greater the chance--in the rating agency's or advisor's opinion--that the bond issuer will default, or fail to meet its payment obligations. All things being equal, the lower a bond's credit rating, the higher its yield should be to compensate investors for assuming additional risk. Investment-grade bonds are those rated in one of the four highest ratings categories. A fund may treat an unrated bond as investment-grade if warranted by the advisor's analysis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bonds that are rated below Moody's Baa or have an equivalent rating, such as those held by the Fund, are classified as non-investment-grade. These bonds carry a high degree of risk and are considered speculative by the major rating agencies. Credit quality in the high-yield bond market can change suddenly and unexpectedly, and even recently issued credit ratings may not fully reflect the actual risks posed by a particular high-yield bond. For these reasons, it is the Fund's policy not to rely primarily on ratings issued by established credit-rating agencies, but to utilize these ratings in conjunction with the advisor's own independent and ongoing review of credit quality. Wellington Management selects bonds on a company-by-company basis, emphasizing fundamental research and a long-term investment horizon. The analysis focuses on the nature of a company's business, its strategy, and the quality of its management. Based on this analysis, the advisor looks for companies whose prospects are stable or improving and whose bonds offer an attractive yield. Companies with improving prospects are normally more attractive because they offer better assurance of debt repayment and greater potential for capital appreciation. As of January 31, 2009, the Fund's holdings had the following credit-quality characteristics: Percentage of Fund's Credit Quality Net Assets --------------------------------------- Aaa/AAA 3.1% --------------------------------------- Baa/BBB 7.6 --------------------------------------- Ba/BB 37.9 --------------------------------------- B 41.7 --------------------------------------- Below B/Other 9.7 --------------------------------------- 10 To minimize credit risk, the Fund normally diversifies its holdings among debt of at least 100 separate issuers, representing many industries. As of January 31, 2009, the Fund held debt of 257 corporate issuers. This diversification should lessen the negative impact to the Fund of a particular issuer's failure to pay either principal or interest. FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to liquidity risk, which is the chance that the Fund could experience difficulties in valuing and selling illiquid high-yield bonds or loans. In the event that the Fund needs to sell a portfolio security during periods of infrequent trading of the security, it may not receive full value for the security. FLAG LOGO The Fund may invest in derivatives. In general, derivatives may involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of the underlying securities, assets, or market indexes. Generally speaking, a derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a stock, bond, or currency), a physical asset (such as gold), or a market index (such as the S&P 500 Index). The Fund may invest in derivatives only if the expected risks and rewards of the derivatives are consistent with the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks of the Fund as disclosed in this prospectus. The advisor will not use derivatives to change the risk exposure of the Fund. In particular, derivatives will be used only where they may help the advisor: . Invest in eligible asset classes with greater efficiency and lower cost than is possible through direct investment; . Add value when these instruments are attractively priced; or . Adjust sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The Fund's derivative investments may include fixed income futures contracts, fixed income options, interest rate swaps, total return swaps, credit default swaps, or other derivatives. Losses (or gains) involving futures contracts can sometimes be substantial--in part because a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in an immediate and substantial loss (or gain) for a fund. Similar risks exist for other types of derivatives. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT DERIVATIVES Derivatives can take many forms. Some forms of derivatives, such as exchange-traded futures and options on securities, commodities, or indexes, have been trading on regulated exchanges for decades. These types of derivatives are standardized contracts that can easily be bought and sold, and whose market values are determined and published daily. Nonstandardized derivatives (such as swap agreements), on the other hand, tend to be more specialized or complex, and may be harder to value. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 Cash Management The Fund's daily cash balance may be invested in one or more Vanguard CMT Funds, which are very low-cost money market funds. When investing in a Vanguard CMT Fund, the Fund bears its proportionate share of the at-cost expenses of the CMT Fund in which it invests. Temporary Investment Measures The Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies when doing so is believed to be in the Fund's best interest, so long as the alternative is consistent with the Fund's investment objective. For instance, the Fund may invest beyond the normal limits in derivatives or ETFs that are consistent with the Fund's objective when those instruments are more favorably priced or provide needed liquidity, as might be the case when the Fund is transitioning assets from one advisor to another or receives large cash flows that it cannot prudently invest immediately. In addition, the Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its normal investment policies and strategies--for instance, by allocating substantial assets to cash investments, commercial paper, U.S. Treasury securities, or other less volatile instruments--in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. Such conditions could include a temporary decline in the availability of corporate bonds rated below Baa by Moody's or bonds that have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency. In doing so, the Fund may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective. Redemption Fee The Fund charges a 1% fee if you have made an exchange into the Fund and subsequently exchange those shares out of the Fund within one year. If you exchange shares out of the Fund, Vanguard first exchanges shares that are exempt from redemption fees (such as shares purchased with dividend or capital gains distributions and shares purchased with plan participant payroll or employer contributions). Shares you have held the longest will be redeemed next. Unlike a sales charge or a load paid to a broker or a fund management company, the redemption fee is paid directly to the Fund to offset the costs of buying and selling securities. The redemption fee is designed to ensure that short-term investors pay their share of the Fund's transaction costs and that long-term investors do not subsidize the activities of short-term traders. See the Fund Profile and Investing With Vanguard for more information about fees. 12 Frequent Trading or Market-Timing Background. Some investors try to profit from strategies involving frequent trading of mutual fund shares, such as market-timing. For funds holding foreign securities, investors may try to take advantage of an anticipated difference between the price of the fund's shares and price movements in overseas markets, a practice also known as time-zone arbitrage. Investors also may try to engage in frequent trading of funds holding investments such as small-cap stocks and high-yield bonds. As money is shifted into and out of a fund by a shareholder engaging in frequent trading, a fund incurs costs for buying and selling securities, resulting in increased brokerage and administrative costs. These costs are borne by all fund shareholders, including the long-term investors who do not generate the costs. In addition, frequent trading may interfere with an advisor's ability to efficiently manage the fund. Policies to Address Frequent Trading. The Vanguard funds (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and Vanguard ETF/ TM/ Shares) do not knowingly accommodate frequent trading. The board of trustees of each Vanguard fund has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to detect and discourage frequent trading and, in some cases, to compensate the fund for the costs associated with it. Although there is no assurance that Vanguard will be able to detect or prevent frequent trading or market-timing in all circumstances, the following policies have been adopted to address these issues: . Each Vanguard fund reserves the right to reject any purchase request--including exchanges from other Vanguard funds--without notice and regardless of size. For example, a purchase request could be rejected if Vanguard determines that such purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance or because of a history of frequent trading by the investor. . Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and ETF Shares) generally prohibits, except as otherwise noted in the INVESTING WITH VANGUARD section, a participant from exchanging into a fund account for 60 calendar days after the participant has exchanged out of that fund account. . Certain Vanguard funds charge shareholders purchase and/or redemption fees on transactions. See the INVESTING WITH VANGUARD section of this prospectus for further details on Vanguard's transaction policies. Each fund (other than money market funds), in determining its net asset value, will, when appropriate, use fair-value pricing, as described in the SHARE PRICE section. Fair-value pricing may reduce or eliminate the profitability of certain frequent-trading strategies. Do not invest with Vanguard if you are a market-timer. 13 Turnover Rate Although the Fund normally seeks to invest for the long term, it may sell securities regardless of how long they have been held. The Financial Highlights section of this prospectus shows historical turnover rates for the Fund. A turnover rate of 100%, for example, would mean that the Fund had sold and replaced securities valued at 100% of its net assets within a one-year period. The average turnover rate for high-yield corporate funds was approximately 67%, as reported by Morningstar, Inc., on January 31, 2009. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT TURNOVER RATE Before investing in a mutual fund, you should review its turnover rate. This gives an indication of how transaction costs, which are not included in the fund's expense ratio, could affect the fund's future returns. In general, the greater the volume of buying and selling by the fund, the greater the impact that dealer markups and other transaction costs will have on its return. Also, funds with high turnover rates may be more likely to generate capital gains that must be distributed to shareholders. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE FUND AND VANGUARD The Fund is a member of The Vanguard Group, a family of 37 investment companies with more than 150 funds holding assets of approximately $1 trillion. All of the funds that are members of The Vanguard Group share in the expenses associated with administrative services and business operations, such as personnel, office space, equipment, and advertising. Vanguard also provides marketing services to the funds. Although shareholders do not pay sales commissions or 12b-1 distribution fees, each fund (or in the case of a fund with multiple share classes, each share class of the fund) pays its allocated share of The Vanguard Group's marketing costs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT VANGUARD'S UNIQUE CORPORATE STRUCTURE The Vanguard Group is truly a mutual mutual fund company. It is owned jointly by the funds it oversees and thus indirectly by the shareholders in those funds. Most other mutual funds are operated by management companies that may be owned by one person, by a private group of individuals, or by public investors who own the management company's stock. The management fees charged by these companies include a profit component over and above the companies' cost of providing services. By contrast, Vanguard provides services to its member funds on an at-cost basis, with no profit component, which helps to keep the funds' expenses low. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 INVESTMENT ADVISOR Wellington Management Company, LLP (Wellington Management), 75 State Street, Boston, MA 02109, is a Massachusetts limited liability partnership and a professional investment counseling firm that provides investment services to investment companies, employee benefit plans, endowments, foundations, and other institutions. Wellington Management and its predecessor organizations have provided investment advisory services for over 70 years. As of January 31, 2009, Wellington Management managed approximately $420 billion in assets. The firm's advisory fee is paid quarterly and is based on certain annual percentage rates applied to the Fund's average daily net assets for each quarter. For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009, the advisory fee represented an effective annual rate of 0.04% of the Fund's average net assets. Under the terms of an SEC exemption, the Fund's board of trustees may, without prior approval from shareholders, change the terms of an advisory agreement or hire a new investment advisor--either as a replacement for an existing advisor or as an additional advisor. Any significant change in the Fund's advisory arrangements will be communicated to shareholders in writing. In addition, as the Fund's sponsor and overall manager, The Vanguard Group may provide investment advisory services to the Fund, on an at-cost basis, at any time. Vanguard may also recommend to the board of trustees that an advisor be hired, terminated, or replaced, or that the terms of an existing advisory agreement be revised. For a discussion of why the board of trustees approved the Fund's investment advisory agreement, see the most recent semiannual report to shareholders covering the fiscal period ended July 31. The manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund is: MICHAEL L. HONG, CFA, Vice President, and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager of Wellington Management. He has worked in investment management with Wellington Management since 1997 and has managed the Fund since February 2008. Education: A.B. Harvard College. The Statement of Additional Information provides information about each portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts under management, and ownership of shares of the Fund. 15 DIVIDENDS, CAPITAL GAINS, AND TAXES The Fund distributes to shareholders virtually all of its net income (interest less expenses) as well as any net capital gains realized from the sale of its holdings. The Fund's income dividends accrue daily and are distributed on the first business day of every month; capital gains distributions generally occur annually in December. In addition, the Fund may occasionally make supplemental distributions at some other time during the year. Your distributions will be reinvested in additional Fund shares and accumulate on a tax-deferred basis if you are investing through an employer-sponsored retirement or savings plan. You will not owe taxes on these distributions until you begin withdrawals from the plan. You should consult your plan administrator, your plan's Summary Plan Description, or your tax advisor about the tax consequences of plan withdrawals. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT DISTRIBUTIONS As a shareholder, you are entitled to your portion of a fund's income from interest as well as capital gains from the fund's sale of investments. Income consists of interest the fund earns from its money market and bond investments. Capital gains are realized whenever the fund sells securities for higher prices than it paid for them. These capital gains are either short-term or long-term, depending on whether the fund held the securities for one year or less or for more than one year. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHARE PRICE Share price, also known as net asset value (NAV), is calculated each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, generally 4 p.m., Eastern time. Each share class has its own NAV, which is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, allocated to each share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. On holidays or other days when the Exchange is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Fund does not transact purchase or redemption requests. Debt securities held by a Vanguard fund are valued based on information furnished by an independent pricing service or market quotations. Certain short-term debt instruments used to manage a fund's cash are valued on the basis of amortized cost. The values of any mutual fund shares held by a fund are based on the NAVs of the shares. The values of any ETF or closed-end fund shares held by a fund are based on the market value of the shares. 16 When a fund determines that pricing-service information or market quotations either are not readily available or do not accurately reflect the value of a security, the security is priced at its fair value (the amount that the owner might reasonably expect to receive upon the current sale of the security). A fund also may use fair-value pricing on bond market holidays when the fund is open for business (such as Columbus Day and Veterans Day). Fair-value prices are determined by Vanguard according to procedures adopted by the board of trustees. When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by a fund to calculate the NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Vanguard fund share prices can be found daily in the mutual fund listings of most major newspapers under various "Vanguard" headings. 17 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The following financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Investor Shares' financial performance for the periods shown, and certain information reflects financial results for a single Investor Share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost each period on an investment in the Investor Shares (assuming reinvestment of all distributions). This information has been derived from the financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report--along with the Fund's financial statements--is included in the Fund's most recent annual report to shareholders. You may obtain a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report online at www.vanguard.com or by contacting Vanguard by telephone or mail. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT HOW TO READ THE FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS TABLE The Investor Shares began fiscal year 2009 with a net asset value (price) of $5.82 per share. During the year, each Investor Share earned $0.43 from investment income (interest). There was a decline of $1.34 per share in the value of investments held or sold by the Fund, resulting in a net decline of $0.91 per share from investment operations. Shareholders received $0.43 per share in the form of dividend distributions. A portion of each year's distributions may come from the prior year's income or capital gains. The share price at the end of the year was $4.48, reflecting losses of $0.91 per share and distributions of $0.43 per share. This was a decrease of $1.34 per share (from $5.82 at the beginning of the year to $4.48 at the end of the year). For a shareholder who reinvested the distributions in the purchase of more shares, the total return was -16.19% for the year. As of January 31, 2009, the Investor Shares had approximately $3.9 billion in net assets. For the year, the expense ratio was 0.27% ($2.70 per $1,000 of net assets), and the net investment income amounted to 8.33% of average net assets. The Fund sold and replaced securities valued at 21% of its net assets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18
HIGH-YIELD CORPORATE FUND INVESTOR SHARES Year Ended January 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $5.82 $6.22 $6.19 $6.39 $6.40 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .430 .446 .438 .437 .460 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (1.340) (.400) .030 (.200) (.010) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.910) .046 .468 .237 .450 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISTRIBUTIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.430) (.446) (.438) (.437) (.460) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains -- -- -- -- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.430) (.446) (.438) (.437) (.460) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $4.48 $5.82 $6.22 $6.19 $6.39 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL RETURN/1/ -16.19% 0.70% 7.89% 3.89% 7.34% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $3,944 $4,602 $5,146 $5,214 $7,246 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to Average Net Assets 0.27% 0.25% 0.26% 0.25% 0.22% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets 8.33% 7.34% 7.13% 7.01% 7.26% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 21% 26% 47% 44% 51% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Total returns do not reflect the 1% fee assessed on redemptions of shares held for less than one year.
19 INVESTING WITH VANGUARD The Fund is an investment option in your retirement or savings plan. Your plan administrator or your employee benefits office can provide you with detailed information on how to participate in your plan and how to elect the Fund as an investment option. . If you have any questions about the Fund or Vanguard, including those about the Fund's investment objective, strategies, or risks, contact Vanguard Participant Services, toll-free, at 800-523-1188. . If you have questions about your account, contact your plan administrator or the organization that provides recordkeeping services for your plan. . Be sure to carefully read each topic that pertains to your transactions with Vanguard. Vanguard reserves the right to change its policies without prior notice to shareholders. Investment Options and Allocations Your plan's specific provisions may allow you to change your investment selections, the amount of your contributions, or how your contributions are allocated among the investment choices available to you. Contact your plan administrator or employee benefits office for more details. Transactions Contribution, exchange, or redemption requests must be in good order. Good order means that your request includes complete information on your contribution, exchange, or redemption, and that Vanguard has received the appropriate assets. In all cases, your transaction will be based on the next-determined NAV of the Fund's Investor Shares after Vanguard receives your request (or, in the case of new contributions, the next-determined NAV after Vanguard receives the order from your plan administrator). As long as this request is received before the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), you will receive that day's NAV. This is known as your trade date. NAVs are calculated only on days the NYSE is open for trading. You begin earning dividends on the next business day after your contribution trade date. Shares continue earning dividends until the next business day after your exchange or redemption trade date. Redemption Fees Participants will incur redemption fees if, after making an exchange, transfer, or rollover into a fund with a redemption fee, the participant makes a subsequent exchange out of the fund within the redemption-fee period. The fee is withheld from redemption proceeds and is retained by the fund. Shares held longer than the redemption-fee holding period are not subject to the fee. 20 After exchanging shares that are exempt from redemption fees, shares you have held the longest will be exchanged first. For retirement plan participants, redemption fees do not apply to the following: exchanges of shares purchased with participant payroll or employer contributions; exchanges of shares purchased with reinvested dividend and capital gains distributions; distributions, loans, and in-service withdrawals from a plan; redemptions or transfers of shares as part of a plan termination or at the direction of the plan; direct rollovers into IRAs; conversions of shares from one share class to another in the same fund; redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees; and reregistrations of shares in the same fund. Frequent Trading The exchange privilege (your ability to purchase shares of a fund using the proceeds from the simultaneous redemption of shares of another fund) may be available to you through your plan. Although we make every effort to maintain the exchange privilege, Vanguard reserves the right to revise or terminate this privilege, limit the amount of an exchange, or reject any exchange, at any time, without notice. Because excessive exchanges can disrupt the management of the Vanguard funds and increase their transaction costs, Vanguard places certain limits on the exchange privilege. If you are exchanging out of any Vanguard fund (other than money market funds and short-term bond funds), you must wait 60 days before exchanging back into the fund. This policy applies, regardless of the dollar amount. Please note that the 60-day clock restarts after every exchange out of the fund. The frequent-trading policy does not apply to the following: exchange requests submitted by mail to Vanguard (exchange requests submitted by fax are not mail requests and remain subject to the policy); exchanges of shares purchased with participant payroll or employer contributions or loan repayments; exchanges of shares purchased with reinvested dividend or capital gains distributions; distributions, loans, and in-service withdrawals from a plan; redemptions of shares as part of a plan termination or at the direction of the plan; redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees; share or asset transfers or rollovers; reregistrations of shares within the same fund; conversions of shares from one share class to another in the same fund; and automated transactions executed during the first six months of a participant's enrollment in the Vanguard Managed Account Program. 21 Before making an exchange to or from another fund available in your plan, consider the following: . Certain investment options, particularly funds made up of company stock or investment contracts, may be subject to unique restrictions. . Be sure to read the Fund's prospectus. Contact Vanguard Participant Services, toll-free, at 800-523-1188 for a copy. . Vanguard can accept exchanges only as permitted by your plan. Contact your plan administrator for details on other exchange policies that apply to your plan. Plans for which Vanguard does not serve as recordkeeper: If Vanguard does not serve as recordkeeper for your plan, your plan's recordkeeper will establish accounts in Vanguard funds for the benefit of its clients. In such accounts, we cannot always monitor the trading activity of individual clients. However, we review trading activity at the omnibus level, and if we detect suspicious activity, we will investigate and take appropriate action. If necessary, Vanguard may prohibit additional purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by an intermediary for the benefit of certain of the intermediary's clients. Intermediaries may also monitor participants' trading activity with respect to Vanguard funds. For those Vanguard funds that charge purchase or redemption fees, intermediaries that establish accounts in the Vanguard funds will be asked to assess purchase and redemption fees on participant accounts and remit these fees to the funds. The application of purchase and redemption fees and frequent-trading policies may vary among intermediaries. There are no assurances that Vanguard will successfully identify all intermediaries or that intermediaries will properly assess purchase and redemption fees or administer frequent-trading policies. If a firm other than Vanguard serves as recordkeeper for your plan, please read that firm's materials carefully to learn of any other rules or fees that may apply. No cancellations. Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any transaction request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing a transaction request. Proof of a caller's authority. We reserve the right to refuse a telephone request if the caller is unable to provide the requested information or if we reasonably believe that the caller is not an individual authorized to act on the account. Before we allow a caller to act on an account, we may request the following information: . Authorization to act on the account (as the account owner or by legal documentation or other means). . Account registration and address. . Fund name and account number, if applicable. . Other information relating to the caller, the account holder, or the account. 22 Uncashed Checks Vanguard will not pay interest on uncashed checks. Portfolio Holdings We generally post on our website at www.vanguard.com, in the Portfolio section of the Fund's Portfolio and Management page, a detailed list of the securities held by the Fund, as of the most recent calendar-quarter-end. This list is generally updated within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Vanguard may exclude any portion of these portfolio holdings from publication when deemed in the best interest of the Fund. Please consult the Fund's Statement of Additional Information or our website for a description of the policies and procedures that govern disclosure of the Fund's portfolio holdings. ACCESSING FUND INFORMATION BY COMPUTER Vanguard on the World Wide Web WWW.VANGUARD.COM Use your personal computer to visit Vanguard's education-oriented website, which provides timely news and information about Vanguard funds and services; the online Education Center that offers a variety of mutual fund classes; and easy-to-use, interactive tools to help you create your own investment and retirement strategies. CFA/(R)/ is a trademark owned by CFA Institute. Standard & Poor's/(R)/, S&P/(R)/, S&P 500/(R)/, Standard & Poor's 500, and 500 are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., and have been licensed for use by The Vanguard Group, Inc. Vanguard mutual funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Standard & Poor's, and Standard & Poor's makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the funds. 23 GLOSSARY OF INVESTMENT TERMS Average Maturity. The average length of time until bonds held by a fund reach maturity and are repaid. In general, the longer the average maturity, the more a fund's share price fluctuates in response to changes in market interest rates. In calculating average maturity, a fund uses a bond's maturity or, if applicable, an earlier date on which the advisor believes it is likely that a maturity-shortening device (such as a call, put, refunding, prepayment or redemption provision, or an adjustable coupon) will cause the bond to be repaid. Capital Gains Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of gains realized on securities that a fund has sold at a profit, minus any realized losses. Cash Investments. Cash deposits, short-term bank deposits, and money market instruments that include U.S. Treasury bills and notes, bank certificates of deposit (CDs), repurchase agreements, commercial paper, and banker's acceptances. Corporate Bond. An IOU issued by a business that wants to borrow money. As with other types of bonds, the issuer promises to repay the borrowed money on a specific date and to make interest payments in the meantime. Coupon. The interest rate paid by the issuer of a debt security until its maturity. It is expressed as an annual percentage of the face value of the security. Dividend Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of income from interest or dividends generated by a fund's investments. Expense Ratio. The percentage of a fund's average net assets used to pay its expenses during a fiscal year. The expense ratio includes management expenses--such as advisory fees, account maintenance, reporting, accounting, legal, and other administrative expenses--and any 12b-1 distribution fees. It does not include the transaction costs of buying and selling portfolio securities. Face Value. The amount to be paid at a bond's maturity; also known as the par value or principal. Fixed Income Security. An investment, such as a bond, representing a debt that must be repaid by a specified date, and on which the borrower must pay a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest. Inception Date. The date on which the assets of a fund (or one of its share classes) are first invested in accordance with the fund's investment objective. For funds with a subscription period, the inception date is the day after that period ends. Investment performance is measured from the inception date. 24 Investment-Grade Bond. A debt security whose credit quality is considered by independent bond-rating agencies, or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor, to be sufficient to ensure timely payment of principal and interest under current economic circumstances. Debt securities rated in one of the four highest rating categories are considered "investment-grade." Other debt securities may be considered by the advisor to be investment-grade. Non-Investment-Grade Bond. A debt security whose credit-quality is considered by independent bond-rating agencies, or through independent analysis conducted by a fund advisor, to be uncertain. These high-risk corporate bonds have a credit-quality rating equivalent to or below Moody's Ba or Standard & Poor's BB and are commonly referred to as "junk bonds." Securities. Stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other investment vehicles. Total Return. A percentage change, over a specified time period, in a mutual fund's net asset value, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions of dividends and capital gains. Volatility. The fluctuations in value of a mutual fund or other security. The greater a fund's volatility, the wider the fluctuations in its returns. Yield. Income (interest or dividends) earned by an investment, expressed as a percentage of the investment's price. [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD/(R)/] Institutional Division P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900 CONNECT WITH VANGUARD/(R)/ > www.vanguard.com For More Information If you would like more information about Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund, the following documents are available free upon request: Annual/Semiannual Reports to Shareholders Additional information about the Fund's investments is available in the Fund's annual and semiannual reports to shareholders. In the annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year. Statement of Additional Information (SAI) The SAI provides more detailed information about the Fund. The current annual and semiannual reports and the SAI are incorporated by reference into (and are thus legally a part of) this prospectus. To receive a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report or the SAI, or to request additional information about the Fund or other Vanguard funds, please visit www.vanguard.com or contact us as follows: The Vanguard Group Participant Services P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900 Telephone: 800-523-1188 Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-749-7273 Information Provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) You can review and copy information about the Fund (including the SAI) at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. To find out more about this public service, call the SEC at 202-551-8090. Reports and other information about the Fund are also available in the EDGAR database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov, or you can receive copies of this information, for a fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the Public Reference Section, Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC 20549-0102. Fund's Investment Company Act file number: 811-2368 (C) 2009 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor. I029 052009 [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD/(R)/] VANGUARD HIGH-YIELD CORPORATE FUND PROSPECTUS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- May 29, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADMIRAL/TM/ SHARES FOR PARTICIPANTS This prospectus contains financial data for the Fund through the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fund Profile 1 Financial Highlights 18 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More on the Fund 5 Investing With Vanguard 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Fund and Vanguard 14 Accessing Fund Information by Computer 23 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor 15 Glossary of Investment Terms 24 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends, Capital 16 Gains, and Taxes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Share Price 16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Reading This Prospectus Is Important This prospectus explains the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks associated with the Fund. To highlight terms and concepts important to mutual fund investors, we have provided Plain Talk/(R)/ explanations along the way. Reading the prospectus will help you decide whether the Fund is the right investment for you. We suggest that you keep this prospectus for future reference. This prospectus offers the Funds' Admiral Shares and is intended for participants in employer-sponsored retirement or savings plans. Another version--for investors who would like to open a personal investment account--can be obtained by calling Vanguard at 800-662-7447. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. FUND PROFILE Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a high level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests mainly in a diversified group of high-yielding, higher-risk corporate bonds--commonly known as "junk bonds"--with medium- and lower-range credit-quality ratings. The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in corporate bonds that are rated below Baa by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's); have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency; or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. The Fund may not invest more than 20% of its assets in any of the following, taken as a whole: bonds with credit ratings lower than B or the equivalent, convertible securities, preferred stocks, and fixed and floating rate loans of medium to lower-range credit quality. The loans that the Fund may invest in will be rated Baa or below by Moody's; have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency; or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. The Fund's high-yield bonds and loans mostly have short- and intermediate-term maturities. For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see MORE ON THE FUND. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market, but with potentially greater volatility. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond or loan issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond or loan to decline. Credit risk should be high for the Fund, because it invests mainly in bonds and loans with medium- and lower-range credit quality ratings. . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond or loan prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests mainly in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. 1 . Liquidity risk, which is the chance that the Fund could experience difficulties in valuing and selling illiquid high-yield bonds or loans. In the event that the Fund needs to sell a portfolio security during periods of infrequent trading of the security, it may not receive full value for the security. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. Because of the speculative nature of junk bonds, you should carefully consider the risks associated with this Fund before you purchase shares. Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Admiral Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Admiral Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART [-40% to 40%] 2002 1.78% 2003 17.27% 2004 8.62% 2005 2.91% 2006 8.38% 2007 2.17% 2008 -21.19% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 4.68%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 6.00% (quarter ended June 30, 2003), and the lowest return for a quarter was -13.92% (quarter ended December 31, 2008). 2
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 Since 1 Year 5 Years Inception/1/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund Admiral Shares -21.19% -0.50% 2.23% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High-Yield Bond Index/2/ -26.16% -0.80% 2.96% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Since-inception returns are from November 12, 2001--the inception date of the Admiral Shares--through December 31, 2008. 2 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Admiral Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee 1%/1/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.15% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.03% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/2/ 0.18% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The 1% fee applies if you redeem shares within one year of purchase by selling or by exchanging to another fund. The fee is withheld from redemption proceeds and retained by the Fund. Shares held for one year or more are not subject to the 1% fee. 2 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest 3 $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $18 $58 $101 $230 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT FUND EXPENSES All mutual funds have operating expenses. These expenses, which are deducted from a fund's gross income, are expressed as a percentage of the net assets of the fund. We expect Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund Admiral Shares' expense ratio for the current fiscal year to be 0.18%, or $1.80 per $1,000 of average net assets. The average high-current-yield fund had expenses in 2008 of 1.25%, or $12.50 per $1,000 of average net assets (derived from data provided by Lipper Inc., which reports on the mutual fund industry). Management expenses, which are one part of operating expenses, include investment advisory fees as well as other costs of managing a fund--such as account maintenance, reporting, accounting, legal, and other administrative expenses. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT COSTS OF INVESTING Costs are an important consideration in choosing a mutual fund. That's because you, as a contract owner, pay the costs of operating a fund, plus any transaction costs incurred when the fund buys or sells securities. These costs can erode a substantial portion of the gross income or the capital appreciation a fund achieves. Even seemingly small differences in expenses can, over time, have a dramatic effect on a fund's performance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Additional Information As of January 31, 2009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets (all share classes) $7.8 billion --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor Wellington Management Company, LLP, Boston, Mass., since inception --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends and Capital Gains Dividends are declared daily and distributed on the first business day of each month; capital gains, if any, are distributed annually in December. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inception Date Investor Shares--December 27, 1978 Admiral Shares--November 12, 2001 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Abbreviation HYCorAdml --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard Fund Number 529 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSIP Number 922031760 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ticker Symbol VWEAX ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORE ON THE FUND This prospectus describes the primary risks you would face as a Fund shareholder. It is important to keep in mind one of the main axioms of investing: The higher the risk of losing money, the higher the potential reward. The reverse, also, is generally true: The lower the risk, the lower the potential reward. As you consider an investment in any mutual fund, you should take into account your personal tolerance for fluctuations in the securities markets. Look for this FLAG LOGO symbol throughout the prospectus. It is used to mark detailed information about the more significant risks that you would confront as a Fund shareholder. The following sections explain the primary investment strategies and policies that the Fund uses in pursuit of its objective. The Fund's board of trustees, which oversees the Fund's management, may change investment strategies or policies in the interest of shareholders without a shareholder vote, unless those strategies or policies are designated as fundamental. Note that the Fund's investment objective is not fundamental and may be changed without a shareholder vote. However, the Fund's policy of investing at least 80% of its assets in corporate bonds that are rated below Moody's Baa (or have an equivalent rating) may only be changed upon 60 days' notice to shareholders. 5 Market Exposure The Fund invests mainly in a diversified group of high-yielding, higher-risk corporate bonds, commonly known as "junk bonds," which are mostly short- and intermediate-term. The Fund also invests in fixed and floating rate loans of medium- to lower-range credit quality; these loans are mostly short and intermediate term. As a result of this investment strategy, the Fund is subject to certain risks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT HIGH-YIELD BONDS High-yield bonds, or "junk bonds," are issued by companies or other entities whose ability to pay interest and principal on the debt in a timely manner is considered questionable. Such bonds are rated "below investment-grade" by independent rating agencies. Because they are riskier than investment-grade bonds, high-yield bonds typically must pay more interest to attract investors. Some high-yield bonds are issued by smaller, less-seasoned companies, while others are issued as part of a corporate restructuring, such as an acquisition, merger, or leveraged buyout. Some high-yield bonds were once rated as investment-grade but have been downgraded to junk-bond status because of financial difficulties experienced by their issuers. Conversely, an issuer's improving financial condition may result in an upgrading of its junk bonds to investment-grade status. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FLAG LOGO Because of its investment in junk bonds, the Fund is subject to high credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer's ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. For more information about credit risk, see "Security Selection." FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests mainly in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. Although bonds are often thought to be less risky than stocks, there have been periods when bond prices have fallen significantly because of rising interest rates. For instance, prices of long-term bonds fell by almost 48% between December 1976 and September 1981. 6 To illustrate the relationship between bond prices and interest rates, the following table shows the effect of a 1% and a 2% change (both up and down) in interest rates on the values of three noncallable bonds of different maturities, each with a face value of $1,000.
How Interest Rate Changes Affect the Value of a $1,000 Bond/1/ After a 1% After a 1% After a 2% After a 2% Type of Bond (Maturity) Increase Decrease Increase Decrease ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term (2.5 years) $977 $1,024 $955 $1,048 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermediate-Term (10 years) 926 1,082 858 1,172 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Long-Term (20 years) 884 1,137 786 1,299 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Assuming a 5% coupon.
These figures are for illustration only; you should not regard them as an indication of future performance of the bond market as a whole or the Fund in particular. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BONDS AND INTEREST RATES As a rule, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall. The opposite is also true: Bond prices go up when interest rates fall. Why do bond prices and interest rates move in opposite directions? Let's assume that you hold a bond offering a 5% yield. A year later, interest rates are on the rise and bonds of comparable quality and maturity are offered with a 6% yield. With higher-yielding bonds available, you would have trouble selling your 5% bond for the price you paid--you would probably have to lower your asking price. On the other hand, if interest rates were falling and 4% bonds were being offered, you should be able to sell your 5% bond for more than you paid. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes in interest rates can affect bond income as well as bond prices. FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. A fund's income declines when interest rates fall because the fund then must invest in lower-yielding bonds. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. 7 The Fund is subject to prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of loans may prepay the loan principal before its maturity date. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interests rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BOND MATURITIES A bond is issued with a specific maturity date--the date when the issuer must pay back the bond's principal (face value). Bond maturities range from less than 1 year to more than 30 years. Typically, the longer a bond's maturity, the more price risk you, as a bond investor, face as interest rates rise--but also the higher yield you could receive. Longer-term bonds are more suitable for investors willing to take a greater risk of price fluctuations to get higher and more stable interest income. Shorter-term bond investors should be willing to accept lower yields and greater income variability in return for less fluctuation in the value of their investment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Fund may enter into mortgage-dollar-roll transactions, in which the Fund sells mortgage-backed securities to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to purchase similar securities in the future at a predetermined price. These transactions simulate an investment in mortgage-backed securities and have the potential to enhance the Fund's returns and reduce its administrative burdens, compared with holding mortgage-backed securities directly. These transactions may increase the Fund's portfolio turnover rate. Mortgage dollar rolls will be used only if consistent with the Fund's investment objective and risk profile. Security Selection Wellington Management Company, LLP (Wellington Management), advisor to the Fund, seeks to minimize the substantial investment risk posed by junk bonds, primarily through its use of solid credit research and broad diversification among issuers. FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. The Fund is generally managed without regard to tax ramifications. The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in corporate bonds that are rated below Baa by Moody's, or have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency. If unrated, a bond must be, in the advisor's opinion, comparable to those ratings. 8 The Fund may not invest more than 20% of its assets in any of the following, taken as a whole: bonds that are rated less than B or the equivalent, convertible securities, preferred stocks, and fixed and floating rate loans of medium to lower-range credit quality. The loans that the Fund may invest in will be rated Baa or below by Moody's, or have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency. If unrated, a loan must be, in the advisor's opinion, comparable to those ratings. The Fund's loans may include secondary assignments of fully-collateralized, unsubordinated, fixed or floating-rate loans made by banks or other financial institutions to corporations and other entities in connection with leveraged buy out transactions or other financing transactions. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in government securities and/or bonds that are rated Baa or above by Moody's or have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency. These are commonly referred to as investment-grade securities. The Fund will only invest in bonds and loans that, at the time of initial investment, are rated Caa or higher by Moody's; have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency; or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. In the past, the Fund has not invested in non-cash-flow-producing high-yield bonds, such as zero coupon bonds (which pay interest only at maturity) or payment-in-kind bonds (which pay interest in the form of additional securities). Although it has no present plans to do so, the Fund may invest up to 5% of its assets in such bonds in the future. The Fund may invest in bonds issued by foreign governments and companies, so long as the securities are denominated in U.S. dollars. To the extent that the Fund owns foreign bonds, it is subject to country risk, which is the chance that world events--such as political upheaval, financial troubles, or natural disasters--will adversely affect the value of securities issued by companies in foreign countries. Because the bond's value is designated in dollars rather than in the currency of the issuer's country, the Fund is not exposed to currency risk; rather the issuer assumes the risk, usually to attract U.S. investors. Certain investment restrictions, such as required minimum or maximum investment in a particular type of security, are measured at the time the Fund purchases a security. The market value, credit quality, or other characteristics of the Fund's securities may change after they are purchased, and this may cause the amount of the Fund's assets invested in such securities to exceed the stated maximum restrictions or fall below the stated minimum restrictions. If any of these changes occur, the Fund would not be considered to be in violation of the investment restriction. However, purchases by the Fund during the time it is above or below the stated restriction, during normal market conditions, would be in compliance with applicable restrictions. 9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT CREDIT QUALITY A bond's credit-quality rating is an assessment of the issuer's ability to pay interest on the bond and, ultimately, to repay the principal. Credit quality is evaluated by one of the independent bond-rating agencies (for example, Moody's or Standard & Poor's) or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor. The lower the rating, the greater the chance--in the rating agency's or advisor's opinion--that the bond issuer will default, or fail to meet its payment obligations. All things being equal, the lower a bond's credit rating, the higher its yield should be to compensate investors for assuming additional risk. Investment-grade bonds are those rated in one of the four highest ratings categories. A fund may treat an unrated bond as investment-grade if warranted by the advisor's analysis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bonds that are rated below Moody's Baa or have an equivalent rating, such as those held by the Fund, are classified as non-investment-grade. These bonds carry a high degree of risk and are considered speculative by the major rating agencies. Credit quality in the high-yield bond market can change suddenly and unexpectedly, and even recently issued credit ratings may not fully reflect the actual risks posed by a particular high-yield bond. For these reasons, it is the Fund's policy not to rely primarily on ratings issued by established credit-rating agencies, but to utilize these ratings in conjunction with the advisor's own independent and ongoing review of credit quality. Wellington Management selects bonds on a company-by-company basis, emphasizing fundamental research and a long-term investment horizon. The analysis focuses on the nature of a company's business, its strategy, and the quality of its management. Based on this analysis, the advisor looks for companies whose prospects are stable or improving and whose bonds offer an attractive yield. Companies with improving prospects are normally more attractive because they offer better assurance of debt repayment and greater potential for capital appreciation. As of January 31, 2009, the Fund's holdings had the following credit-quality characteristics: Percentage of Fund's Credit Quality Net Assets ------------------------------------------- Aaa/AAA 3.1% ------------------------------------------- Baa/BBB 7.6 ------------------------------------------- Ba/BB 37.9 ------------------------------------------- B 41.7 ------------------------------------------- Below B/Other 9.7 ------------------------------------------- 10 To minimize credit risk, the Fund normally diversifies its holdings among debt of at least 100 separate issuers, representing many industries. As of January 31, 2009, the Fund held debt of 257 corporate issuers. This diversification should lessen the negative impact to the Fund of a particular issuer's failure to pay either principal or interest. FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to liquidity risk, which is the chance that the Fund could experience difficulties in valuing and selling illiquid high-yield bonds or loans. In the event that the Fund needs to sell a portfolio security during periods of infrequent trading of the security, it may not receive full value for the security. FLAG LOGO The Fund may invest in derivatives. In general, derivatives may involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of the underlying securities, assets, or market indexes. Generally speaking, a derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a stock, bond, or currency), a physical asset (such as gold), or a market index (such as the S&P 500 Index). The Fund may invest in derivatives only if the expected risks and rewards of the derivatives are consistent with the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks of the Fund as disclosed in this prospectus. The advisor will not use derivatives to change the risk exposure of the Fund. In particular, derivatives will be used only where they may help the advisor: . Invest in eligible asset classes with greater efficiency and lower cost than is possible through direct investment; . Add value when these instruments are attractively priced; or . Adjust sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The Fund's derivative investments may include fixed income futures contracts, fixed income options, interest rate swaps, total return swaps, credit default swaps, or other derivatives. Losses (or gains) involving futures contracts can sometimes be substantial--in part because a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in an immediate and substantial loss (or gain) for a fund. Similar risks exist for other types of derivatives. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT DERIVATIVES Derivatives can take many forms. Some forms of derivatives, such as exchange-traded futures and options on securities, commodities, or indexes, have been trading on regulated exchanges for decades. These types of derivatives are standardized contracts that can easily be bought and sold, and whose market values are determined and published daily. Nonstandardized derivatives (such as swap agreements), on the other hand, tend to be more specialized or complex, and may be harder to value. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 Cash Management The Fund's daily cash balance may be invested in one or more Vanguard CMT Funds, which are very low-cost money market funds. When investing in a Vanguard CMT Fund, the Fund bears its proportionate share of the at-cost expenses of the CMT Fund in which it invests. Temporary Investment Measures The Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies when doing so is believed to be in the Fund's best interest, so long as the alternative is consistent with the Fund's investment objective. For instance, the Fund may invest beyond the normal limits in derivatives or ETFs that are consistent with the Fund's objective when those instruments are more favorably priced or provide needed liquidity, as might be the case when the Fund is transitioning assets from one advisor to another or receives large cash flows that it cannot prudently invest immediately. In addition, the Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its normal investment policies and strategies--for instance, by allocating substantial assets to cash investments, commercial paper, U.S. Treasury securities, or other less volatile instruments--in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. Such conditions could include a temporary decline in the availability of corporate bonds rated below Baa by Moody's or bonds that have an equivalent rating by any other independent bond-rating agency. In doing so, the Fund may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective. Redemption Fee The Fund charges a 1% fee if you have made an exchange into the Fund and subsequently exchange those shares out of the Fund within one year. If you exchange shares out of the Fund, Vanguard first exchanges shares that are exempt from redemption fees (such as shares purchased with dividend or capital gains distributions and shares purchased with plan participant payroll or employer contributions). Shares you have held the longest will be redeemed next. Unlike a sales charge or a load paid to a broker or a fund management company, the redemption fee is paid directly to the Fund to offset the costs of buying and selling securities. The redemption fee is designed to ensure that short-term investors pay their share of the Fund's transaction costs and that long-term investors do not subsidize the activities of short-term traders. See the FUND PROFILE and INVESTING WITH VANGUARD for more information about fees. 12 Frequent Trading or Market-Timing Background. Some investors try to profit from strategies involving frequent trading of mutual fund shares, such as market-timing. For funds holding foreign securities, investors may try to take advantage of an anticipated difference between the price of the fund's shares and price movements in overseas markets, a practice also known as time-zone arbitrage. Investors also may try to engage in frequent trading of funds holding investments such as small-cap stocks and high-yield bonds. As money is shifted into and out of a fund by a shareholder engaging in frequent trading, a fund incurs costs for buying and selling securities, resulting in increased brokerage and administrative costs. These costs are borne by all fund shareholders, including the long-term investors who do not generate the costs. In addition, frequent trading may interfere with an advisor's ability to efficiently manage the fund. Policies to Address Frequent Trading. The Vanguard funds (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and Vanguard ETF/ TM/ Shares) do not knowingly accommodate frequent trading. The board of trustees of each Vanguard fund has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to detect and discourage frequent trading and, in some cases, to compensate the fund for the costs associated with it. Although there is no assurance that Vanguard will be able to detect or prevent frequent trading or market-timing in all circumstances, the following policies have been adopted to address these issues: . Each Vanguard fund reserves the right to reject any purchase request--including exchanges from other Vanguard funds--without notice and regardless of size. For example, a purchase request could be rejected if Vanguard determines that such purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance or because of a history of frequent trading by the investor. . Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and ETF Shares) generally prohibits, except as otherwise noted in the INVESTING WITH VANGUARD section, a participant from exchanging into a fund account for 60 calendar days after the participant has exchanged out of that fund account. . Certain Vanguard funds charge shareholders purchase and/or redemption fees on transactions. See the Investing With Vanguard section of this prospectus for further details on Vanguard's transaction policies. Each fund (other than money market funds), in determining its net asset value, will, when appropriate, use fair-value pricing, as described in the SHARE PRICE section. Fair-value pricing may reduce or eliminate the profitability of certain frequent-trading strategies. Do not invest with Vanguard if you are a market-timer. 13 Turnover Rate Although the Fund normally seeks to invest for the long term, it may sell securities regardless of how long they have been held. The FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS section of this prospectus shows historical turnover rates for the Fund. A turnover rate of 100%, for example, would mean that the Fund had sold and replaced securities valued at 100% of its net assets within a one-year period. The average turnover rate for high-yield corporate funds was approximately 67%, as reported by Morningstar, Inc., on January 31, 2009. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT TURNOVER RATE Before investing in a mutual fund, you should review its turnover rate. This gives an indication of how transaction costs, which are not included in the fund's expense ratio, could affect the fund's future returns. In general, the greater the volume of buying and selling by the fund, the greater the impact that dealer markups and other transaction costs will have on its return. Also, funds with high turnover rates may be more likely to generate capital gains that must be distributed to shareholders. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE FUND AND VANGUARD The Fund is a member of The Vanguard Group, a family of 37 investment companies with more than 150 funds holding assets of approximately $1 trillion. All of the funds that are members of The Vanguard Group share in the expenses associated with administrative services and business operations, such as personnel, office space, equipment, and advertising. Vanguard also provides marketing services to the funds. Although shareholders do not pay sales commissions or 12b-1 distribution fees, each fund (or in the case of a fund with multiple share classes, each share class of the fund) pays its allocated share of The Vanguard Group's marketing costs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT VANGUARD'S UNIQUE CORPORATE STRUCTURE The Vanguard Group is truly a mutual mutual fund company. It is owned jointly by the funds it oversees and thus indirectly by the shareholders in those funds. Most other mutual funds are operated by management companies that may be owned by one person, by a private group of individuals, or by public investors who own the management company's stock. The management fees charged by these companies include a profit component over and above the companies' cost of providing services. By contrast, Vanguard provides services to its member funds on an at-cost basis, with no profit component, which helps to keep the funds' expenses low. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 INVESTMENT ADVISOR Wellington Management Company, LLP (Wellington Management), 75 State Street, Boston, MA 02109, is a Massachusetts limited liability partnership and a professional investment counseling firm that provides investment services to investment companies, employee benefit plans, endowments, foundations, and other institutions. Wellington Management and its predecessor organizations have provided investment advisory services for over 70 years. As of January 31, 2009, Wellington Management managed approximately $420 billion in assets. The firm's advisory fee is paid quarterly and is based on certain annual percentage rates applied to the Fund's average daily net assets for each quarter. For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009, the advisory fee represented an effective annual rate of 0.04% of the Fund's average net assets. Under the terms of an SEC exemption, the Fund's board of trustees may, without prior approval from shareholders, change the terms of an advisory agreement or hire a new investment advisor--either as a replacement for an existing advisor or as an additional advisor. Any significant change in the Fund's advisory arrangements will be communicated to shareholders in writing. In addition, as the Fund's sponsor and overall manager, The Vanguard Group may provide investment advisory services to the Fund, on an at-cost basis, at any time. Vanguard may also recommend to the board of trustees that an advisor be hired, terminated, or replaced, or that the terms of an existing advisory agreement be revised. For a discussion of why the board of trustees approved the Fund's investment advisory agreement, see the most recent semiannual report to shareholders covering the fiscal period ended July 31. The manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund is: MICHAEL L. HONG, CFA, Vice President, and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager of Wellington Management. He has worked in investment management with Wellington Management since 1997 and has managed the Fund since February 2008. Education: A.B. Harvard College. The Statement of Additional Information provides information about each portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts under management, and ownership of shares of the Fund. 15 DIVIDENDS, CAPITAL GAINS, AND TAXES The Fund distributes to shareholders virtually all of its net income (interest less expenses) as well as any net capital gains realized from the sale of its holdings. The Fund's income dividends accrue daily and are distributed on the first business day of every month; capital gains distributions generally occur annually in December. In addition, the Fund may occasionally make supplemental distributions at some other time during the year. Your distributions will be reinvested in additional Fund shares and accumulate on a tax-deferred basis if you are investing through an employer-sponsored retirement or savings plan. You will not owe taxes on these distributions until you begin withdrawals from the plan. You should consult your plan administrator, your plan's Summary Plan Description, or your tax advisor about the tax consequences of plan withdrawals. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT DISTRIBUTIONS As a shareholder, you are entitled to your portion of a fund's income from interest as well as capital gains from the fund's sale of investments. Income consists of interest the fund earns from its money market and bond investments. Capital gains are realized whenever the fund sells securities for higher prices than it paid for them. These capital gains are either short-term or long-term, depending on whether the fund held the securities for one year or less or for more than one year. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHARE PRICE Share price, also known as net asset value (NAV), is calculated each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, generally 4 p.m., Eastern time. Each share class has its own NAV, which is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, allocated to each share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. On holidays or other days when the Exchange is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Fund does not transact purchase or redemption requests. Debt securities held by a Vanguard fund are valued based on information furnished by an independent pricing service or market quotations. Certain short-term debt instruments used to manage a fund's cash are valued on the basis of amortized cost. The values of any mutual fund shares held by a fund are based on the NAVs of the shares. The values of any ETF or closed-end fund shares held by a fund are based on the market value of the shares. 16 When a fund determines that pricing-service information or market quotations either are not readily available or do not accurately reflect the value of a security, the security is priced at its fair value (the amount that the owner might reasonably expect to receive upon the current sale of the security). A fund also may use fair-value pricing on bond market holidays when the fund is open for business (such as Columbus Day and Veterans Day). Fair-value prices are determined by Vanguard according to procedures adopted by the board of trustees. When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by a fund to calculate the NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Vanguard fund share prices can be found daily in the mutual fund listings of most major newspapers under various "Vanguard" headings. 17 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The following financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Admiral Shares' financial performance for the periods shown, and certain information reflects financial results for a single Admiral Share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost each period on an investment in the Admiral Shares (assuming reinvestment of all distributions). This information has been derived from the financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report--along with the Fund's financial statements--is included in the Fund's most recent annual report to shareholders. You may obtain a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report online at www.vanguard.com or by contacting Vanguard by telephone or mail. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT HOW TO READ THE FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS TABLE The Admiral Shares began fiscal year 2009 with a net asset value (price) of $5.82 per share. During the year, each Admiral Share earned $0.437 from investment income (interest). There was a decline of $1.340 per share in the value of investments held or sold by the Fund, resulting in a net decline of $0.903 per share from investment operations. Shareholders received $0.437 per share in the form of dividend distributions. A portion of each year's distributions may come from the prior year's income or capital gains. The share price at the end of the year was $4.48, reflecting losses of $0.903 per share and distributions of $0.437 per share. This was a decrease of $1.34 per share (from $5.82 at the beginning of the year to $4.48 at the end of the year). For a shareholder who reinvested the distributions in the purchase of more shares, the total return was -16.09% for the year. As of January 31, 2009, the Admiral Shares had approximately $3.9 billion in net assets. For the year, the expense ratio was 0.15% ($1.50 per $1,000 of net assets), and the net investment income amounted to 8.45% of average net assets. The Fund sold and replaced securities valued at 21% of its net assets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18
HIGH-YIELD CORPORATE FUND ADMIRAL SHARES Year Ended January 31, -------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $5.82 $6.22 $6.19 $6.39 $6.40 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .437 .454 .446 .445 .466 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments (1.340) (.400) .030 (.200) (.010) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations (.903) .054 .476 .245 .456 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISTRIBUTIONS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.437) (.454) (.446) (.445) (.466) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains -- -- -- -- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.437) (.454) (.446) (.445) (.466) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $4.48 $5.82 $6.22 $6.19 $6.39 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL RETURN/1/ -16.09% 0.83% 8.03% 4.04% 7.44% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $3,885 $4,287 $4,320 $3,856 $2,225 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to Average Net Assets 0.15% 0.13% 0.13% 0.12% 0.12% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets 8.45% 7.46% 7.26% 7.14% 7.36% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 21% 26% 47% 44% 51% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Total returns do not reflect the 1% fee assessed on redemptions of shares held for less than one year.
19 INVESTING WITH VANGUARD The Fund is an investment option in your retirement or savings plan. Your plan administrator or your employee benefits office can provide you with detailed information on how to participate in your plan and how to elect the Fund as an investment option. . If you have any questions about the Fund or Vanguard, including those about the Fund's investment objective, strategies, or risks, contact Vanguard Participant Services, toll-free, at 800-523-1188. . If you have questions about your account, contact your plan administrator or the organization that provides recordkeeping services for your plan. . Be sure to carefully read each topic that pertains to your transactions with Vanguard. Vanguard reserves the right to change its policies without prior notice to shareholders. Investment Options and Allocations Your plan's specific provisions may allow you to change your investment selections, the amount of your contributions, or how your contributions are allocated among the investment choices available to you. Contact your plan administrator or employee benefits office for more details. Transactions Contribution, exchange, or redemption requests must be in good order. Good order means that your request includes complete information on your contribution, exchange, or redemption, and that Vanguard has received the appropriate assets. In all cases, your transaction will be based on the next-determined NAV of the Fund's Admiral Shares after Vanguard receives your request (or, in the case of new contributions, the next-determined NAV after Vanguard receives the order from your plan administrator). As long as this request is received before the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time), you will receive that day's NAV. This is known as your trade date. NAVs are calculated only on days the NYSE is open for trading. You begin earning dividends on the next business day after your contribution trade date. Shares continue earning dividends until the next business day after your exchange or redemption trade date. Redemption Fees Participants will incur redemption fees if, after making an exchange, transfer, or rollover into a fund with a redemption fee, the participant makes a subsequent exchange out of the fund within the redemption-fee period. The fee is withheld from redemption proceeds and is retained by the fund. Shares held longer than the redemption-fee holding period are not subject to the fee. 20 After exchanging shares that are exempt from redemption fees, shares you have held the longest will be exchanged first. For retirement plan participants, redemption fees do not apply to the following: exchanges of shares purchased with participant payroll or employer contributions; exchanges of shares purchased with reinvested dividend and capital gains distributions; distributions, loans, and in-service withdrawals from a plan; redemptions or transfers of shares as part of a plan termination or at the direction of the plan; direct rollovers into IRAs; conversions of shares from one share class to another in the same fund; redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees; and reregistrations of shares in the same fund. Frequent Trading The exchange privilege (your ability to purchase shares of a fund using the proceeds from the simultaneous redemption of shares of another fund) may be available to you through your plan. Although we make every effort to maintain the exchange privilege, Vanguard reserves the right to revise or terminate this privilege, limit the amount of an exchange, or reject any exchange, at any time, without notice. Because excessive exchanges can disrupt the management of the Vanguard funds and increase their transaction costs, Vanguard places certain limits on the exchange privilege. If you are exchanging out of any Vanguard fund (other than money market funds and short-term bond funds), you must wait 60 days before exchanging back into the fund. This policy applies, regardless of the dollar amount. Please note that the 60-day clock restarts after every exchange out of the fund. The frequent-trading policy does not apply to the following: exchange requests submitted by mail to Vanguard (exchange requests submitted by fax are not mail requests and remain subject to the policy); exchanges of shares purchased with participant payroll or employer contributions or loan repayments; exchanges of shares purchased with reinvested dividend or capital gains distributions; distributions, loans, and in-service withdrawals from a plan; redemptions of shares as part of a plan termination or at the direction of the plan; redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees; share or asset transfers or rollovers; reregistrations of shares within the same fund; conversions of shares from one share class to another in the same fund; and automated transactions executed during the first six months of a participant's enrollment in the Vanguard Managed Account Program. 21 Before making an exchange to or from another fund available in your plan, consider the following: . Certain investment options, particularly funds made up of company stock or investment contracts, may be subject to unique restrictions. . Be sure to read the Fund's prospectus. Contact Vanguard Participant Services, toll-free, at 800-523-1188 for a copy. . Vanguard can accept exchanges only as permitted by your plan. Contact your plan administrator for details on other exchange policies that apply to your plan. Plans for which Vanguard does not serve as recordkeeper: If Vanguard does not serve as recordkeeper for your plan, your plan's recordkeeper will establish accounts in Vanguard funds for the benefit of its clients. In such accounts, we cannot always monitor the trading activity of individual clients. However, we review trading activity at the omnibus level, and if we detect suspicious activity, we will investigate and take appropriate action. If necessary, Vanguard may prohibit additional purchases of fund shares by an intermediary or by an intermediary for the benefit of certain of the intermediary's clients. Intermediaries may also monitor participants' trading activity with respect to Vanguard funds. For those Vanguard funds that charge purchase or redemption fees, intermediaries that establish accounts in the Vanguard funds will be asked to assess purchase and redemption fees on participant accounts and remit these fees to the funds. The application of purchase and redemption fees and frequent-trading policies may vary among intermediaries. There are no assurances that Vanguard will successfully identify all intermediaries or that intermediaries will properly assess purchase and redemption fees or administer frequent-trading policies. If a firm other than Vanguard serves as recordkeeper for your plan, please read that firm's materials carefully to learn of any other rules or fees that may apply. No cancellations. Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any transaction request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing a transaction request. Proof of a caller's authority. We reserve the right to refuse a telephone request if the caller is unable to provide the requested information or if we reasonably believe that the caller is not an individual authorized to act on the account. Before we allow a caller to act on an account, we may request the following information: . Authorization to act on the account (as the account owner or by legal documentation or other means). . Account registration and address. . Fund name and account number, if applicable. . Other information relating to the caller, the account holder, or the account. 22 Uncashed Checks Vanguard will not pay interest on uncashed checks. Portfolio Holdings We generally post on our website at www.vanguard.com, in the Portfolio section of the Fund's Portfolio and Management page, a detailed list of the securities held by the Fund, as of the most recent calendar-quarter-end. This list is generally updated within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Vanguard may exclude any portion of these portfolio holdings from publication when deemed in the best interest of the Fund. Please consult the Fund's Statement of Additional Information or our website for a description of the policies and procedures that govern disclosure of the Fund's portfolio holdings. ACCESSING FUND INFORMATION BY COMPUTER Vanguard on the World Wide Web WWW.VANGUARD.COM Use your personal computer to visit Vanguard's education-oriented website, which provides timely news and information about Vanguard funds and services; the online Education Center that offers a variety of mutual fund classes; and easy-to-use, interactive tools to help you create your own investment and retirement strategies. CFA/(R)/ is a trademark owned by CFA Institute. Standard & Poor's/(R)/, S&P/(R)/, S&P 500/(R)/, Standard & Poor's 500, and 500 are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., and have been licensed for use by The Vanguard Group, Inc. Vanguard mutual funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Standard & Poor's, and Standard & Poor's makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the funds. 23 GLOSSARY OF INVESTMENT TERMS Average Maturity. The average length of time until bonds held by a fund reach maturity and are repaid. In general, the longer the average maturity, the more a fund's share price fluctuates in response to changes in market interest rates. In calculating average maturity, a fund uses a bond's maturity or, if applicable, an earlier date on which the advisor believes it is likely that a maturity-shortening device (such as a call, put, refunding, prepayment or redemption provision, or an adjustable coupon) will cause the bond to be repaid. Capital Gains Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of gains realized on securities that a fund has sold at a profit, minus any realized losses. Cash Investments. Cash deposits, short-term bank deposits, and money market instruments that include U.S. Treasury bills and notes, bank certificates of deposit (CDs), repurchase agreements, commercial paper, and banker's acceptances. Corporate Bond. An IOU issued by a business that wants to borrow money. As with other types of bonds, the issuer promises to repay the borrowed money on a specific date and to make interest payments in the meantime. Coupon. The interest rate paid by the issuer of a debt security until its maturity. It is expressed as an annual percentage of the face value of the security. Dividend Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of income from interest or dividends generated by a fund's investments. Expense Ratio. The percentage of a fund's average net assets used to pay its expenses during a fiscal year. The expense ratio includes management expenses--such as advisory fees, account maintenance, reporting, accounting, legal, and other administrative expenses--and any 12b-1 distribution fees. It does not include the transaction costs of buying and selling portfolio securities. Face Value. The amount to be paid at a bond's maturity; also known as the par value or principal. Fixed Income Security. An investment, such as a bond, representing a debt that must be repaid by a specified date, and on which the borrower must pay a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest. Inception Date. The date on which the assets of a fund (or one of its share classes) are first invested in accordance with the fund's investment objective. For funds with a subscription period, the inception date is the day after that period ends. Investment performance is measured from the inception date. 24 Investment-Grade Bond. A debt security whose credit quality is considered by independent bond-rating agencies, or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor, to be sufficient to ensure timely payment of principal and interest under current economic circumstances. Debt securities rated in one of the four highest rating categories are considered "investment-grade." Other debt securities may be considered by the advisor to be investment-grade. Non-Investment-Grade Bond. A debt security whose credit-quality is considered by independent bond-rating agencies, or through independent analysis conducted by a fund advisor, to be uncertain. These high-risk corporate bonds have a credit-quality rating equivalent to or below Moody's Ba or Standard & Poor's BB and are commonly referred to as "junk bonds." Securities. Stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other investment vehicles. Total Return. A percentage change, over a specified time period, in a mutual fund's net asset value, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions of dividends and capital gains. Volatility. The fluctuations in value of a mutual fund or other security. The greater a fund's volatility, the wider the fluctuations in its returns. Yield. Income (interest or dividends) earned by an investment, expressed as a percentage of the investment's price. [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD/(R)/] Institutional Division P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900 CONNECT WITH VANGUARD/(R)/ > www.vanguard.com For More Information If you would like more information about Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund, the following documents are available free upon request: Annual/Semiannual Reports to Shareholders Additional information about the Fund's investments is available in the Fund's annual and semiannual reports to shareholders. In the annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year. Statement of Additional Information (SAI) The SAI provides more detailed information about the Fund. The current annual and semiannual reports and the SAI are incorporated by reference into (and are thus legally a part of) this prospectus. To receive a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report or the SAI, or to request additional information about the Fund or other Vanguard funds, please visit www.vanguard.com or contact us as follows: The Vanguard Group Participant Services P.O. Box 2900 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900 Telephone: 800-523-1188 Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-749-7273 Information Provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) You can review and copy information about the Fund (including the SAI) at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. To find out more about this public service, call the SEC at 202-551-8090. Reports and other information about the Fund are also available in the EDGAR database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov, or you can receive copies of this information, for a fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the Public Reference Section, Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC 20549-0102. Fund's Investment Company Act file number: 811-2368 (C) 2009 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor. I529 052009 [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD/(R)/] VANGUARD GNMA FUND PROSPECTUS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- May 29, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTOR SHARES This prospectus contains financial data for the Fund through the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. CONTENTS ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Fund Profile 1 Financial Highlights 16 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- More on the Fund 4 General Information 18 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Fund and Vanguard 13 Glossary of Investment Terms 20 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Advisor 13 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Taxes 14 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Share Price 15 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Reading This Prospectus Is Important This prospectus explains the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks associated with the Fund. To highlight terms and concepts important to mutual fund investors, we have provided Plain Talk/(R)/ explanations along the way. Reading the prospectus will help you decide whether the Fund is the right investment for you. We suggest that you keep this prospectus for future reference. This prospectus offers the Fund's Investor Shares and is intended for investors who would like to open an income annuity (also referred to as an immediate annuity) account through a contract offered by an insurance company. Another version--for investors who would like to open a personal investment account--can be obtained by calling Vanguard at 800-662-7447. A Note About Investing in the Fund The Fund is a mutual fund used as an investment option for income annuity programs offered by insurance companies and for personal investment accounts. When investing through an insurance company, you cannot purchase shares of the Fund directly, but only through a contract offered by the insurance company. The Fund's income annuity accounts' performance will differ from the performance of personal investment accounts because of administrative and insurance costs associated with the income annuity programs. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. FUND PROFILE Investment Objective The Fund seeks to provide a moderate level of current income. Primary Investment Strategies The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) pass-through certificates, which are fixed income securities representing part ownership in a pool of mortgage loans supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The balance of the Fund's assets may be invested in U.S. Treasury or other U.S. government agency securities, as well as in repurchase agreements collateralized by such securities. Securities issued by most U.S. government agencies, other than the U.S. Treasury and GNMA, are neither guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury nor supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The Fund's dollar-weighted average maturity depends on homeowner prepayments of the underlying mortgages. Although the Fund does not observe specific maturity guidelines, the Fund's dollar-weighted average maturity will normally fall within an intermediate-term range (3 to 10 years). For additional information on the Fund's investment strategies, please see MORE ON THE FUND. Primary Risks An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or even long periods. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall bond market. The Fund's performance could be hurt by: . Prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, homeowners will refinance their mortgages before their maturity dates, resulting in prepayment of mortgage-backed securities held by the Fund. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. Prepayment risk is high for the Fund. . Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate accordingly. . Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. In addition, when interest rates decline, GNMA prices typically do not rise as much as the prices of comparable bonds. This is because the market tends to discount GNMA prices for prepayment risk when interest rates decline. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund. . Manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. 1 Performance/Risk Information The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Investor Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns compare with those of a relevant market index. The bar chart and table do not reflect additional fees and expenses that are deducted by the income annuity program through which you invest. If such fees and expenses were included in the calculation of the Fund's returns, the returns would be lower. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Annual Total Returns--Investor Shares/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAR CHART [-20% to 40%] 1999 0.78% 2000 11.22% 2001 7.94% 2002 9.68% 2003 2.49% 2004 4.13% 2005 3.33% 2006 4.33% 2007 7.01% 2008 7.22% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended March 31, 2009, was 1.98%. During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 4.03% (quarter ended September 30, 2001), and the lowest return for a quarter was -1.24% (quarter ended June 30, 2004).
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2008 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanguard GNMA Fund Investor Shares 7.22% 5.19% 5.77% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barclays Capital U.S. GNMA Bond Index/1/ (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses) 7.87% 5.39% 5.94% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Effective September 20, 2008, Lehman Brothers indexes were rebranded to Barclays Capital indexes.
2 A Note on Fees As an investor in the Fund, you would incur various operating costs, including management, advisory, and distribution expenses. Detailed information about the costs of operating the Fund appears in the table titled Annual Fund Operating Expenses. You also would incur fees associated with the income annuity program through which you invest. Detailed information about the annuity program fees is presented in the "Fee Table" section of the accompanying prospectus for the annuity program through which Fund shares are offered. Fees and Expenses The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Shares of the Fund. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the Fund for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. However, these costs are reflected in the investment performance figures included in this prospectus. The expenses shown in the following table are based on those incurred in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Purchase Fee None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Redemption Fee None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses deducted from the Fund's assets) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Management Expenses 0.19% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12b-1 Distribution Fee None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Expenses 0.04% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses/1/ 0.23% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses have been restated to reflect expenses being deducted from current Fund assets.
3 The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's Investor Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the Shares provide a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. The results apply whether or not you redeem your investment at the end of the given period. 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years -------------------------------------------------------- $24 $74 $130 $293 -------------------------------------------------------- This example should not be considered to represent actual expenses or performance from the past or for the future. Actual future expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT COSTS OF INVESTING Costs are an important consideration in choosing a mutual fund. That's because you, as a contract owner, pay the costs of operating a fund, plus any transaction costs incurred when the fund buys or sells securities. These costs can erode a substantial portion of the gross income or the capital appreciation a fund achieves. Even seemingly small differences in expenses can, over time, have a dramatic effect on a fund's performance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE ON THE FUND This prospectus describes the primary risks you would face as an investor in this Fund. It is important to keep in mind one of the main axioms of investing: The higher the risk of losing money, the higher the potential reward. The reverse, also, is generally true: The lower the risk, the lower the potential reward. As you consider an investment in any mutual fund, you should take into account your personal tolerance for fluctuations in the securities markets. Look for this FLAG LOGO symbol throughout the prospectus. It is used to mark detailed information about the more significant risks that you would confront as a Fund investor. 4 The following sections explain the primary investment strategies and policies that the Fund uses in pursuit of its objective. The Fund's board of trustees, which oversees the Fund's management, may change investment strategies or policies in the interest of shareholders without a shareholder vote, unless those strategies or policies are designated as fundamental. Note that the Fund's investment objective is not fundamental and may be changed without a shareholder vote. However, the Fund's 80% investment policy may be changed only upon 60 days' notice to shareholders. Market Exposure FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for short-term bond funds, moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, and high for long-term bond funds. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund. Although bonds are often thought to be less risky than stocks, there have been periods when bond prices have fallen significantly because of rising interest rates. For instance, prices of long-term bonds fell by almost 48% between December 1976 and September 1981. To illustrate the relationship between bond prices and interest rates, the following table shows the effect of a 1% and a 2% change (both up and down) in interest rates on the values of three noncallable bonds of different maturities, each with a face value of $1,000. How Interest Rate Changes Affect the Value of a $1,000 Bond/1/ After a 1% After a 1% After a 2% After a 2% Type of Bond (Maturity) Increase Decrease Increase Decrease ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Short-Term (2.5 years) $977 $1,024 $955 $1,048 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Intermediate-Term (10 years) 926 1,082 858 1,172 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Long-Term (20 years) 884 1,137 786 1,299 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Assuming a 5% coupon. These figures are for illustration only; you should not regard them as an indication of future performance of the bond market as a whole or the Fund in particular. 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BONDS AND INTEREST RATES As a rule, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall. The opposite is also true: Bond prices go up when interest rates fall. Why do bond prices and interest rates move in opposite directions? Let's assume that you hold a bond offering a 5% yield. A year later, interest rates are on the rise and bonds of comparable quality and maturity are offered with a 6% yield. With higher-yielding bonds available, you would have trouble selling your 5% bond for the price you paid--you would probably have to lower your asking price. On the other hand, if interest rates were falling and 4% bonds were being offered, you should be able to sell your 5% bond for more than you paid. How mortgage-backed securities are different: In general, declining interest rates will not lift the prices of mortgage-backed securities--such as GNMAs--as much as the prices of comparable bonds. Why? Because when interest rates fall, the bond market tends to discount the prices of mortgage-backed securities for prepayment risk--the possibility that homeowners will refinance their mortgages at lower rates and cause the bonds to be paid off prior to maturity. In part to compensate for this prepayment possibility, mortgage-backed securities tend to offer higher yields than other bonds of comparable credit quality and maturity. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes in interest rates can affect bond income as well as bond prices. FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. A fund's income declines when interest rates fall because the fund then must invest in lower-yielding bonds. Income risk is generally higher for short-term bond funds and lower for long-term bond funds. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT BOND MATURITIES A bond is issued with a specific maturity date--the date when the issuer must pay back the bond's principal (face value). Bond maturities range from less than 1 year to more than 30 years. Typically, the longer a bond's maturity, the more price risk you, as a bond investor, face as interest rates rise--but also the higher yield you could receive. Longer-term bonds are more suitable for investors willing to take a greater risk of price fluctuations to get higher and more stable interest income. Shorter-term bond investors should be willing to accept lower yields and greater income variability in return for less fluctuation in the value of their investment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Although falling interest rates tend to strengthen bond prices, they can cause other sorts of problems for bond fund investors--bond calls and prepayments. FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, homeowners will refinance their mortgages before their maturity dates, resulting in prepayment of mortgage-backed securities held by the Fund. The Fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. Prepayment risk is high for the Fund. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT CREDIT QUALITY A bond's credit-quality rating is an assessment of the issuer's ability to pay interest on the bond and, ultimately, to repay the principal. Credit quality is evaluated by one of the independent bond-rating agencies (for example, Moody's or Standard & Poor's) or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor. The lower the rating, the greater the chance--in the rating agency's or advisor's opinion--that the bond issuer will default, or fail to meet its payment obligations. All things being equal, the lower a bond's credit rating, the higher its yield should be to compensate investors for assuming additional risk. Investment-grade bonds are those rated in one of the four highest ratings categories. A fund may treat an unrated bond as investment-grade if warranted by the advisor's analysis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The credit quality of the Fund is high and, therefore, credit risk should be low. The dollar-weighted average credit quality of the Fund's holdings, as rated by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., was Aaa, as of January 31, 2009. Security Selection The types of financial instruments that may be purchased by the Fund are identified and explained as follows: . U.S. government and agency bonds represent loans by investors to the U.S. Treasury Department or a wide variety of government agencies and instrumentalities. Securities issued by most U.S. government entities are neither guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury nor backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. These entities include, among others, the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs), the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC). Securities issued by the U.S. Treasury and a small number of U.S. government agencies, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT U.S. GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED ENTITIES A variety of U.S. government-sponsored entities (GSEs), such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs), issue debt and mortgage-backed securities. Although GSEs may be chartered or sponsored by acts of Congress, they are not funded by congressional appropriations. In September of 2008, the U.S. Treasury placed FNMA and FHLMC under conservatorship and appointed the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to manage their daily operations. In addition, the U.S. Treasury entered into purchase agreements with FNMA and FHLMC to provide them with capital in exchange for senior preferred stock. Generally, their securities are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. In most cases, these securities are supported only by the credit of the GSE, standing alone. In some cases, a GSE's securities may be supported by the ability of the GSE to borrow from the Treasury, or may be supported by the U.S. government in some other way. Securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), however, are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . Mortgage-backed securities represent an ownership interest in mortgage loans made by financial institutions to finance a borrower's real estate purchase. These loans are packaged by issuers for sale to investors. As the underlying mortgage loans are paid by borrowers, the investors receive payments of interest and principal. . Mortgage dollar rolls are transactions in which the Fund sells mortgage-backed securities to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to purchase similar securities in the future at a predetermined price. These transactions simulate an investment in mortgage-backed securities and have the potential to enhance the Fund's returns and reduce its administrative burdens, compared with holding mortgage-backed securities directly. These transactions may increase the Fund's portfolio turnover rate. Mortgage dollar rolls will be used only if consistent with the Fund's investment objective and risk profile. 8 . Cash investments is a blanket term that describes a variety of short-term fixed income investments, including money market instruments, commercial paper, bank certificates of deposit, banker's acceptances, and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements represent short-term (normally overnight) loans by a Fund to commercial banks or large securities dealers. The Fund may invest only in repurchase agreements that are collateralized by U.S. Treasury or U.S. government agency securities. Repurchase agreements can carry several risks. For instance, if the seller is unable to repurchase the securities as promised, the Fund may experience a loss when trying to sell the securities to another buyer. Also, if the seller becomes insolvent, a bankruptcy court may determine that the securities do not belong to the Fund and order that the securities be used to pay off the seller's debts. The Fund's advisors believe that these risks can be controlled through careful security selection and monitoring. . Collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) are special bonds that are collateralized by mortgages or mortgage pass-through securities. Cash flow rights on underlying mortgages--the rights to receive principal and interest payments--are divided up and prioritized to create short-, intermediate-, and long-term bonds. CMOs rely on assumptions about the timing of cash flows on the underlying mortgages, including expected prepayment rates. The primary risk of a CMO is that these assumptions are wrong, which would either shorten or lengthen the bond's maturity. The Fund will invest only in CMOs that are believed to be consistent with its maturity and credit-quality standards. . Illiquid securities are securities that the Fund may not be able to sell in the ordinary course of business. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in these securities. Restricted securities are a special type of illiquid security; these securities have not been publicly issued and legally can be resold only to qualified buyers. From time to time, the board of trustees may determine that particular restricted securities are not illiquid, and those securities may then be purchased by the Fund without limit. FLAG LOGO The Fund is subject to manager risk, which is the chance that poor security selection will cause the Fund to underperform relevant benchmarks or other funds with a similar investment objective. 9 Other Investment Policies and Risks FLAG LOGO The Fund may invest in derivatives. In general, derivatives may involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of the underlying securities, assets, or market indexes. Generally speaking, a derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a stock, bond, or currency), a physical asset (such as gold), or a market index (such as the S&P 500 Index). The Fund may invest in derivatives only if the expected risks and rewards of the derivatives are consistent with the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks of the Fund as disclosed in this prospectus. The advisor will not use derivatives to change the risks of the fund as a whole as such risks are disclosed in this prospectus. In particular, derivatives will be used only where they may help the advisor: . Invest in eligible asset classes with greater efficiency and lower cost than is possible through direct investment; . Add value when these instruments are attractively priced; or . Adjust sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The Fund's derivative investments may include fixed income futures contracts, fixed income options, interest rate swaps, total return swaps, credit default swaps, or other derivatives. Losses (or gains) involving futures contracts can sometimes be substantial--in part because a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in an immediate and substantial loss (or gain) for a fund. Similar risks exist for other types of derivatives. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT DERIVATIVES Derivatives can take many forms. Some forms of derivatives, such as exchange-traded futures and options on securities, commodities, or indexes, have been trading on regulated exchanges for decades. These types of derivatives are standardized contracts that can easily be bought and sold, and whose market values are determined and published daily. Nonstandardized derivatives (such as swap agreements), on the other hand, tend to be more specialized or complex, and may be harder to value. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Cash Management The Fund's daily cash balance may be invested in one or more Vanguard CMT Funds, which are very low-cost money market funds. When investing in a Vanguard CMT Fund, the Fund bears its proportionate share of the at-cost expenses of the CMT Fund in which it invests. Temporary Investment Measures The Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies when doing so is believed to be in the Fund's best interest, so long as the alternative is consistent with the Fund's investment objective. For instance, the Fund may invest beyond the normal limits in derivatives or ETFs that are consistent with the Fund's objective when those instruments are more favorably priced or provide needed liquidity, as might be the case when the Fund is transitioning assets from one advisor to another or receives large cash flows that it cannot prudently invest immediately. In addition, the Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its normal investment policies and strategies--for instance, by allocating substantial assets to cash, commercial paper, or other less volatile instruments--in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. In doing so, the Fund may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective. Frequent Trading or Market-Timing Background. Some investors try to profit from strategies involving frequent trading of mutual fund shares, such as market-timing. For funds holding foreign securities, investors may try to take advantage of an anticipated difference between the price of the fund's shares and price movements in overseas markets, a practice also known as time-zone arbitrage. Investors also may try to engage in frequent trading of funds holding investments such as small-cap stocks and high-yield bonds. As money is shifted into and out of a fund by a shareholder engaging in frequent trading, a fund incurs costs for buying and selling securities, resulting in increased brokerage and administrative costs. These costs are borne by all fund shareholders, including the long-term investors who do not generate the costs. In addition, frequent trading may interfere with an advisor's ability to efficiently manage the fund. Policies to Address Frequent Trading. The Vanguard funds (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and Vanguard ETF/TM/ Shares) do not knowingly accommodate frequent trading. The board of trustees of each Vanguard fund has adopted policies and procedures reasonably designed to detect and discourage frequent trading and, in some cases, to compensate the fund for the costs associated with it. Although there is no assurance that Vanguard will be able to detect or prevent 11 frequent trading or market-timing in all circumstances, the following policies have been adopted to address these issues: . Each Vanguard fund reserves the right to reject any purchase request--including exchanges from other Vanguard funds--without notice and regardless of size. For example, a purchase request could be rejected if Vanguard determines that such purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance or because of a history of frequent trading by the investor. . Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds, short-term bond funds, and ETF Shares) generally prohibits an investor's purchases or exchanges into a fund account for 60 calendar days after the investor has redeemed or exchanged out of that fund account. . Certain Vanguard funds charge shareholders purchase and/or redemption fees on transactions. Each fund (other than money market funds), in determining its net asset value, will, when appropriate, use fair-value pricing, as described in the Share Price section. Fair-value pricing may reduce or eliminate the profitability of certain frequent-trading strategies. Do not invest with Vanguard if you are a market-timer. Turnover Rate Although the Fund normally seeks to invest for the long term, it may sell securities regardless of how long they have been held. The Financial Highlights section of this prospectus shows historical turnover rates for the Fund. A turnover rate of 100%, for example, would mean that the Fund had sold and replaced securities valued at 100% of its net assets within a one-year period. The average turnover rate for bond funds was approximately 125%, as reported by Morningstar, Inc., on January 31, 2009. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT TURNOVER RATE Before investing in a mutual fund, you should review its turnover rate. This gives an indication of how transaction costs, which are not included in the fund's expense ratio, could affect the fund's future returns. In general, the greater the volume of buying and selling by the fund, the greater the impact that dealer markups and other transaction costs will have on its return. Also, funds with high turnover rates may be more likely to generate capital gains that must be distributed to shareholders as taxable income. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 THE FUND AND VANGUARD The Fund is a member of The Vanguard Group, a family of 37 investment companies with more than 150 funds holding assets of approximately $1 trillion. All of the funds that are members of The Vanguard Group share in the expenses associated with administrative services and business operations, such as personnel, office space, equipment, and advertising. Vanguard also provides marketing services to the funds. Although shareholders do not pay sales commissions or 12b-1 distribution fees, each fund (or in the case of a fund with multiple share classes, each share class of the fund) pays its allocated share of The Vanguard Group's marketing costs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT VANGUARD'S UNIQUE CORPORATE STRUCTURE The Vanguard Group is truly a mutual mutual fund company. It is owned jointly by the funds it oversees and thus indirectly by the shareholders in those funds. Most other mutual funds are operated by management companies that may be owned by one person, by a private group of individuals, or by public investors who own the management company's stock. The management fees charged by these companies include a profit component over and above the companies' cost of providing services. By contrast, Vanguard provides services to its member funds on an at-cost basis, with no profit component, which helps to keep the funds' expenses low. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTMENT ADVISOR Wellington Management Company, LLP (Wellington Management), 75 State Street, Boston, MA 02109, is a Massachusetts limited liability partnership and a professional investment counseling firm that provides investment services to investment companies, employee benefit plans, endowments, foundations, and other institutions. Wellington Management and its predecessor organizations have provided investment advisory services for over 70 years. As of January 31, 2009, Wellington Management had investment management authority with respect to approximately $420 billion in assets. The firm's advisory fee is paid quarterly and is based on certain annual percentage rates applied to the Fund's average daily net assets for each quarter. For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009, the advisory fee represented an effective annual rate of 0.01% of the Fund's average net assets. 13 Under the terms of an SEC exemption, the Fund's board of trustees may, without prior approval from shareholders, change the terms of an advisory agreement or hire a new investment advisor--either as a replacement for an existing advisor or as an additional advisor. Any significant change in the Fund's advisory arrangements will be communicated to shareholders in writing. In addition, as the Fund's sponsor and overall manager, The Vanguard Group may provide investment advisory services to the Fund, on an at-cost basis, at any time. Vanguard may also recommend to the board of trustees that an advisor be hired, terminated, or replaced, or that the terms of an existing advisory agreement be revised. For a discussion of why the board of trustees approved the Fund's investment advisory agreement, see the most recent semiannual report to shareholders covering the fiscal period ended July 31. The manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund is: THOMAS L. PAPPAS, CFA, Senior Vice President and Fixed Income Portfolio Manager of Wellington Management. He has worked in investment management with Wellington Management since 1987; has assisted in managing the Fund since 1994; and has managed or co-managed the Fund since 2005. Education: B.S., Tufts University; M.S., Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Statement of Additional Information provides information about the portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts under management, and ownership of shares of the Fund. TAXES The tax consequences of your investment in the Fund depend on the provisions of the income annuity program through which you invest. For more information on taxes, please refer to the accompanying prospectus of the insurance company that offers your annuity program. 14 SHARE PRICE Share price, also known as net asset value (NAV), is calculated each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, generally 4 p.m., Eastern time. Each share class has its own NAV, which is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, allocated to each share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. On holidays or other days when the Exchange is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Fund does not transact purchase or redemption requests. Debt securities held by a Vanguard fund are valued based on information furnished by an independent pricing service or market quotations. Certain short-term debt instruments used to manage a fund's cash are valued on the basis of amortized cost. The values of any mutual fund shares held by a fund are based on the NAVs of the shares. The values of any ETF or closed-end fund shares held by a fund are based on the market value of the shares. When a fund determines that pricing-service information or market quotations either are not readily available or do not accurately reflect the value of a security, the security is priced at its fair value (the amount that the owner might reasonably expect to receive upon the current sale of the security). A fund also may use fair-value pricing on bond market holidays when the fund is open for business (such as Columbus Day and Veterans Day). Fair-value prices are determined by Vanguard according to procedures adopted by the board of trustees. When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by a fund to calculate the NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. The Fund's NAV is used to determine the annuity's unit value for the income annuity program through which you invest. For more information on unit values, please refer to the accompanying prospectus of the insurance company that offers your annuity program. 15 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The following financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Investor Shares' financial performance for the periods shown, and certain information reflects financial results for a single Investor Share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost each period on an investment in the Investor Shares (assuming reinvestment of all distributions). This information has been derived from the financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report--along with the Fund's financial statements--is included in the Fund's most recent annual report to shareholders. You may obtain a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual report online at www.vanguard.com or by contacting Vanguard by telephone or mail. Yields and total returns presented for the Fund are net of the Fund's operating expenses, but do not take into account charges and expenses attributable to the income annuity program through which you invest. The expenses of the annuity program reduce the returns and yields you ultimately receive, so you should bear those expenses in mind when evaluating the performance of the Fund and when comparing the yields and returns of the Fund with those of other mutual funds. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAIN TALK ABOUT HOW TO READ THE FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS TABLE The Fund began fiscal year 2009 with a net asset value (price) of $10.47 per share. During the year, the Fund earned $0.511 per share from investment income (interest) and $0.06 per share from investments that had appreciated in value or that were sold for higher prices than the Fund paid for them. Shareholders received $0.511 per share in the form of dividend distributions. A portion of each year's distributions may come from the prior year's income or capital gains. The share price at the end of the year was $10.53, reflecting earnings of $0.571 per share and distributions of $0.511 per share. This was an increase of $0.06 per share (from $10.47 at the beginning of the year to $10.53 at the end of the year). For a shareholder who reinvested the distributions in the purchase of more shares, the total return was 5.65% for the year. As of January 31, 2009, the Fund had approximately $15 billion in net assets. For the year, the expense ratio was 0.22% ($2.20 per $1,000 of net assets), and the net investment income amounted to 4.92% of its average net assets. The Fund sold and replaced securities valued at 63% of its net assets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16
GNMA Fund Investor Shares Year Ended January 31, ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $10.47 $10.16 $10.29 $10.48 $10.52 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTMENT OPERATIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Investment Income .511 .533 .522 .483 .480 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments .060 .310 (.130) (.190) (.040) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total from Investment Operations .571 .843 .392 .293 .440 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISTRIBUTIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividends from Net Investment Income (.511) (.533) (.522) (.483) (.480) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributions from Realized Capital Gains -- -- -- -- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Distributions (.511) (.533) (.522) (.483) (.480) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET ASSET VALUE, END OF PERIOD $10.53 $10.47 $10.16 $10.29 $10.48 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL RETURN 5.65% 8.56% 3.94% 2.88% 4.31% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $15,007 $12,916 $12,835 $13,905 $18,946 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Total Expenses to Average Net Assets 0.22% 0.21% 0.21% 0.21% 0.20% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets 4.92% 5.22% 5.14% 4.67% 4.61% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Turnover Rate 63% 21% 18% 38% 53% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17 GENERAL INFORMATION The Fund offers its shares to insurance companies that offer income annuity programs. Because of differences in tax treatment or other considerations, the interests of various contract owners participating in the Fund might at some time be in conflict. The Fund's board of trustees will monitor for any material conflicts and determine what action, if any, should be taken. If the board of trustees determines that continued offering of shares would be detrimental to the best interests of the Fund's shareholders, the Fund may suspend the offering of shares for a period of time. If the board of trustees determines that a specific purchase acceptance would be detrimental to the best interests of the Fund's shareholders, the Fund may reject such a purchase request. If you wish to redeem money from the Fund, please refer to the instructions provided in the accompanying prospectus of the insurance company that offers your annuity program. Shares of the Fund may be redeemed on any business day. The redemption price of shares will be at the next-determined NAV per share. Redemption proceeds will be wired to the administrator for distribution to the contract owner generally on the day following receipt of the redemption request, but no later than seven business days. Contract owners will receive a check from the administrator for the redemption amount. The Fund may suspend the redemption right or postpone payment at times when the New York Stock Exchange is closed or under any emergency circumstances as determined by the SEC. The exchange privilege (your ability to redeem shares from one fund to purchase shares of another fund) may be available to you through your program. Although we make every effort to maintain the exchange privilege, Vanguard reserves the right to revise or terminate this privilege, limit the amount of an exchange, or reject any exchange, at any time, without notice. If the board of trustees determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the Fund's remaining shareholders to make payment in cash, the Fund may pay redemption proceeds in whole or in part by a distribution in kind of readily marketable securities. 18 For certain categories of investors, the Fund has authorized one or more brokers to accept on its behalf purchase and redemption orders. The brokers are authorized to designate other intermediaries to accept purchase and redemption orders on the Fund's behalf. The Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when an authorized broker, or a broker's authorized designee, accepts the order in accordance with the Fund's instructions. In most instances, for these categories of investors, a contract owner's properly transmitted order will be priced at the next-determined NAV after the order is accepted by the authorized broker or the broker's designee. The contract owner should review the authorized broker's policies relating to trading in the Vanguard funds. When insurance companies establish omnibus accounts in the Fund for their clients, we cannot monitor the individual clients' trading activity. However, we review trading activity at the omnibus account level, and we look for activity that may indicate potential frequent trading or market-timing. If we detect suspicious trading activity, we will seek the assistance of the insurance company to investigate that trading activity and take appropriate action, including prohibiting additional purchases of Fund shares by a client. Insurance companies may apply frequent-trading policies that differ from one another. Please read the insurance company contract and program materials carefully to learn of any rules or fees that may apply. See the accompanying prospectus for the annuity or insurance program through which Fund shares are offered for further details on transaction policies. We generally post on our website at www.vanguard.com, in the Portfolio section of the Fund's Portfolio & Management page, a detailed list of the securities held by the Fund as of the most recent calendar-quarter-end. This list is generally updated within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Vanguard may exclude any portion of these portfolio holdings from publication when deemed in the best interest of the Fund. Please consult the Fund's Statement of Additional Information or our website for a description of the policies and procedures that govern disclosure of the Fund's portfolio holdings. CFA/(R)/ is a trademark owned by CFA Institute. Standard & Poor's/(R)/, S&P/(R)/, S&P 500/(R)/, Standard & Poor's 500, and 500 are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., and have been licensed for use by The Vanguard Group, Inc. Vanguard mutual funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Standard & Poor's, and Standard & Poor's makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the funds. 19 GLOSSARY OF INVESTMENT TERMS Average Maturity. The average length of time until bonds held by a fund reach maturity and are repaid. In general, the longer the average maturity, the more a fund's share price fluctuates in response to changes in market interest rates. In calculating average maturity, a fund uses a bond's maturity or, if applicable, an earlier date on which the advisor believes it is likely that a maturity-shortening device (such as a call, put, refunding, prepayment or redemption provision, or an adjustable coupon) will cause the bond to be repaid. Capital Gains Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of gains realized on securities that a fund has sold at a profit, minus any realized losses. Cash Investments. Cash deposits, short-term bank deposits, and money market instruments that include U.S. Treasury bills and notes, bank certificates of deposit (CDs), repurchase agreements, commercial paper, and banker's acceptances. Coupon. The interest rate paid by the issuer of a debt security until its maturity. It is expressed as an annual percentage of the face value of the security. Dividend Distribution. Payment to mutual fund shareholders of income from interest or dividends generated by a fund's investments. Expense Ratio. The percentage of a fund's average net assets used to pay its expenses during a fiscal year. The expense ratio includes management expenses--such as advisory fees, account maintenance, reporting, accounting, legal, and other administrative expenses--and any 12b-1 distribution fees. It does not include the transaction costs of buying and selling portfolio securities. Face Value. The amount to be paid at a bond's maturity; also known as the par value or principal. Fixed Income Security. An investment, such as a bond, representing a debt that must be repaid by a specified date, and on which the borrower must pay a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest. Inception Date. The date on which the assets of a fund (or one of its share classes) are first invested in accordance with the fund's investment objective. For funds with a subscription period, the inception date is the day after that period ends. Investment performance is measured from the inception date. Investment-Grade Bond. A debt security whose credit quality is considered by independent bond-rating agencies, or through independent analysis conducted by a fund's advisor, to be sufficient to ensure timely payment of principal and interest under current economic circumstances. Debt securities rated in one of the four highest rating categories are considered "investment-grade." Other debt securities may be considered by the advisor to be investment-grade. 20 Principal. The face value of a debt instrument or the amount of money put into an investment. Securities. Stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other investment vehicles. Total Return. A percentage change, over a specified time period, in a mutual fund's net asset value, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions of dividends and capital gains. Volatility. The fluctuations in value of a mutual fund or other security. The greater a fund's volatility, the wider the fluctuations in its returns. Yield. Income (interest or dividends) earned by an investment, expressed as a percentage of the investment's price. [SHIP LOGO VANGUARD/(R)/] P.O. Box 2600 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2600 CONNECT WITH VANGUARD/(R)/ > www.vanguard.com For More Information If you would like more information about Vanguard GNMA Fund, the following documents are available free upon request: Annual/Semiannual Reports to Shareholders Additional information about the Fund's investments is available in the Fund's annual and semiannual reports to shareholders. In the annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its last fiscal year. Statement of Additional Information (SAI) The SAI provides more detailed information about the Fund. The current annual and semiannual reports and the SAI are incorporated by reference into (and are thus legally a part of) this prospectus. To receive a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual reports or the SAI, or to request additional information about the Fund or other Vanguard funds, please visit www.vanguard.com or contact us as follows: Vanguard Annuity and Insurance Services P.O. Box 2600 Valley Forge, PA 19482-2600 Telephone: 800-522-5555 Information Provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) You can review and copy information about the Fund (including the SAI) at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. To find out more about this public service, call the SEC at 202-551-8090. Reports and other information about the Fund are also available in the EDGAR database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov, or you can receive copies of this information, for a fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the Public Reference Section, Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC 20549-0102. Fund's Investment Company Act file number: 811-2368 (C) 2009 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor. P036A 052009 PART B VANGUARD/(R)/ FIXED INCOME SECURITIES FUNDS STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MAY 29, 2009 This Statement of Additional Information is not a prospectus but should be read in conjunction with the Funds' current prospectuses (dated May 29, 2009). To obtain, without charge, a prospectus or the most recent Annual Report to Shareholders, which contains a Fund's financial statements as hereby incorporated by reference, please contact The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard). PHONE: INVESTOR INFORMATION DEPARTMENT AT 800-662-7447 ONLINE: WWW.VANGUARD.COM TABLE OF CONTENTS DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST.....................................................B-1 INVESTMENT POLICIES..........................................................B-3 INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS......................................................B-27 SHARE PRICE.................................................................B-28 PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF SHARES...........................................B-28 MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS.....................................................B-29 INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES................................................B-43 PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS......................................................B-47 PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES ....................................................B-49 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS........................................................B-54 DESCRIPTION OF BOND RATINGS.................................................B-54 DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST ORGANIZATION Vanguard Fixed Income Securities Funds (the Trust) was organized as Westminster Fixed Income Securities Fund, Inc., a Maryland corporation, in 1972. It was reorganized as a Pennsylvania business trust in 1984 and was subsequently reorganized as a Maryland corporation in 1985. It was finally reorganized as a Delaware statutory trust in May 1998. Prior to its reorganization as a Delaware statutory trust, the Trust was known as Vanguard Fixed Income Securities Fund, Inc. The Trust is registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act) as an open-end management investment company. B-1 The Trust currently offers the following funds (and classes thereof):
SHARE CLASSES/1/ ------------- FUND/2/ INVESTOR ADMIRAL INSTITUTIONAL ---- -------- ------- ------------- Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund Yes Yes No Vanguard Short-Term Federal Fund Yes Yes No Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Yes Yes Yes Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund Yes Yes No Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund Yes Yes No Vanguard GNMA Fund Yes Yes No Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Fund Yes Yes No Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund Yes Yes No Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund Yes Yes No 1 Individually, a class; collectively, the classes. 2 Individually, a Fund; collectively, the Funds.
Each of the Funds is registered as a diversified management investment company. The Trust has the ability to offer additional funds or classes of shares. There is no limit on the number of full and fractional shares that may be issued for a single fund or class of shares. SERVICE PROVIDERS CUSTODIANS. The Bank of New York Mellon, One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286 (for the Short-Term Treasury, Short-Term Federal, Short-Term Investment-Grade, Intermediate-Term Treasury, Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade, and Long-Term Treasury Funds) and JP Morgan Chase Bank, 270 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017-2070 (for the GNMA, Long-Term Investment-Grade, and High-Yield Corporate Funds), serve as the Funds' custodians. The custodians are responsible for maintaining the Funds' assets, keeping all necessary accounts and records of Fund assets, and appointing any foreign sub-custodians or foreign securities depositories. INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Two Commerce Square, Suite 1700, 2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-7042, serves as the Funds' independent registered public accounting firm. The independent registered public accounting firm audits the Funds' annual financial statements and provides other related services. TRANSFER AND DIVIDEND-PAYING AGENT. The Funds' transfer agent and dividend-paying agent is Vanguard, P.O. Box 2600, Valley Forge, PA 19482. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FUNDS' SHARES RESTRICTIONS ON HOLDING OR DISPOSING OF SHARES. There are no restrictions on the right of shareholders to retain or dispose of a Fund's shares, other than those described in the Fund's current prospectus and elsewhere in this Statement of Additional Information or the possible future termination of the Fund or a share class. Each Fund or class may be terminated by reorganization into another mutual fund or class or by liquidation and distribution of the assets of the Fund or class. Unless terminated by reorganization or liquidation, each Fund and share class will continue indefinitely. SHAREHOLDER LIABILITY. The Trust is organized under Delaware law, which provides that shareholders of a statutory trust are entitled to the same limitations of personal liability as shareholders of a corporation organized under Delaware law. This means that a shareholder of a Fund generally will not be personally liable for payment of the Fund's debts. Some state courts, however, may not apply Delaware law on this point. We believe that the possibility of such a situation arising is remote. DIVIDEND RIGHTS. The shareholders of each class of a Fund are entitled to receive any dividends or other distributions declared by the Fund for each such class. No shares of a Fund have priority or preference over any other shares of the Fund with respect to distributions. Distributions will be made from the assets of the Fund and will be paid ratably to all shareholders of a particular class according to the number of shares of the class held by shareholders on the record date. The amount of dividends per share may vary between separate share classes of the Fund based upon differences B-2 in the net asset values of the different classes and differences in the way that expenses are allocated between share classes pursuant to a multiple class plan. VOTING RIGHTS. Shareholders are entitled to vote on a matter if: (1) the matter concerns an amendment to the Declaration of Trust that would adversely affect to a material degree the rights and preferences of the shares of a Fund or any class; (2) the trustees determine that it is necessary or desirable to obtain a shareholder vote; (3) a merger or consolidation, share conversion, share exchange, or sale of assets is proposed and a shareholder vote is required by the 1940 Act to approve the transaction; or (4) a shareholder vote is required under the 1940 Act. The 1940 Act requires a shareholder vote under various circumstances, including to elect or remove trustees upon the written request of shareholders representing 10% or more of a Fund's net assets, to change any fundamental policy of a Fund, and to enter into certain merger transactions. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, shareholders of a Fund receive one vote for each dollar of net asset value owned on the record date, and a fractional vote for each fractional dollar of net asset value owned on the record date. However, only the shares of the Fund or class affected by a particular matter are entitled to vote on that matter. In addition, each class has exclusive voting rights on any matter submitted to shareholders that relates solely to that class, and each class has separate voting rights on any matter submitted to shareholders in which the interests of one class differ from the interests of another. Voting rights are noncumulative and cannot be modified without a majority vote. LIQUIDATION RIGHTS. In the event that a Fund is liquidated, shareholders will be entitled to receive a pro rata share of the Fund's net assets. In the event that a class of shares is liquidated, shareholders of that class will be entitled to receive a pro rata share of the Fund's net assets that are allocated to that class. Shareholders may receive cash, securities, or a combination of the two. PREEMPTIVE RIGHTS. There are no preemptive rights associated with the Funds' shares. CONVERSION RIGHTS. Fund shareholders may convert their shares into another class of shares of the same Fund upon the satisfaction of any then applicable eligibility requirements. REDEMPTION PROVISIONS. Each Fund's redemption provisions are described in its current prospectus and elsewhere in this Statement of Additional Information. SINKING FUND PROVISIONS. The Funds have no sinking fund provisions. CALLS OR ASSESSMENT. Each Fund's shares, when issued, are fully paid and non-assessable. TAX STATUS OF THE FUNDS Each Fund expects to qualify each year as a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the IRC). This special tax status means that the Fund will not be liable for federal tax on income and capital gains distributed to shareholders. In order to preserve its tax status, each Fund must comply with certain requirements. If a Fund fails to meet these requirements in any taxable year, it will be subject to tax on its taxable income at corporate rates, and all distributions from earnings and profits, including any distributions of net tax-exempt income and net long-term capital gains, will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. In addition, a Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make substantial distributions before regaining its tax status as a regulated investment company. INVESTMENT POLICIES Some of the investment policies described below and in each Fund's prospectus set forth percentage limitations on a Fund's investment in, or holdings of, certain securities or other assets. Unless otherwise required by law, compliance with these policies will be determined immediately after the acquisition of such securities or assets. Subsequent changes in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the Fund's investment policies and limitations. The following policies and explanations supplement each Fund's investment objective and policies set forth in the prospectus. With respect to the different investments discussed below, a Fund may acquire such investments to the extent consistent with its investment objective and policies. B-3 80% POLICY. Under normal circumstances, the Short-Term Treasury, Intermediate-Term Treasury, and Long-Term Treasury Funds each have policies to invest at least 80% of their assets in U.S. Treasury securities, which include bills, bonds, and notes issued by the U.S. Treasury, and includes accrued interest on those Treasuries. The Short-Term Investment-Grade, Short-Term Federal, Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade, Long-Term Investment-Grade, GNMA, and High-Yield Corporate Funds each have policies to invest at least 80% of their assets in a particular type of investment. In applying these 80% policies, assets include net assets and borrowings for investment purposes. ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES. Asset-backed securities are securities that represent a participation in, or are secured by and payable from, pools of underlying assets such as debt securities, bank loans, motor vehicle installment sales contracts, installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, receivables from revolving credit (i.e., credit card) agreements, and other categories of receivables. These underlying assets are securitized through the use of trusts and special purpose entities. Payment of interest and repayment of principal on asset-backed securities may be largely dependent upon the cash flows generated by the underlying assets backing the securities and, in certain cases, may be supported by letters of credit, surety bonds, or other credit enhancements. The rate of principal payments on asset-backed securities is related to the rate of principal payments, including prepayments, on the underlying assets. The credit quality of asset-backed securities depends primarily on the quality of the underlying assets, the level of credit support, if any, provided for the securities, and the credit quality of the credit-support provider, if any. The value of asset-backed securities may be affected by the various factors described above and other factors, such as changes in interest rates, the availability of information concerning the pool and its structure, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the pool, the originator of the underlying assets, or the entities providing the credit enhancement. Asset-backed securities are often subject to more rapid repayment than their stated maturity date would indicate, as a result of the pass-through of prepayments of principal on the underlying assets. Prepayments of principal by borrowers or foreclosure or other enforcement action by creditors shorten the term of the underlying assets. The occurrence of prepayments is a function of several factors, such as the level of interest rates, general economic conditions, the location and age of the underlying obligations, and other social and demographic conditions. A fund's ability to maintain positions in asset-backed securities is affected by the reductions in the principal amount of the underlying assets because of prepayments. A fund's ability to reinvest prepayments of principal (as well as interest and other distributions and sale proceeds) at a comparable yield is subject to generally prevailing interest rates at that time. The value of asset-backed securities varies with changes in market interest rates generally and the differentials in yields among various kinds of U.S. government securities, mortgage-backed securities, and asset-backed securities. In periods of rising interest rates, the rate of prepayment tends to decrease, thereby lengthening the average life of the underlying securities. Conversely, in periods of falling interest rates, the rate of prepayment tends to increase, thereby shortening the average life of such assets. Because prepayments of principal generally occur when interest rates are declining, an investor, such as a fund, generally has to reinvest the proceeds of such prepayments at lower interest rates than those at which the assets were previously invested. Therefore, asset-backed securities have less potential for capital appreciation in periods of falling interest rates than other income-bearing securities of comparable maturity. Because asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in the underlying assets that is comparable to a mortgage, asset-backed securities present certain additional risks that are not present with mortgage-backed securities. For example, revolving credit receivables are generally unsecured and the debtors on such receivables are entitled to the protection of a number of state and federal consumer credit laws, many of which give debtors the right to set-off certain amounts owed, thereby reducing the balance due. Automobile receivables generally are secured, but by automobiles, rather than by real property. Most issuers of automobile receivables permit loan servicers to retain possession of the underlying assets. If the servicer of a pool of underlying assets sells them to another party, there is the risk that the purchaser could acquire an interest superior to that of holders of the asset-backed securities. In addition, because of the large number of vehicles involved in a typical issue of asset-backed securities and technical requirements under state law, the trustee for the holders of the automobile receivables may not have a proper security interest in the automobiles. Therefore, there is the possibility that recoveries on repossessed collateral may not be available to support payments on these securities. BORROWING. A fund's ability to borrow money is limited by its investment policies and limitations, by the 1940 Act, and by applicable exemptions, no-action letters, interpretations, and other pronouncements issued from time to time by the SEC and its staff or any other regulatory authority with jurisdiction. Under the 1940 Act, a fund is required to maintain continuous asset coverage (that is, total assets including borrowings, less liabilities exclusive of borrowings) of 300% of the amount borrowed, with an exception for borrowings not in excess of 5% of the fund's total assets made for B-4 temporary or emergency purposes. Any borrowings for temporary purposes in excess of 5% of the fund's total assets must maintain continuous asset coverage. If the 300% asset coverage should decline as a result of market fluctuations or for other reasons, a fund may be required to sell some of its portfolio holdings within three days (excluding Sundays and holidays) to reduce the debt and restore the 300% asset coverage, even though it may be disadvantageous from an investment standpoint to sell securities at that time. Borrowing will tend to exaggerate the effect on net asset value of any increase or decrease in the market value of a fund's portfolio. Money borrowed will be subject to interest costs that may or may not be recovered by earnings on the securities purchased. A fund also may be required to maintain minimum average balances in connection with a borrowing or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit; either of these requirements would increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate. The SEC takes the position that transactions that have a leveraging effect on the capital structure of a fund or are economically equivalent to borrowing can be viewed as constituting a form of borrowing by the fund for purposes of the 1940 Act. These transactions can include entering into reverse repurchase agreements; engaging in mortgage-dollar-roll transactions; selling securities short (other than short sales "against-the-box"); buying and selling certain derivatives (such as futures contracts); selling (or writing) put and call options; engaging in sale-buybacks; entering into firm-commitment and standby-commitment agreements; engaging in when-issued, delayed-delivery, or forward-commitment transactions; and other trading practices that have a leveraging effect on the capital structure of a fund or are economically equivalent to borrowing (additional discussion about a number of these transactions can be found on the following pages). A borrowing transaction will not be considered to constitute the issuance of a "senior security" by a fund, and therefore such transaction will not be subject to the 300% asset coverage requirement otherwise applicable to borrowings by a fund, if the fund (1) maintains an offsetting financial position; (2) segregates liquid assets (with such liquidity determined by the advisor in accordance with procedures established by the board of trustees) equal (as determined on a daily mark-to-market basis) in value to the fund's potential economic exposure under the borrowing transaction; or (3) otherwise "covers" the transaction in accordance with applicable SEC guidance (collectively, "covers" the transaction). A fund may have to buy or sell a security at a disadvantageous time or price in order to cover a borrowing transaction. In addition, segregated assets may not be available to satisfy redemptions or for other purposes. CONVERTIBLE SECURITIES. Convertible securities are hybrid securities that combine the investment characteristics of bonds and common stocks. Convertible securities typically consist of debt securities or preferred stock that may be converted (on a voluntary or mandatory basis) within a specified period of time (normally for the entire life of the security) into a certain amount of common stock or other equity security of the same or a different issuer at a predetermined price. Convertible securities also include debt securities with warrants or common stock attached and derivatives combining the features of debt securities and equity securities. Other convertible securities with features and risks not specifically referred to herein may become available in the future. Convertible securities involve risks similar to those of both fixed income and equity securities. The market value of a convertible security is a function of its "investment value" and its "conversion value." A security's "investment value" represents the value of the security without its conversion feature (i.e., a nonconvertible fixed income security). The investment value may be determined by reference to its credit quality and the current value of its yield to maturity or probable call date. At any given time, investment value is dependent upon such factors as the general level of interest rates, the yield of similar nonconvertible securities, the financial strength of the issuer, and the seniority of the security in the issuer's capital structure. A security's "conversion value" is determined by multiplying the number of shares the holder is entitled to receive upon conversion or exchange by the current price of the underlying security. If the conversion value of a convertible security is significantly below its investment value, the convertible security will trade like nonconvertible debt or preferred stock and its market value will not be influenced greatly by fluctuations in the market price of the underlying security. In that circumstance, the convertible security takes on the characteristics of a bond, and its price moves in the opposite direction from interest rates. Conversely, if the conversion value of a convertible security is near or above its investment value, the market value of the convertible security will be more heavily influenced by fluctuations in the market price of the underlying security. In that case, the convertible security's price may be as volatile as that of common stock. Because both interest rate and market movements can influence its value, a convertible security generally is not as sensitive to interest rates as a similar fixed income security, nor is it as sensitive to changes in share price as its underlying equity security. Convertible securities are often rated below investment-grade or are not rated, and are generally subject to a high degree of credit risk. B-5 Although all markets are prone to change over time, the generally high rate at which convertible securities are retired (through mandatory or scheduled conversions by issuers or voluntary redemptions by holders) and replaced with newly issued convertibles may cause the convertible securities market to change more rapidly than other markets. For example, a concentration of available convertible securities in a few economic sectors could elevate the sensitivity of the convertible securities market to the volatility of the equity markets and to the specific risks of those sectors. Moreover, convertible securities with innovative structures, such as mandatory conversion securities and equity-linked securities, have increased the sensitivity of the convertible securities market to the volatility of the equity markets and to the special risks of those innovations, which may include risks different from, and possibly greater than, those associated with traditional convertible securities. DEBT SECURITIES. A debt security, sometimes called a fixed income security, is a security consisting of a certificate or other evidence of a debt (secured or unsecured) on which the issuing company or governmental body promises to pay the holder thereof a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest for a specified length of time, and to repay the debt on the specified maturity date. Some debt securities, such as zero coupon bonds, do not make regular interest payments but are issued at a discount to their principal or maturity value. Debt securities include a variety of fixed income obligations, including, but not limited to, corporate bonds, government securities, municipal securities, convertible securities, mortgage-backed securities, and asset-backed securities. Debt securities include investment-grade securities, non-investment-grade securities, and unrated securities. Debt securities are subject to a variety of risks, such as interest rate risk, income risk, call/prepayment risk, inflation risk, credit risk, and (in the case of foreign securities) country risk and currency risk. The reorganization of an issuer under the federal bankruptcy laws may result in the issuer's debt securities being cancelled without repayment, repaid only in part, or repaid in part or in whole through an exchange thereof for any combination of cash, debt securities, convertible securities, equity securities, or other instruments or rights in respect of the same issuer or a related entity. DEBT SECURITIES -- BANK OBLIGATIONS. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in a banking institution for a specified period of time at a stated interest rate. Certificates of deposit are negotiable short-term obligations of commercial banks. Variable rate certificates of deposit are certificates of deposit on which the interest rate is periodically adjusted prior to their stated maturity based upon a specified market rate. As a result of these adjustments, the interest rate on these obligations may be increased or decreased periodically. Frequently, dealers selling variable rate certificates of deposit to a fund will agree to repurchase such instruments, at the fund's option, at par on or near the coupon dates. The dealers' obligations to repurchase these instruments are subject to conditions imposed by various dealers; such conditions typically are the continued credit standing of the issuer and the existence of reasonably orderly market conditions. A fund is also able to sell variable rate certificates of deposit on the secondary market. Variable rate certificates of deposit normally carry a higher interest rate than comparable fixed-rate certificates of deposit. A banker's acceptance is a time draft drawn on a commercial bank by a borrower usually in connection with an international commercial transaction (to finance the import, export, transfer, or storage of goods). The borrower is liable for payment as well as the bank, which unconditionally guarantees to pay the draft at its face amount on the maturity date. Most acceptances have maturities of six months or less and are traded in the secondary markets prior to maturity. DEBT SECURITIES -- COMMERCIAL PAPER. Commercial paper refers to short-term, unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations to finance short-term credit needs, is usually sold on a discount basis, and has a maturity at the time of issuance not exceeding nine months. Commercial paper rated A-1 by Standard & Poor's has the following characteristics: (1) liquidity ratios are adequate to meet cash requirements; (2) long-term senior debt is rated "A" or better; (3) the issuer has access to at least two additional channels of borrowing; (4) basic earnings and cash flow have an upward trend with allowance made for unusual circumstances; (5) typically, the issuer's industry is well established and the issuer has a strong position within the industry; and (6) the reliability and quality of management are unquestioned. Relative strength or weakness of the above factors determines whether the issuer's commercial paper is A-1, A-2, or A-3. The rating Prime-1 is the highest commercial paper rating assigned by Moody's. Among the factors considered by Moody's in assigning ratings are the following: (1) evaluation of the management of the issuer; (2) economic evaluation of the issuer's industry or industries and the appraisal of speculative-type risks that may be inherent in certain areas; (3) evaluation of the issuer's products in relation to competition and customer acceptance; (4) liquidity; (5) amount and quality of long-term debt; (6) trend of earnings over a period of ten years; (7) financial strength of a parent company and the relationships that exist with the issuer; and (8) recognition by the management of obligations that may be present or may arise as a result of public interest questions and preparations to meet such obligations. B-6 Variable amount master demand notes are demand obligations that permit the investment of fluctuating amounts at varying market rates of interest pursuant to arrangement between the issuer and a commercial bank acting as agent for the payees of such notes, whereby both parties have the right to vary the amount of the outstanding indebtedness on the notes. Because variable amount master demand notes are direct lending arrangements between a lender and a borrower, it is not generally contemplated that such instruments will be traded, and there is no secondary market for these notes, although they are redeemable (and thus immediately repayable by the borrower) at face value, plus accrued interest, at any time. In connection with a fund's investment in variable amount master demand notes, Vanguard's investment management staff will monitor, on an ongoing basis, the earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios of the issuer, and the borrower's ability to pay principal and interest on demand. DEBT SECURITIES -- NON-INVESTMENT-GRADE SECURITIES. Non-investment-grade securities, also referred to as "high-yield securities" or "junk bonds," are debt securities that are rated lower than the four highest rating categories by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (for example, lower than Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or lower than BBB- by Standard & Poor's) or are determined to be of comparable quality by the fund's advisor. These securities are generally considered to be, on balance, predominantly speculative with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal in accordance with the terms of the obligation and will generally involve more credit risk than securities in the investment-grade categories. Non-investment-grade securities generally provide greater income and opportunity for capital appreciation than higher quality securities, but they also typically entail greater price volatility and principal and income risk. Analysis of the creditworthiness of issuers of high-yield securities may be more complex than for issuers of investment-grade securities. Thus, reliance on credit ratings in making investment decisions entails greater risks for high-yield securities than for investment-grade debt securities. The success of a fund's advisor in managing high-yield securities is more dependent upon its own credit analysis than is the case with investment-grade securities. Some high-yield securities are issued by smaller, less-seasoned companies, while others are issued as part of a corporate restructuring, such as an acquisition, merger, or leveraged buyout. Companies that issue high-yield securities are often highly leveraged and may not have available to them more traditional methods of financing. Therefore, the risk associated with acquiring the securities of such issuers generally is greater than is the case with investment-grade securities. Some high-yield securities were once rated as investment-grade but have been downgraded to junk-bond status because of financial difficulties experienced by their issuers. The market values of high-yield securities tend to reflect individual issuer developments to a greater extent than do investment-grade securities, which in general react to fluctuations in the general level of interest rates. High-yield securities also tend to be more sensitive to economic conditions than are investment-grade securities. A projection of an economic downturn or of a sustained period of rising interest rates, for example, could cause a decline in junk-bond prices because the advent of a recession could lessen the ability of a highly leveraged company to make principal and interest payments on its debt securities. If an issuer of high-yield securities defaults, in addition to risking payment of all or a portion of interest and principal, a fund investing in such securities may incur additional expenses to seek recovery. The secondary market on which high-yield securities are traded may be less liquid than the market for investment-grade securities. Less liquidity in the secondary trading market could adversely affect the ability of a fund to sell a high-yield security or the price at which a fund could sell a high-yield security, and could adversely affect the daily net asset value of fund shares. When secondary markets for high-yield securities are less liquid than the market for investment-grade securities, it may be more difficult to value the securities because such valuation may require more research, and elements of judgment may play a greater role in the valuation because there is less reliable, objective data available. Except as otherwise provided in a fund's prospectus, if a credit-rating agency changes the rating of a portfolio security held by a fund, the fund may retain the portfolio security if the advisor deems it in the best interests of shareholders. DEBT SECURITIES -- STRUCTURED AND INDEXED SECURITIES. Structured securities (also called "structured notes") and indexed securities are derivative debt securities, the interest rate or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator. Indexed securities include structured notes as well as securities other than debt securities. The value of the principal of and/or interest on structured and indexed securities is determined by reference to changes in the value of a specific asset, reference rate, or index (the reference) or the relative change in two or more references. The interest rate or the principal amount payable upon maturity or redemption may be increased or decreased, depending upon changes in the applicable reference. The terms of the structured and indexed securities may provide that in certain circumstances no principal is due at maturity and, therefore, may result in a loss of invested capital. Structured and indexed securities B-7 may be positively or negatively indexed, so that appreciation of the reference may produce an increase or a decrease in the interest rate or value of the security at maturity. In addition, changes in the interest rate or the value of the structured or indexed security at maturity may be calculated as a specified multiple of the change in the value of the reference; therefore, the value of such security may be very volatile. Structured and indexed securities may entail a greater degree of market risk than other types of debt securities because the investor bears the risk of the reference. Structured or indexed securities may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to accurately price than less complex securities or more traditional debt securities. DEBT SECURITIES -- U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES. The term "U.S. Government Securities" refers to a variety of debt securities that are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, by various agencies of the U.S. government, and by various instrumentalities that have been established or sponsored by the U.S. government. The term also refers to repurchase agreements collateralized by such securities. U.S. Treasury securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other types of securities issued or guaranteed by Federal agencies and U.S. government-sponsored instrumentalities may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The U.S. government, however, does not guarantee the market price of any U.S. government securities. In the case of securities not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. Some of the U.S. government agencies that issue or guarantee securities include the Government National Mortgage Association, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Farmers Home Administration, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Administration, the Maritime Administration, the Small Business Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. An instrumentality of the U.S. government is a government agency organized under Federal charter with government supervision. Instrumentalities issuing or guaranteeing securities include, among others, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Banks, and the Federal National Mortgage Association. DEBT SECURITIES -- VARIABLE AND FLOATING RATE SECURITIES. Variable and floating rate securities are debt securities that provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate paid on the security. Variable rate securities provide for a specified periodic adjustment in the interest rate, while floating rate securities have interest rates that change whenever there is a change in a designated benchmark rate or the issuer's credit quality. There is a risk that the current interest rate on variable and floating rate securities may not accurately reflect current market interest rates or adequately compensate the holder for the current creditworthiness of the issuer. Some variable or floating rate securities are structured with liquidity features such as (1) put options or tender options that permit holders (sometimes subject to conditions) to demand payment of the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest from the issuers or certain financial intermediaries or (2) auction rate features, remarketing provisions, or other maturity-shortening devices designed to enable the issuer to refinance or redeem outstanding debt securities (market-dependent liquidity features). Variable or floating rate securities that include market-dependent liquidity features may have greater liquidity risk than other securities, because of (for example) the failure of a market-dependent liquidity feature to operate as intended (as a result of the issuer's declining creditworthiness, adverse market conditions, or other factors) or the inability or unwillingness of a participating broker-dealer to make a secondary market for such securities. As a result, variable or floating rate securities that include market-dependent liquidity features may lose value and the holders of such securities may be required to retain them until the later of the repurchase date, the resale date, or maturity. A demand instrument with a demand notice exceeding seven days may be considered illiquid if there is no secondary market for such security. DEBT SECURITIES -- ZERO-COUPON AND PAY-IN-KIND SECURITIES. Zero-coupon and pay-in-kind securities are debt securities that do not make regular cash interest payments. Zero-coupon securities generally do not pay interest. Zero coupon Treasury bonds are U.S. Treasury notes and bonds which have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons, or the coupons themselves, and also receipts or certificates representing interest in such stripped debt obligations and coupons. The timely payment of coupon interest and principal on these instruments remains guaranteed by the "full faith and credit" of the U.S. government. Pay-in-kind securities pay interest through the issuance of additional securities. These securities are generally issued at a discount to their principal or maturity value. Because such securities do not pay current cash income, the price of these securities can be volatile when interest rates fluctuate. While these securities do not pay current cash income, federal income tax law requires the holders of zero-coupon and pay-in-kind securities to include in income each year the portion of the original issue discount and other non-cash income on such B-8 securities accrued during that year. Each fund that holds such securities intends to pass along such interest as a component of the fund's distributions of net investment income. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS. Depositary receipts are securities that evidence ownership interests in a security or a pool of securities that have been deposited with a "depository." Depositary receipts may be sponsored or unsponsored and include American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), European Depositary Receipts (EDRs), and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs). For ADRs, the depository is typically a U.S. financial institution and the underlying securities are issued by a foreign issuer. For other depositary receipts, the depository may be a foreign or a U.S. entity, and the underlying securities may have a foreign or a U.S. issuer. Depositary receipts will not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as their underlying securities. Generally, ADRs are issued in registered form, denominated in U.S. dollars, and designed for use in the U.S. securities markets. Other depositary receipts, such as GDRs and EDRs, may be issued in bearer form and denominated in other currencies, and are generally designed for use in securities markets outside the United States. Although the two types of depositary receipt facilities (unsponsored or sponsored) are similar, there are differences regarding a holder's rights and obligations and the practices of market participants. A depository may establish an unsponsored facility without participation by (or acquiescence of) the underlying issuer; typically, however, the depository requests a letter of non-objection from the underlying issuer prior to establishing the facility. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all the costs of the facility. The depository usually charges fees upon the deposit and withdrawal of the underlying securities, the conversion of dividends into U.S. dollars or other currency, the disposition of non-cash distributions, and the performance of other services. The depository of an unsponsored facility frequently is under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the underlying issuer or to pass through voting rights to depositary receipt holders with respect to the underlying securities. Sponsored depositary receipt facilities are created in generally the same manner as unsponsored facilities, except that sponsored depositary receipts are established jointly by a depository and the underlying issuer through a deposit agreement. The deposit agreement sets out the rights and responsibilities of the underlying issuer, the depository, and the depositary receipt holders. With sponsored facilities, the underlying issuer typically bears some of the costs of the depositary receipts (such as dividend payment fees of the depository), although most sponsored depositary receipt holders may bear costs such as deposit and withdrawal fees. Depositories of most sponsored depositary receipts agree to distribute notices of shareholder meetings, voting instructions, and other shareholder communications and information to the depositary receipt holders at the underlying issuer's request. For purposes of a fund's investment policies, investments in depositary receipts will be deemed to be investments in the underlying securities. Thus, a depositary receipt representing ownership of common stock will be treated as common stock. Depositary receipts do not eliminate all of the risks associated with directly investing in the securities of foreign issuers. DERIVATIVES. A derivative is a financial instrument that has a value that is based on--or "derived from"--the values of other assets, reference rates, or indexes. Derivatives may relate to a wide variety of underlying references, such as commodities, stocks, bonds, interest rates, currency exchange rates, and related indexes. Derivatives include futures contracts and options on futures contracts, forward-commitment transactions, options on securities, caps, floors, collars, swap agreements, and other financial instruments. Some derivatives, such as futures contracts and certain options, are traded on U.S. commodity and securities exchanges, while other derivatives, such as swap agreements, are privately negotiated and entered into in the over-the-counter (OTC) market. The risks associated with the use of derivatives are different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the securities, assets, or market indexes on which the derivatives are based. Derivatives are used by some investors for speculative purposes. Derivatives also may be used for a variety of purposes that do not constitute speculation, such as hedging, risk management, seeking to stay fully invested, seeking to reduce transaction costs, seeking to simulate an investment in equity or debt securities or other investments, seeking to add value by using derivatives to more efficiently implement portfolio positions when derivatives are favorably priced relative to equity or debt securities or other investments, and for other purposes. There is no assurance that any derivatives strategy used by a fund's advisor will succeed. The counterparties to the funds' derivatives will not be considered the issuers thereof for purposes of certain provisions of the 1940 Act and the IRC, although such derivatives may qualify as securities or investments under such laws. The funds' advisors, however, will monitor and adjust, as appropriate, the funds' credit risk exposure to derivative counterparties. Derivative products are highly specialized instruments that require investment techniques and risk analyses different from those associated with stocks, bonds, and other traditional investments. The use of a derivative requires an B-9 understanding not only of the underlying instrument but also of the derivative itself, without the benefit of observing the performance of the derivative under all possible market conditions. The use of derivatives generally involves the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the insolvency or bankruptcy of the other party to the contract (usually referred to as a "counterparty") or the failure of the counterparty to make required payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the contract. Additionally, the use of credit derivatives can result in losses if a fund's advisor does not correctly evaluate the creditworthiness of the issuer on which the credit derivative is based. Derivatives may be subject to liquidity risk, which exists when a particular derivative is difficult to purchase or sell. If a derivative transaction is particularly large or if the relevant market is illiquid (as is the case with many OTC derivatives), it may not be possible to initiate a transaction or liquidate a position at an advantageous time or price. Derivatives may be subject to pricing or "basis" risk, which exists when a particular derivative becomes extraordinarily expensive relative to historical prices or the prices of corresponding cash market instruments. Under certain market conditions, it may not be economically feasible to initiate a transaction or liquidate a position in time to avoid a loss or take advantage of an opportunity. Because many derivatives have a leverage component, adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset, reference rate, or index can result in a loss substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative itself. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. A derivative transaction will not be considered to constitute the issuance of a "senior security" by a fund, and therefore such transaction will not be subject to the 300% asset coverage requirement otherwise applicable to borrowings by a fund, if the fund covers the transaction in accordance with the requirements described under the heading "Borrowing." Like most other investments, derivative instruments are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that its advisor will incorrectly forecast future market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other financial or economic factors in establishing derivative positions for the fund. If the advisor attempts to use a derivative as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, the fund will be exposed to the risk that the derivative will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment. This could cause substantial losses for the fund. Although hedging strategies involving derivative instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Many derivatives, in particular OTC derivatives, are complex and often valued subjectively. Improper valuations can result in increased cash payment requirements to counterparties or a loss of value to a fund. EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS. A fund may purchase shares of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including ETF Shares issued by other Vanguard funds. Typically, a fund would purchase ETF shares for the same reason it would purchase (and as an alternative to purchasing) futures contracts: to obtain exposure to all or a portion of the stock or bond market. ETF shares enjoy several advantages over futures. Depending on the market, the holding period, and other factors, ETF shares can be less costly and more tax-efficient than futures. In addition, ETF shares can be purchased for smaller sums, offer exposure to market sectors and styles for which there is no suitable or liquid futures contract, and do not involve leverage. An investment in an ETF generally presents the same primary risks as an investment in a conventional fund (i.e., one that is not exchange-traded) that has the same investment objective, strategies, and policies. The price of an ETF can fluctuate within a wide range, and a fund could lose money investing in an ETF if the prices of the securities owned by the ETF go down. In addition, ETFs are subject to the following risks that do not apply to conventional funds: (1) the market price of the ETF's shares may trade at a discount to their net asset value; (2) an active trading market for an ETF's shares may not develop or be maintained; or (3) trading of an ETF's shares may be halted if the listing exchange's officials deem such action appropriate, the shares are de-listed from the exchange, or the activation of market-wide "circuit breakers" (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices) halts stock trading generally. Most ETFs are investment companies. Therefore, a fund's purchases of ETF shares generally are subject to the limitations on, and the risks of, a fund's investments in other investment companies, which are described under the heading "Other Investment Companies." Vanguard ETF(TM) *Shares are exchange-traded shares that represent an interest in an investment portfolio held by Vanguard funds. A fund's investments in Vanguard ETF Shares are also generally subject to the descriptions, limitations, and risks described under the heading "Other Investment Companies," except as provided by an exemption granted by B-10 the SEC that permits registered investment companies to invest in a Vanguard fund that issues ETF Shares beyond the limits of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act, subject to certain terms and conditions. --------- * U.S. Pat. No. 6,879,964 B2; 7,337,138. FOREIGN SECURITIES. Typically, foreign securities are considered to be equity or debt securities issued by entities organized, domiciled, or with a principal executive office outside the United States, such as foreign corporations and governments. Securities issued by certain companies organized outside the United States may not be deemed to be foreign securities if the company's principal operations are conducted from the United States or when the company's equity securities trade principally on a U.S. stock exchange. Foreign securities may trade in U.S. or foreign securities markets. A fund may make foreign investments either directly by purchasing foreign securities or indirectly by purchasing depositary receipts or depositary shares of similar instruments (depositary receipts) for foreign securities. Depositary receipts are securities that are listed on exchanges or quoted in OTC markets in one country but represent shares of issuers domiciled in another country. Direct investments in foreign securities may be made either on foreign securities exchanges or in the OTC markets. Investing in foreign securities involves certain special risk considerations that are not typically associated with investing in securities of U.S. companies or governments. Because foreign issuers are not generally subject to uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards and practices comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers, there may be less publicly available information about certain foreign issuers than about U.S. issuers. Evidence of securities ownership may be uncertain in many foreign countries. As a result, there is a risk that a fund's trade details could be incorrectly or fraudulently entered at the time of the transaction, resulting in a loss to the fund. Securities of foreign issuers are generally less liquid than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. In certain countries, there is less government supervision and regulation of stock exchanges, brokers, and listed companies than in the United States. In addition, with respect to certain foreign countries, there is the possibility of expropriation or confiscatory taxation, political or social instability, war, terrorism, nationalization, limitations on the removal of funds or other assets, or diplomatic developments that could affect U.S. investments in those countries. Although an advisor will endeavor to achieve most favorable execution costs for a fund's portfolio transactions in foreign securities under the circumstances, commissions (and other transaction costs) are generally higher than those on U.S. securities. In addition, it is expected that the custodian arrangement expenses for a fund that invests primarily in foreign securities will be somewhat greater than the expenses for a fund that invests primarily in domestic securities. Certain foreign governments levy withholding taxes against dividend and interest income from foreign securities. Although in some countries a portion of these taxes is recoverable by the fund, the non-recovered portion of foreign withholding taxes will reduce the income received from the companies making up a fund. The value of the foreign securities held by a fund that are not U.S. dollar-denominated may be significantly affected by changes in currency exchange rates. The U.S. dollar value of a foreign security generally decreases when the value of the U.S. dollar rises against the foreign currency in which the security is denominated and tends to increase when the value of the U.S. dollar falls against such currency (as discussed under the heading "Foreign Securities - Foreign Currency Transactions," a fund may attempt to hedge its currency risks). In addition, the value of fund assets may be affected by losses and other expenses incurred in converting between various currencies in order to purchase and sell foreign securities, and by currency restrictions, exchange control regulation, currency devaluations, and political and economic developments. FOREIGN SECURITIES -- EMERGING MARKET RISK. Investing in emerging market countries involves certain risks not typically associated with investing in the United States, and imposes risks greater than, or in addition to, risks of investing in more developed foreign countries. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following: greater risks of nationalization or expropriation of assets or confiscatory taxation; currency devaluations and other currency exchange rate fluctuations; greater social, economic, and political uncertainty and instability (including amplified risk of war and terrorism); more substantial government involvement in the economy; less government supervision and regulation of the securities markets and participants in those markets; controls on foreign investment and limitations on repatriation of invested capital and on the fund's ability to exchange local currencies for U.S. dollars; unavailability of currency hedging techniques in certain emerging market countries; the fact that companies in emerging market countries may be smaller, less seasoned, and newly organized companies; the difference in, or lack of, auditing and financial reporting standards, which may result in unavailability of material information about issuers; the risk that it may be more difficult to obtain and/or enforce a judgment in a court outside the United States; and greater price volatility, substantially less liquidity, and significantly smaller market capitalization of securities markets. Also, any change in the leadership or politics of emerging market countries, or the countries that exercise a significant influence over those countries, may halt the expansion of or B-11 reverse the liberalization of foreign investment policies now occurring and adversely affect existing investment opportunities. Furthermore, high rates of inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging market countries. FOREIGN SECURITIES -- FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS. The value in U.S. dollars of a fund's non-dollar-denominated foreign securities may be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations, and the fund may incur costs in connection with conversions between various currencies. To seek to minimize the impact of such factors on net asset values, a fund may engage in foreign currency transactions in connection with its investments in foreign securities. A fund will not speculate in foreign currency exchange and will enter into foreign currency transactions only to attempt to "hedge" the currency risk associated with investing in foreign securities. Although such transactions tend to minimize the risk of loss that would result from a decline in the value of the hedged currency, they also may limit any potential gain that might result should the value of such currency increase. Currency exchange transactions may be conducted either on a spot (i.e., cash) basis at the rate prevailing in the currency exchange market or through forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies. A forward currency contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. These contracts are entered into with large commercial banks or other currency traders who are participants in the interbank market. Currency exchange transactions also may be effected through the use of swap agreements or other derivatives. Currency exchange transactions may be considered borrowings. A currency exchange transaction will not be considered to constitute the issuance of a "senior security" by a fund for purposes of the 1940 Act, and therefore such transaction will not be subject to the 300% asset coverage requirement otherwise applicable to borrowings by a fund, if the fund covers the transaction in accordance with the requirements described under the heading "Borrowing." By entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of foreign currency involved in underlying security transactions, a fund may be able to protect itself against part or all of the possible loss between trade and settlement dates for that purchase or sale resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between the U.S. dollar and such foreign currency. This practice is sometimes referred to as "transaction hedging." In addition, when the advisor reasonably believes that a particular foreign currency may suffer a substantial decline against the U.S. dollar, a fund may enter into a forward contract to sell an amount of foreign currency approximating the value of some or all of its portfolio securities denominated in such foreign currency. This practice is sometimes referred to as "portfolio hedging." Similarly, when the advisor reasonably believes that the U.S. dollar may suffer a substantial decline against a foreign currency, a fund may enter into a forward contract to buy that foreign currency for a fixed dollar amount. A fund may also attempt to hedge its foreign currency exchange rate risk by engaging in currency futures, options, and "cross-hedge" transactions. In cross-hedge transactions, a fund holding securities denominated in one foreign currency will enter into a forward currency contract to buy or sell a different foreign currency (one that the advisor reasonably believes generally tracks the currency being hedged with regard to price movements). The advisor may select the tracking (or substitute) currency rather than the currency in which the security is denominated for various reasons, including in order to take advantage of pricing or other opportunities presented by the tracking currency or because the market for the tracking currency is more liquid or more efficient. Such cross-hedges are expected to help protect a fund against an increase or decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar against certain foreign currencies. A fund may hold a portion of its assets in bank deposits denominated in foreign currencies, so as to facilitate investment in foreign securities as well as protect against currency fluctuations and the need to convert such assets into U.S. dollars (thereby also reducing transaction costs). To the extent these monies are converted back into U.S. dollars, the value of the assets so maintained will be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. The forecasting of currency market movement is extremely difficult, and whether any hedging strategy will be successful is highly uncertain. Moreover, it is impossible to forecast with precision the market value of portfolio securities at the expiration of a foreign currency forward contract. Accordingly, a fund may be required to buy or sell additional currency on the spot market (and bear the expense of such transaction) if its advisor's predictions regarding the movement of foreign currency or securities markets prove inaccurate. In addition, the use of cross-hedging transactions may involve special risks, and may leave a fund in a less advantageous position than if such a hedge had not been established. Because foreign currency forward contracts are privately negotiated transactions, there can be no B-12 assurance that a fund will have flexibility to roll-over a foreign currency forward contract upon its expiration if it desires to do so. Additionally, there can be no assurance that the other party to the contract will perform its services thereunder. FOREIGN SECURITIES -- FOREIGN INVESTMENT COMPANIES. Some of the countries in which a fund may invest may not permit, or may place economic restrictions on, direct investment by outside investors. Fund investments in such countries may be permitted only through foreign government approved or authorized investment vehicles, which may include other investment companies. Such investments may be made through registered or unregistered closed-end investment companies that invest in foreign securities. Investing through such vehicles may involve frequent or layered fees or expenses and may also be subject to the limitations on, and the risks of, a fund's investments in other investment companies, which are described under the heading "Other Investment Companies." FUTURES CONTRACTS AND OPTIONS ON FUTURES CONTRACTS. Futures contracts and options on futures contracts are derivatives. A futures contract is a standardized agreement between two parties to buy or sell at a specific time in the future a specific quantity of a commodity at a specific price. The commodity may consist of an asset, a reference rate, or an index. A security futures contract relates to the sale of a specific quantity of shares of a single equity security or a narrow-based securities index. The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of the underlying commodity. The buyer of a futures contract enters into an agreement to purchase the underlying commodity on the settlement date and is said to be "long" the contract. The seller of a futures contract enters into an agreement to sell the underlying commodity on the settlement date and is said to be "short" the contract. The price at which a futures contract is entered into is established either in the electronic marketplace or by open outcry on the floor of an exchange between exchange members acting as traders or brokers. Open futures contracts can be liquidated or closed out by physical delivery of the underlying commodity or payment of the cash settlement amount on the settlement date, depending on the terms of the particular contract. Some financial futures contracts (such as security futures) provide for physical settlement at maturity. Other financial futures contracts (such as those relating to interest rates, foreign currencies, and broad-based securities indexes) generally provide for cash settlement at maturity. In the case of cash settled futures contracts, the cash settlement amount is equal to the difference between the final settlement price on the last trading day of the contract and the price at which the contract was entered into. Most futures contracts, however, are not held until maturity but instead are "offset" before the settlement date through the establishment of an opposite and equal futures position. The purchaser or seller of a futures contract is not required to deliver or pay for the underlying commodity unless the contract is held until the settlement date. However, both the purchaser and seller are required to deposit "initial margin" with a futures commission merchant (FCM) when the futures contract is entered into. Initial margin deposits are typically calculated as a percentage of the contract's market value. If the value of either party's position declines, that party will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. This process is known as "marking-to-market." A futures transaction will not be considered to constitute the issuance of a "senior security" by a fund for purposes of the 1940 Act, and such transaction will not be subject to the 300% asset coverage requirement otherwise applicable to borrowings by a fund, if the fund covers the transaction in accordance with the requirements described under the heading "Borrowing." An option on a futures contract (or futures option) conveys the right, but not the obligation, to purchase (in the case of a call option) or sell (in the case of a put option) a specific futures contract at a specific price (called the "exercise" or "strike" price) any time before the option expires. The seller of an option is called an option writer. The purchase price of an option is called the premium. The potential loss to an option buyer is limited to the amount of the premium plus transaction costs. This will be the case, for example, if the option is held and not exercised prior to its expiration date. Generally, an option writer sells options with the goal of obtaining the premium paid by the option buyer. If an option sold by an option writer expires without being exercised, the writer retains the full amount of the premium. The option writer, however, has unlimited economic risk because its potential loss, except to the extent offset by the premium received when the option was written, is equal to the amount the option is "in-the-money" at the expiration date. A call option is in-the-money if the value of the underlying futures contract exceeds the exercise price of the option. A put option is in-the-money if the exercise price of the option exceeds the value of the underlying futures contract. Generally, any profit realized by an option buyer represents a loss for the option writer. A fund that takes the position of a writer of a futures option is required to deposit and maintain initial and variation margin with respect to the option, as described above in the case of futures contracts. A futures option transaction will not be considered to constitute the issuance of a "senior security" by a fund for purposes of the 1940 Act, and such B-13 transaction will not be subject to the 300% asset coverage requirement otherwise applicable to borrowings by a fund, if the fund covers the transaction in accordance with the requirements described under the heading "Borrowing." Each fund intends to comply with Rule 4.5 of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, under which a mutual fund is conditionally excluded from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator." A fund will only enter into futures contracts and futures options that are standardized and traded on a U.S. or foreign exchange, board of trade, or similar entity, or quoted on an automated quotation system. FUTURES CONTRACTS AND OPTIONS ON FUTURES CONTRACTS -- RISKS. The risk of loss in trading futures contracts and in writing futures options can be substantial, because of the low margin deposits required, the extremely high degree of leverage involved in futures and options pricing, and the potential high volatility of the futures markets. As a result, a relatively small price movement in a futures position may result in immediate and substantial loss (or gain) to the investor. For example, if at the time of purchase, 10% of the value of the futures contract is deposited as margin, a subsequent 10% decrease in the value of the futures contract would result in a total loss of the margin deposit, before any deduction for the transaction costs, if the account were then closed out. A 15% decrease would result in a loss equal to 150% of the original margin deposit if the contract were closed out. Thus, a purchase or sale of a futures contract, and the writing of a futures option, may result in losses in excess of the amount invested in the position. In the event of adverse price movements, a fund would continue to be required to make daily cash payments to maintain its required margin. In such situations, if the fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell portfolio securities to meet daily margin requirements (and segregation requirements, if applicable) at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. In addition, on the settlement date, a fund may be required to make delivery of the instruments underlying the futures positions it holds. A fund could suffer losses if it is unable to close out a futures contract or a futures option because of an illiquid secondary market. Futures contracts and futures options may be closed out only on an exchange that provides a secondary market for such products. However, there can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular futures product at any specific time. Thus, it may not be possible to close a futures or option position. Moreover, most futures exchanges limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. The daily limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of a futures contract may vary either up or down from the previous day's settlement price at the end of a trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular type of contract, no trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. The daily limit governs only price movement during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses, because the limit may prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. Futures contract prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of future positions and subjecting some futures traders to substantial losses. The inability to close futures and options positions also could have an adverse impact on the ability to hedge a portfolio investment or to establish a substitute for a portfolio investment. Treasury futures are generally not subject to such daily limits. A fund bears the risk that its advisor will incorrectly predict future market trends. If the advisor attempts to use a futures contract or a futures option as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, the fund will be exposed to the risk that the futures position will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment. This could cause substantial losses for the fund. Although hedging strategies involving futures products can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. A fund could lose margin payments it has deposited with its FCM, if, for example, the FCM breaches its agreement with the fund or becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy. In that event, the fund may be entitled to return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM's other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the fund. HYBRID INSTRUMENT. A hybrid instrument, or hybrid, is an interest in an issuer that combines the characteristics of an equity security, a debt security, a commodity, and/or a derivative. A hybrid may have characteristics that, on the whole, more strongly suggest the existence of a bond, stock or other traditional investment, but may also have prominent features that are normally associated with a different type of investment. Moreover, hybrid instruments may be treated as a particular type of investment for one regulatory purpose (such as taxation) and may be simultaneously treated as a different type of investment for a different regulatory purpose (such as securities or commodity regulation). Hybrids can be used as an efficient means of pursuing a variety of investment goals, including increased total return, duration B-14 management, and currency hedging. Because hybrids combine features of two or more traditional investments, and may involve the use of innovative structures, hybrids present risks that may be similar to, different from, or greater than those associated with traditional investments with similar characteristics. Examples of hybrid instruments include convertible securities, which combine the investment characteristics of bonds and common stocks, and perpetual bonds, which are structured like fixed income securities, have no maturity date, and may be characterized as debt or equity for certain regulatory purposes. Another example of a hybrid is a commodity-linked bond, such as a bond issued by an oil company that pays a small base level of interest with additional interest that accrues in correlation to the extent to which oil prices exceed a certain predetermined level. Such a hybrid would be a combination of a bond and a call option on oil. In the case of hybrids that are structured like fixed income securities (such as structured notes), the principal amount or interest rate is generally tied (positively or negatively) to the price of some commodity, currency, securities index, interest rate, or other economic factor (each a benchmark). For some hybrids, the principal amount payable at maturity or interest rate may be increased or decreased, depending on changes in the value of the benchmark. Other hybrids do not bear interest or pay dividends. The value of a hybrid or its interest rate may be a multiple of a benchmark and, as a result, may be leveraged and move (up or down) more steeply and rapidly than the benchmark. These benchmarks may be sensitive to economic and political events, such as commodity shortages and currency devaluations, which cannot be readily foreseen by the purchaser of a hybrid. Under certain conditions, the redemption value of a hybrid could be zero. Thus, an investment in a hybrid may entail significant market risks that are not associated with a similar investment in a traditional, U.S. dollar-denominated bond with a fixed principal amount that pays a fixed rate or floating rate of interest. The purchase of hybrids also exposes a fund to the credit risk of the issuer of the hybrids. Depending on the level of a fund's investment in hybrids, these risks may cause significant fluctuations in the fund's net asset value. Certain issuers of hybrid instruments known as structured products may be deemed to be investment companies as defined in the 1940 Act. As a result, the funds' investments in these products may be subject to limits described under the heading "Other Investment Companies." INTERFUND BORROWING AND LENDING. The SEC has granted an exemption permitting the Vanguard funds to participate in Vanguard's interfund lending program. This program allows the Vanguard funds to borrow money from and lend money to each other for temporary or emergency purposes. The program is subject to a number of conditions, including, among other things, the requirement that: (1) no fund may borrow or lend money through the program unless it receives a more favorable interest rate than is typically available from a bank for a comparable transaction; (2) no equity, taxable bond, or money market fund may loan money if the loan would cause its aggregate outstanding loans through the program to exceed 5%, 7.5%, or 10%, respectively, of its net assets at the time of the loan; and (3) a fund's interfund loans to any one fund shall not exceed 5% of the lending fund's net assets. In addition, a Vanguard fund may participate in the program only if and to the extent that such participation is consistent with the fund's investment objective and investment policies. The boards of trustees of the Vanguard funds are responsible for overseeing the interfund lending program. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs. LOAN INTERESTS AND DIRECT DEBT INSTRUMENTS. Loan interests and direct debt instruments are interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to lenders or lending syndicates (in the case of loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (in the case of trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. These investments involve a risk of loss in case of the default, insolvency, or bankruptcy of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the purchaser in the event of fraud or misrepresentation, or there may be a requirement that a purchaser supply additional cash to a borrower on demand. Purchasers of loans and other forms of direct indebtedness depend primarily upon the creditworthiness of the borrower for payment of interest and repayment of principal. If scheduled interest or principal payments are not made, or are not made in a timely manner, the value of the instrument may be adversely affected. Loans that are fully secured provide more protections than unsecured loans in the event of failure to make scheduled interest or principal payments. However, there is no assurance that the liquidation of collateral from a secured loan would satisfy the borrower's obligation, or that the collateral could be liquidated. Indebtedness of borrowers whose creditworthiness is poor involves substantially greater risks and may be highly speculative. Borrowers that are in bankruptcy or restructuring may never pay off their indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed. Direct indebtedness of developing countries also involves a risk that the governmental entities responsible for the repayment of the debt may be unable, or unwilling, to pay interest and repay principal when due. B-15 Corporate loans and other forms of direct corporate indebtedness in which a fund may invest are generally made to finance internal growth, mergers, acquisitions, stock repurchases, refinancing of existing debt, leveraged buy-outs, and other corporate activities. A significant portion of the corporate indebtedness purchased by a fund may represent interests in loans or debt made to finance highly leveraged corporate acquisitions, known as "leveraged buy-out" transactions, leveraged recapitalization loans, and other types of acquisition financing. Another portion may also represent loans incurred in restructuring or "work-out" scenarios, including super-priority debtor-in-possession facilities in bankruptcy and acquisition of assets out of bankruptcy. Loans in restructuring, "work-out" scenarios may be especially vulnerable to the inherent uncertainties in restructuring processes. In addition, the highly leveraged capital structure of the borrowers in any such transactions, whether acquisition financing or restructuring, may make such loans especially vulnerable to adverse or unusual economic or market conditions. Loans and other forms of direct indebtedness generally are subject to restrictions on transfer, and only limited opportunities may exist to sell them in secondary markets. As a result, a fund may be unable to sell loans and other forms of direct indebtedness at a time when it may otherwise be desirable to do so or may be able to sell them only at a price that is less than their fair value. Investments in loans through direct assignment of a financial institution's interests with respect to a loan may involve additional risks. For example, if a loan is foreclosed, the purchaser could become part owner of any collateral, and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of the collateral. In addition, it is at least conceivable that under emerging legal theories of lender liability, a purchaser could be held liable as a co-lender. Direct debt instruments may also involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary. A loan is often administered by a bank or other financial institution that acts as agent for all holders. The agent administers the terms of the loan, as specified in the loan agreement. Unless the purchaser has direct recourse against the borrower, the purchaser may have to rely on the agent to apply appropriate credit remedies against a borrower under the terms of the loan or other indebtedness. If assets held by the agent for the benefit of a purchaser were determined to be subject to the claims of the agent's general creditors, the purchaser might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on the loan or loan participation and could suffer a loss of principal or interest. Direct indebtedness may include letters of credit, revolving credit facilities, or other standby financing commitments that obligate purchasers to make additional cash payments on demand. These commitments may have the effect of requiring a purchaser to increase its investment in a borrower at a time when it would not otherwise have done so, even if the borrower's condition makes it unlikely that the amount will ever be repaid. A fund's investment policies will govern the amount of total assets that it may invest in any one issuer or in issuers within the same industry. For purposes of these limitations, a fund generally will treat the borrower as the "issuer" of indebtedness held by the fund. In the case of loan participations where a bank or other lending institution serves as financial intermediary between a fund and the borrower, if the participation does not shift to the fund the direct debtor-creditor relationship with the borrower, SEC interpretations require the fund, in some circumstances, to treat both the lending bank or other lending institution and the borrower as "issuers" for purposes of the fund's investment policies. Treating a financial intermediary as an issuer of indebtedness may restrict a fund's ability to invest in indebtedness related to a single financial intermediary, or a group of intermediaries engaged in the same industry, even if the underlying borrowers represent many different companies and industries. MORTGAGE DOLLAR ROLLS. A mortgage dollar roll is a transaction in which a fund sells a mortgage-backed security to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to repurchase a similar security (but not the same security) in the future at a pre-determined price. A mortgage-dollar-roll program may be structured to simulate an investment in mortgage-backed securities at a potentially lower cost, or with potentially reduced administrative burdens, than directly holding mortgage-backed securities. A mortgage dollar roll can be viewed, like a reverse repurchase agreement, as a collateralized borrowing in which a fund pledges a mortgage-backed security to a dealer to obtain cash. Unlike the dealer of reverse repurchase agreements, the dealer with which a fund enters into a mortgage-dollar-roll transaction is not obligated to return the same securities as those originally sold by the fund, but rather only securities that are "substantially identical." To be considered substantially identical, the securities returned to a fund generally must: (1) be collateralized by the same types of underlying mortgages; (2) be issued by the same agency and be part of the same program; (3) have similar original stated maturities; (4) have identical net coupon rates; (5) have similar market yields (and therefore prices); and (6) satisfy "good delivery" requirements, meaning that the aggregate principal amounts of the securities delivered and received back must be within a certain percentage of the initial amount delivered. A mortgage dollar roll may be considered to constitute a B-16 borrowing transaction. A mortgage-dollar-roll transaction will not be considered to constitute the issuance of a "senior security" by a fund for purposes of the 1940 Act, and such transaction will not be subject to the 300% asset coverage requirement otherwise applicable to borrowings by a fund, if the fund covers the transaction in accordance with the requirements described under the heading "Borrowing." Mortgage dollar rolls will be used only if consistent with a fund's investment objective and strategies and will not be used to leverage a fund's assets or change its risk profile. The proceeds of mortgage-dollar-roll transactions will be invested in high-quality, short-term fixed income securities. MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES. Mortgage-backed securities are securities that represent direct or indirect participation in, or are collateralized by and payable from, mortgage loans secured by real property or instruments derived from such loans. Mortgage-backed securities include various types of securities such as government stripped mortgage-backed securities, adjustable rate mortgage-backed securities, and collateralized mortgage obligations. Generally, mortgage-backed securities represent interests in pools of mortgage loans assembled for sale to investors by various governmental agencies, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), by government-related organizations, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), as well as by private issuers, such as commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, and mortgage bankers. The average maturity of pass-through pools of mortgage-backed securities in which a fund may invest varies with the maturities of the underlying mortgage instruments. In addition, a pool's average maturity may be shortened by unscheduled payments on the underlying mortgages. Factors affecting mortgage prepayments include the level of interest rates, general economic and social conditions, the location of the mortgaged property, and the age of the mortgage. Because prepayment rates of individual mortgage pools vary widely, the average life of a particular pool cannot be predicted accurately. Mortgage-backed securities may be classified as private, government, or government-related, depending on the issuer or guarantor. Private mortgage-backed securities represent interest in pass-through pools consisting principally of conventional residential mortgage loans created by non-government issuers, such as commercial banks and savings and loan associations and private mortgage insurance companies. Government mortgage-backed securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. GNMA, the principal U.S. guarantor of these securities, is a wholly-owned U.S. government corporation within the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Government-related mortgage-backed securities are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Issuers include FNMA and FHLMC, which are congressionally chartered corporations. In September 2008, the U.S. Treasury placed FNMA and FHLMC under conservatorship and appointed the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to manage their daily operations. In addition, the U.S. Treasury entered into purchase agreements with FNMA and FHLMC to provide them with capital in exchange for senior preferred stock. Pass-through securities issued by FNMA are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by FNMA. Participation certificates representing interests in mortgages from FHLMC's national portfolio are guaranteed as to the timely payment of interest and principal by FHLMC. Private, government, or government-related entities may create mortgage loan pools offering pass-through investments in addition to those described above. The mortgages underlying these securities may be alternative mortgage instruments, that is, mortgage instruments whose principal or interest payments may vary or whose terms to maturity may be shorter than customary. Mortgage-backed securities are often subject to more rapid repayment than their stated maturity date would indicate as a result of the pass-through of prepayments of principal on the underlying loans. Prepayments of principal by mortgagors or mortgage foreclosures shorten the term of the mortgage pool underlying the mortgage-backed security. A fund's ability to maintain positions in mortgage-backed securities is affected by the reductions in the principal amount of such securities resulting from prepayments. A fund's ability to reinvest prepayments of principal at comparable yield is subject to generally prevailing interest rates at that time. The values of mortgage-backed securities vary with changes in market interest rates generally and the differentials in yields among various kinds of U.S. government securities, mortgage-backed securities, and asset-backed securities. In periods of rising interest rates, the rate of prepayment tends to decrease, thereby lengthening the average life of a pool of mortgages supporting a mortgage-backed security. Conversely, in periods of falling interest rates, the rate of prepayment tends to increase thereby shortening the average life of such a pool. Because prepayments of principal generally occur when interest rates are declining, an investor, such as a fund, generally has to reinvest the proceeds of such prepayments at lower interest rates than those at which its assets were previously invested. Therefore, mortgage-backed securities have less potential for capital appreciation in periods of falling interest rates than other income-bearing securities of comparable maturity. B-17 MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES -- ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES. Adjustable rate mortgage-backed securities (ARMBSs) have interest rates that reset at periodic intervals. Acquiring ARMBSs permits a fund to participate in increases in prevailing current interest rates through periodic adjustments in the coupons of mortgages underlying the pool on which ARMBSs are based. Such ARMBSs generally have higher current yield and lower price fluctuations than is the case with more traditional fixed income debt securities of comparable rating and maturity. In addition, when prepayments of principal are made on the underlying mortgages during periods of rising interest rates, a fund can reinvest the proceeds of such prepayments at rates higher than those at which they were previously invested. Mortgages underlying most ARMBSs, however, have limits on the allowable annual or lifetime increases that can be made in the interest rate that the mortgagor pays. Therefore, if current interest rates rise above such limits over the period of the limitation, a fund holding an ARMBS does not benefit from further increases in interest rates. Moreover, when interest rates are in excess of coupon rates (i.e., the rates being paid by mortgagors) of the mortgages, ARMBSs behave more like fixed income securities and less like adjustable rate securities and are subject to the risks associated with fixed income securities. In addition, during periods of rising interest rates, increases in the coupon rate of adjustable rate mortgages generally lag current market interest rates slightly, thereby creating the potential for capital depreciation on such securities. MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES -- COLLATERALIZED MORTGAGE OBLIGATIONS. Collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) are mortgage-backed securities that are collateralized by whole loan mortgages or mortgage pass-through securities. The bonds issued in a CMO transaction are divided into groups, and each group of bonds is referred to as a "tranche." Under the traditional CMO structure, the cash flows generated by the mortgages or mortgage pass-through securities in the collateral pool are used to first pay interest and then pay principal to the CMO bondholders. The bonds issued under a traditional CMO structure are retired sequentially as opposed to the pro-rata return of principal found in traditional pass-through obligations. Subject to the various provisions of individual CMO issues, the cash flow generated by the underlying collateral (to the extent it exceeds the amount required to pay the stated interest) is used to retire the bonds. Under a CMO structure, the repayment of principal among the different tranches is prioritized in accordance with the terms of the particular CMO issuance. The "fastest-pay" tranches of bonds, as specified in the prospectus for the issuance, would initially receive all principal payments. When those tranches of bonds are retired, the next tranche, or tranches, in the sequence, as specified in the prospectus, receive all of the principal payments until they are retired. The sequential retirement of bond groups continues until the last tranche is retired. Accordingly, the CMO structure allows the issuer to use cash flows of long maturity, monthly-pay collateral to formulate securities with short, intermediate, and long final maturities and expected average lives and risk characteristics. In recent years, new types of CMO tranches have evolved. These include floating rate CMOs, planned amortization classes, accrual bonds and CMO residuals. These newer structures affect the amount and timing of principal and interest received by each tranche from the underlying collateral. Under certain of these new structures, given classes of CMOs have priority over others with respect to the receipt of prepayments on the mortgages. Therefore, depending on the type of CMOs in which a fund invests, the investment may be subject to a greater or lesser risk of prepayment than other types of mortgage-backed securities. CMOs may include real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs). REMICs, which were authorized under the Tax Reform Act of 1986, are private entities formed for the purpose of holding a fixed pool of mortgages secured by an interest in real property. A REMIC is a CMO that qualifies for special tax treatment under the Internal Revenue Code and invests in certain mortgages principally secured by interests in real property. Investors may purchase beneficial interests in REMICs, which are known as "regular" interests, or "residual" interests. Guaranteed REMIC pass-through certificates (REMIC Certificates) issued by FNMA or FHLMC represent beneficial ownership interests in a REMIC trust consisting principally of mortgage loans or FNMA, FHLMC or GNMA-guaranteed mortgage pass-through certificates. For FHLMC REMIC Certificates, FHLMC guarantees the timely payment of interest and also guarantees the payment of principal, as payments are required to be made on the underlying mortgage participation certificates. FNMA REMIC Certificates are issued and guaranteed as to timely distribution of principal and interest by FNMA. The primary risk of CMOs is the uncertainty of the timing of cash flows that results from the rate of prepayments on the underlying mortgages serving as collateral and from the structure of the particular CMO transaction (that is, the priority of the individual tranches). An increase or decrease in prepayment rates (resulting from a decrease or increase in mortgage interest rates) will affect the yield, average life, and price of CMOs. The prices of certain CMOs, depending on their structure and the rate of prepayments, can be volatile. Some CMOs may also not be as liquid as other securities. B-18 MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES--HYBRID ARMS. A hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (hybrid ARM) is a type of mortgage in which the interest rate is fixed for a specified period and then resets periodically, or floats, for the remaining mortgage term. Hybrid ARMs are usually referred to by their fixed and floating periods. For example, a 5/1 ARM refers to a mortgage with a 5-year fixed interest rate period, followed by a 1-year interest rate adjustment period. During the initial interest period (i.e., the initial five years for a 5/1 hybrid ARM), hybrid ARMs behave more like fixed income securities and are subject to the risks associated with fixed income securities. All hybrid ARMs have reset dates. A reset date is the date when a hybrid ARM changes from a fixed interest rate to a floating interest rate. At the reset date, a hybrid ARM can adjust by a maximum specified amount based on a margin over an identified index. Like ARMBSs, hybrid ARMs have periodic and lifetime limitations on the increases that can be made to the interest rates that mortgagors pay. Therefore, if during a floating rate period interest rates rise above the interest rate limits of the hybrid ARM, a fund holding the hybrid ARM does not benefit from further increases in interest rates. MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES -- STRIPPED MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES. Stripped mortgage-backed securities (SMBSs) are derivative multi-class mortgage-backed securities. SMBSs may be issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government, or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks, and special purpose entities formed or sponsored by any of the foregoing. SMBSs are usually structured with two classes that receive different proportions of the interest and principal distributions on a pool of mortgage assets. A common type of SMBS will have one class receiving some of the interest and most of the principal from the mortgage assets, while the other class will receive most of the interest and the remainder of the principal. In the most extreme case, one class will receive all of the interest (the "IO" class), while the other class will receive all of the principal (the principal-only or "PO" class). The price and yield to maturity on an IO class is extremely sensitive to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the related underlying mortgage assets, and a rapid rate of principal payments may have a material adverse effect on a fund's yield to maturity from these securities. If the underlying mortgage assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, a fund may fail to recoup some or all of its initial investment in these securities, even if the security is in one of the highest rating categories. Although SMBSs are purchased and sold by institutional investors through several investment banking firms acting as brokers or dealers, these securities were only recently developed. As a result, established trading markets have not yet developed and, accordingly, these securities may be deemed "illiquid" and subject to a fund's limitations on investment in illiquid securities. MUNICIPAL BONDS. Municipal bonds are debt obligations issued by states, municipalities, and other political subdivisions, agencies, authorities, and instrumentalities of states and multi-state agencies or authorities (collectively, municipalities), the interest on which, in the opinion of bond counsel to the issuer at the time of issuance, is exempt from federal income tax (Municipal Bonds). Municipal Bonds include securities from a variety of sectors, each of which has unique risks. Municipal Bonds include, but are not limited to, general obligation bonds, limited obligation bonds, and revenue bonds, including industrial development bonds issued pursuant to federal tax law. General obligation bonds are secured by the issuer's pledge of its full faith, credit, and taxing power for the payment of principal and interest. Limited obligation bonds are payable only from the revenues derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise or other specific revenue source. Revenue or special tax bonds are payable only from the revenues derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise or other tax, but not from general tax revenues. Revenue bonds involve the credit risk of the underlying project or enterprise (or its corporate user) rather than the credit risk of the issuing municipality. Under the IRC, certain limited obligation bonds are considered "private activity bonds" and interest paid on such bonds is treated as an item of tax preference for purposes of calculating federal alternative minimum tax liability. Tax-exempt private activity bonds and industrial development bonds generally are also classified as revenue bonds and thus are not payable from the issuer's general revenues. The credit and quality of private activity bonds and industrial development bonds are usually related to the credit of the corporate user of the facilities. Payment of interest on and repayment of principal of such bonds are the responsibility of the corporate user (and/or any guarantor). Some Municipal Bonds may be issued as variable or floating rate securities and may incorporate market-dependent liquidity features (see discussion of "Debt Securities - Variable and Floating Rate Securities"). A tax-exempt B-19 fund will invest only in securities deemed tax-exempt by a nationally recognized bond counsel, but there is no guarantee the interest payments on Municipal Bonds will continue to be tax-exempt for the life of the bonds. Some longer-term Municipal Bonds give the investor the right to "put" or sell the security at par (face value) within a specified number of days following the investor's request--usually one to seven days. This demand feature enhances a security's liquidity by shortening its maturity and enables it to trade at a price equal to or very close to par. If a demand feature terminates prior to being exercised, a fund would hold the longer-term security, which could experience substantially more volatility. Municipal Bonds that are issued as variable or floating rate securities incorporating market dependent liquidity features may have greater liquidity risk than other Municipal Bonds (see discussion of "Debt Securities - Variable and Floating Rate Securities"). Some Municipal Bonds feature credit enhancements, such as lines of credit, letters of credit, municipal bond insurance, and standby bond purchase agreements (SBPAs). SBPAs include lines of credit that are issued by a third party, usually a bank, to enhance liquidity and ensure repayment of principal and any accrued interest if the underlying Municipal Bond should default. Municipal Bond insurance, which is usually purchased by the bond issuer from a private, nongovernmental insurance company, provides an unconditional and irrevocable guarantee that the insured bond's principal and interest will be paid when due. Insurance does not guarantee the price of the bond or the share price of any fund. The credit rating of an insured bond reflects the credit rating of the insurer, based on its claims-paying ability. The obligation of a municipal bond insurance company to pay a claim extends over the life of each insured bond. Although defaults on insured Municipal Bonds have been historically low and municipal bond insurers historically have met their claims, there is no assurance this will continue. A higher-than-expected default rate could strain the insurer's loss reserves and adversely affect its ability to pay claims to bondholders. The number of municipal bond insurers is relatively small, and not all of them have the highest credit rating. An SBPA can include a liquidity facility that is provided to pay the purchase price of any bonds that cannot be remarketed. The obligation of the liquidity provider (usually a bank) is only to advance funds to purchase tendered bonds that cannot be remarketed and does not cover principal or interest under any other circumstances. The liquidity provider's obligations under the SBPA are usually subject to numerous conditions, including the continued creditworthiness of the underlying borrower or bond issuer. Municipal Bonds also include tender option bonds, which are municipal derivatives created by dividing the income stream provided by an underlying Municipal Bond to create two securities issued by a special-purpose trust, one short-term and one long-term. The interest rate on the short-term component is periodically reset. The short-term component has negligible interest rate risk, while the long-term component has all of the interest rate risk of the original bond. After income is paid on the short-term securities at current rates, the residual income goes to the long-term securities. Therefore, rising short-term interest rates result in lower income for the longer-term portion, and vice versa. The longer-term components can be very volatile and may be less liquid than other Municipal Bonds of comparable maturity. These securities have been developed in the secondary market to meet the demand for short-term, tax-exempt securities. Municipal securities also include a variety of structures geared towards accommodating municipal issuer short term cash flow requirements. These structures include but are not limited to general market notes, commercial paper, put bonds, and variable rate demand obligations (VRDOs). VRDOs comprise a significant percentage of the outstanding debt in the short term municipal market. VRDOs can be structured to provide a wide range of maturity options (1 day to over 360 days) to the underlying issuing entity and are typically issued at par. The longer the maturity option, the greater the degree of liquidity risk (the risk of not receiving an asking price of par or greater) and reinvestment risk (the risk that the proceeds from maturing bonds must be reinvested at a lower interest rate). The reorganization under the federal bankruptcy laws of an issuer of, or payment obligor with respect to, Municipal Bonds may result in the Municipal Bonds being cancelled without repayment, repaid only in part, or repaid in part or whole through an exchange thereof for any combination of cash, Municipal Bonds, debt securities, convertible securities, equity securities, or other instruments or rights in respect of the same issuer or payment obligor or a related entity. The yields of Municipal Bonds depend on, among other things, general money market conditions, conditions in the municipal bond market, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation, and the rating of the issue. The ratings of Moody's Investors Service, Inc., Standard & Poor's, and other nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs) represent their opinions of the quality of the Municipal Bonds rated by them. It should be emphasized that such ratings are general and are not absolute standards of quality. Consequently, Municipal Bonds with the same maturity, coupon, and rating may have different yields, while Municipal Bonds of the same maturity and B-20 coupon, but with different ratings, may have the same yield. It is the responsibility of a fund's investment management staff to appraise independently the fundamental quality of bonds held by the fund. MUNICIPAL BONDS -- RISKS. Municipal Bonds are subject to credit risk. Like other debt securities, Municipal Bonds include investment-grade, non-investment-grade, and unrated securities. Rated Municipal Bonds that may be held by a fund include those rated investment-grade at the time of investment or those issued by issuers whose senior debt is rated investment-grade at the time of investment. In the case of any unrated Municipal Bonds, the advisor to a fund will assign a credit rating based upon criteria that include an analysis of factors similar to those considered by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations. Information about the financial condition of an issuer of Municipal Bonds may not be as extensive as that which is made available by corporations whose securities are publicly traded. Obligations of issuers of Municipal Bonds are subject to the provisions of bankruptcy, insolvency, and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors. Congress or state legislatures may seek to extend the time for payment of principal or interest, or both, or to impose other constraints upon enforcement of such obligations. For example, from time to time proposals have been introduced before Congress to restrict or eliminate the federal income tax exemption for interest on Municipal Bonds. Also, from time to time proposals have been introduced before state and local legislatures to restrict or eliminate the state and local income tax exemption for interest on Municipal Bonds. Similar proposals may be introduced in the future. If any such proposal were enacted, it might restrict or eliminate the ability of a Fund to achieve its respective investment objective. In that event, the fund's trustees and officers would re-evaluate its investment objective and policies and consider recommending to its shareholders changes in such objective and policies. There is also the possibility that, as a result of litigation or other conditions, the power or ability of issuers to meet their obligations for the payment of interest and principal on their Municipal Bonds may be materially affected or their obligations may be found to be invalid or unenforceable. Such litigation or conditions may from time to time have the effect of introducing uncertainties in the market for Municipal Bonds or certain segments thereof, or of materially affecting the credit risk with respect to particular bonds. Adverse economic, business, legal, or political developments might affect all or a substantial portion of a fund's Municipal Bonds in the same manner. For example, a state specific tax-exempt fund is subject to state-specific risk, which is the chance that the fund, because it invests primarily in securities issued by a particular state and its municipalities, is more vulnerable to unfavorable developments in that state than are funds that invest in municipal securities of many states. Unfavorable developments in any economic sector may have far-reaching ramifications on a state's overall municipal market. In the event that a particular obligation held by a fund is downgraded below the minimum investment level permitted by the investment policies of such fund, the trustees and officers of the fund will carefully assess the creditworthiness of the obligation to determine whether it continues to meet the policies and objective of the fund. Municipal Bonds are subject to interest rate risk. Interest rate risk is the chance that bond prices overall will decline over short or even long periods because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk is higher for long-term bonds, whose prices are much more sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of shorter-term bonds. Generally, prices of longer maturity issues tend to fluctuate more than prices of shorter maturity issues. Prices and yields on Municipal Bonds are dependent on a variety of factors, such as the financial condition of the issuer, general conditions of the Municipal Bond market, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation, and the rating of the issue. A number of these factors, including the ratings of particular issues, are subject to change from time to time. Municipal Bonds are subject to call risk. Call risk is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (repay) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. A fund would then lose potential price appreciation and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the fund's income. Call risk is generally high for long-term bonds. Municipal Bonds may be deemed to be illiquid as determined by or in accordance with methods adopted by a fund's board of trustees. In determining the liquidity and appropriate valuation of a Municipal Bond, a fund's advisor may consider the following factors relating to the security, among others: (1) the frequency of trades and quotes; (2) the number of dealers willing to purchase or sell the security; (3) the willingness of dealers to undertake to make a market; (4) the nature of the marketplace trades, including the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers, and the mechanics of transfer; and (5) factors unique to a particular security, including general creditworthiness of the issuer and the likelihood that the marketability of the securities will be maintained throughout the time the security is held by the fund. B-21 OPTIONS. An option is a derivative. An option on a security (or index) is a contract that gives the holder of the option, in return for the payment of a "premium," the right, but not the obligation, to buy from (in the case of a call option) or sell to (in the case of a put option) the writer of the option the security underlying the option (or the cash value of the index) at a specified exercise price prior to the expiration date of the option. The writer of an option on a security has the obligation upon exercise of the option (1) to deliver the underlying security upon payment of the exercise price (in the case of a call option) or (2) to pay the exercise price upon delivery of the underlying security (in the case of a put option). The writer of an option on an index has the obligation upon exercise of the option to pay an amount equal to the cash value of the index minus the exercise price, multiplied by the specified multiplier for the index option. The multiplier for an index option determines the size of the investment position the option represents. Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options (options not traded on exchanges) generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. Although this type of arrangement allows the purchaser or writer greater flexibility to tailor an option to its needs, OTC options generally involve greater credit risk than exchange-traded options, which are guaranteed by the clearing organization of the exchanges where they are traded. The buyer (or holder) of an option is said to be "long" the option, while the seller (or writer) of an option is said to be "short" the option. A call option grants to the holder the right to buy (and obligates the writer to sell) the underlying security at the strike price. A put option grants to the holder the right to sell (and obligates the writer to buy) the underlying security at the strike price. The purchase price of an option is called the "premium." The potential loss to an option buyer is limited to the amount of the premium plus transaction costs. This will be the case if the option is held and not exercised prior to its expiration date. Generally, an option writer sells options with the goal of obtaining the premium paid by the option buyer, but that person could also seek to profit from an anticipated rise or decline in option prices. If an option sold by an option writer expires without being exercised, the writer retains the full amount of the premium. The option writer, however, has unlimited economic risk because its potential loss, except to the extent offset by the premium received when the option was written, is equal to the amount the option is "in-the-money" at the expiration date. A call option is in-the-money if the value of the underlying position exceeds the exercise price of the option. A put option is in-the-money if the exercise price of the option exceeds the value of the underlying position. Generally, any profit realized by an option buyer represents a loss for the option writer. The writing of an option will not be considered to constitute the issuance of a "senior security" by a fund for purposes of the 1940 Act, and such transaction will not be subject to the 300% asset coverage requirement otherwise applicable to borrowings by a fund, if the fund covers the transaction in accordance with the requirements described under the heading "Borrowing." If a trading market in particular options were to become unavailable, investors in those options (such as the funds) would be unable to close out their positions until trading resumes, and they may be faced with substantial losses if the value of the underlying instrument moves adversely during that time. Even if the market were to remain available, there may be times when options prices will not maintain their customary or anticipated relationships to the prices of the underlying instruments and related instruments. Lack of investor interest, changes in volatility, or other factors or conditions might adversely affect the liquidity, efficiency, continuity, or even the orderliness of the market for particular options. A fund bears the risk that its advisor will not accurately predict future market trends. If the advisor attempts to use an option as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, the fund will be exposed to the risk that the option will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment. This could cause substantial losses for the fund. Although hedging strategies involving options can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Many options, in particular OTC options, are complex and often valued based on subjective factors. Improper valuations can result in increased cash payment requirements to counterparties or a loss of value to a fund. OTHER INVESTMENT COMPANIES. A fund may invest in other investment companies to the extent permitted by applicable law or SEC exemption. Under Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act, a fund generally may invest up to 10% of its assets in shares of investment companies and up to 5% of its assets in any one investment company, as long as no investment represents more than 3% of the voting stock of an acquired investment company. In addition, no funds for which Vanguard acts as an advisor may, in the aggregate, own more than 10% of the voting stock of a closed-end investment company. The 1940 Act and related rules provide certain exemptions from these restrictions. If a fund invests in other investment companies, shareholders will bear not only their proportionate share of the fund's expenses (including operating expenses and the fees of the advisor), but also, indirectly, the similar expenses of the underlying investment companies. Shareholders would also be exposed to the risks associated not only to the investments of the fund but also B-22 to the portfolio investments of the underlying investment companies. Certain types of investment companies, such as closed-end investment companies, issue a fixed number of shares that typically trade on a stock exchange or over-the-counter at a premium or discount to their net asset value. Others are continuously offered at net asset value but also may be traded on the secondary market. PREFERRED STOCK. Preferred stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. Preferred stock normally pays dividends at a specified rate and has precedence over common stock in the event the issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy. However, in the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock. Preferred stock, unlike common stock, often has a stated dividend rate payable from the corporation's earnings. Preferred stock dividends may be cumulative or non-cumulative, participating, or auction rate. "Cumulative" dividend provisions require all or a portion of prior unpaid dividends to be paid before dividends can be paid to the issuer's common stock. "Participating" preferred stock may be entitled to a dividend exceeding the stated dividend in certain cases. If interest rates rise, the fixed dividend on preferred stocks may be less attractive, causing the price of such stocks to decline. Preferred stock may have mandatory sinking fund provisions, as well as provisions allowing the stock to be called or redeemed, which can limit the benefit of a decline in interest rates. Preferred stock is subject to many of the risks to which common stock and debt securities are subject. REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS. A repurchase agreement is an agreement under which a fund acquires a fixed income security (generally a security issued by the U.S. government or an agency thereof, a banker's acceptance, or a certificate of deposit) from a commercial bank, broker, or dealer, and simultaneously agrees to resell such security to the seller at an agreed upon price and date (normally, the next business day). Because the security purchased constitutes collateral for the repurchase obligation, a repurchase agreement may be considered a loan that is collateralized by the security purchased. The resale price reflects an agreed upon interest rate effective for the period the instrument is held by a fund and is unrelated to the interest rate on the underlying instrument. In these transactions, the securities acquired by a fund (including accrued interest earned thereon) must have a total value in excess of the value of the repurchase agreement and be held by a custodian bank until repurchased. In addition, the investment advisor will monitor a fund's repurchase agreement transactions generally and will evaluate the creditworthiness of any bank, broker, or dealer party to a repurchase agreement relating to a fund. The aggregate amount of any such agreements is not limited except to the extent required by law. The use of repurchase agreements involves certain risks. One risk is the seller's ability to pay the agreed-upon repurchase price on the repurchase date. If the seller defaults, the fund may incur costs in disposing of the collateral, which would reduce the amount realized thereon. If the seller seeks relief under the bankruptcy laws, the disposition of the collateral may be delayed or limited. For example, if the other party to the agreement becomes insolvent and subject to liquidation or reorganization under the bankruptcy or other laws, a court may determine that the underlying security is collateral for a loan by the fund not within its control and therefore the realization by the fund on such collateral may be automatically stayed. Finally, it is possible that the fund may not be able to substantiate its interest in the underlying security and may be deemed an unsecured creditor of the other party to the agreement. RESTRICTED AND ILLIQUID SECURITIES. Illiquid securities are securities that cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven business days at approximately the value at which they are being carried on a fund's books. A fund may experience difficulty valuing and selling illiquid securities and in some cases may be unable to value or sell certain illiquid securities for an indefinite period of time. Illiquid securities may include a wide variety of investments, such as: (1) repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days (unless the agreements have demand/redemption features); (2) OTC options contracts and certain other derivatives (including certain swap agreements); (3) fixed time deposits that are not subject to prepayment or do not provide for withdrawal penalties upon prepayment (other than overnight deposits); (4) loan interests and other direct debt instruments; (5) municipal lease obligations; (6) commercial paper issued pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the 1933 Act); and (7) securities whose disposition is restricted under the federal securities laws. Illiquid securities include restricted, privately placed securities that, under the federal securities laws, generally may be resold only to qualified institutional buyers. If a substantial market develops for a restricted security (or other illiquid investment) held by a fund, it may be treated as a liquid security, in accordance with procedures and guidelines approved by the board of trustees. This generally includes securities that are unregistered, that can be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the 1933 Act, or that are exempt from registration under the 1933 Act, such as commercial paper. Although a fund's advisor monitors the liquidity of restricted securities on a daily basis, the board of trustees oversees B-23 and retains ultimate responsibility for the advisor's liquidity determinations. Several factors that the trustees consider in monitoring these decisions include the valuation of a security; the availability of qualified institutional buyers, brokers, and dealers that trade in the security; and the availability of information about the security's issuer. REVERSE REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund sells a security to another party, such as a bank or broker-dealer, in return for cash and agrees to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon price and time. Under a reverse repurchase agreement, the fund continues to receive any principal and interest payments on the underlying security during the term of the agreement. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of securities retained by the fund may decline below the repurchase price of the securities sold by the fund that it is obligated to repurchase. A reverse repurchase agreement may be considered a borrowing transaction for purposes of the 1940 Act. A reverse repurchase agreement transaction will not be considered to constitute the issuance of a "senior security" by a fund, and such transaction will not be subject to the 300% asset coverage requirement otherwise applicable to borrowings by a fund, if the fund covers the transaction in accordance with the requirements described under the heading "Borrowing." A fund will enter into reverse repurchase agreements only with parties whose creditworthiness has been reviewed and found satisfactory by the advisor. SECURITIES LENDING. A fund may lend its investment securities to qualified institutional investors (typically brokers, dealers, banks, or other financial institutions) who may need to borrow securities in order to complete certain transactions, such as covering short sales, avoiding failures to deliver securities, or completing arbitrage operations. By lending its investment securities, a fund attempts to increase its net investment income through the receipt of interest on the securities lent. Any gain or loss in the market price of the securities lent that might occur during the term of the loan would be for the account of the fund. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities lent because of insolvency or other reasons, a fund could experience delays and costs in recovering the securities lent or in gaining access to the collateral. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. If a fund is not able to recover the securities lent, a fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement investment in the market. The value of the collateral could decrease below the value of the replacement investment by the time the replacement investment is purchased. Cash received as collateral through loan transactions may be invested in other eligible securities. Investing this cash subjects that investment to market appreciation or depreciation. The terms and the structure of the loan arrangements, as well as the aggregate amount of securities loans, must be consistent with the 1940 Act, and the rules or interpretations of the SEC thereunder. These provisions limit the amount of securities a fund may lend to 33 1/3% of the fund's total assets, and require that (1) the borrower pledge and maintain with the fund collateral consisting of cash, an irrevocable letter of credit, or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government having at all times not less than 100% of the value of the securities lent; (2) the borrower add to such collateral whenever the price of the securities lent rises (i.e., the borrower "marks-to-market" on a daily basis); (3) the loan be made subject to termination by the fund at any time; and (4) the fund receive reasonable interest on the loan (which may include the fund's investing any cash collateral in interest bearing short-term investments), any distribution on the lent securities, and any increase in their market value. Loan arrangements made by each fund will comply with all other applicable regulatory requirements, including the rules of the New York Stock Exchange, which presently require the borrower, after notice, to redeliver the securities within the normal settlement time of three business days. The advisor will consider the creditworthiness of the borrower, among other things, in making decisions with respect to the lending of securities, subject to oversight by the board of trustees. At the present time, the SEC does not object if an investment company pays reasonable negotiated fees in connection with lent securities, so long as such fees are set forth in a written contract and approved by the investment company's trustees. In addition, voting rights pass with the lent securities, but if a fund has knowledge that a material event will occur affecting securities on loan, and in respect of which the holder of the securities will be entitled to vote or consent, the lender must be entitled to call the loaned securities in time to vote or consent. SWAP AGREEMENTS. A swap agreement is a derivative. A swap agreement is an agreement between two parties (counterparties) to exchange payments at specified dates (periodic payment dates) on the basis of a specified amount (notional amount) with the payments calculated with reference to a specified asset, reference rate, or index. Examples of swap agreements include, but are not limited to, interest rate swaps, credit default swaps, equity swaps, commodity swaps, foreign currency swaps, index swaps, and total return swaps. Most swap agreements provide that when the periodic payment dates for both parties are the same, payments are netted, and only the net amount is paid to the counterparty entitled to receive the net payment. Consequently, a fund's current obligations (or rights) under a swap agreement will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement, based on the relative values of the positions held by each counterparty. Swap agreements allow for a wide variety of transactions. For B-24 example, fixed rate payments may be exchanged for floating rate payments; U.S. dollar-denominated payments may be exchanged for payments denominated in a different currency; and payments tied to the price of one asset, reference rate, or index may be exchanged for payments tied to the price of another asset, reference rate, or index. An option on a swap agreement, also called a "swaption," is an option that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to enter into a swap on a future date in exchange for paying a market-based "premium." A receiver swaption gives the owner the right to receive the total return of a specified asset, reference rate, or index. A payer swaption gives the owner the right to pay the total return of a specified asset, reference rate, or index. Swaptions also include options that allow an existing swap to be terminated or extended by one of the counterparties. The use of swap agreements by a fund entails certain risks, which may be different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the securities and other investments that are the referenced asset for the swap agreement. Swaps are highly specialized instruments that require investment techniques, risk analyses, and tax planning different from those associated with stocks, bonds, and other traditional investments. The use of a swap requires an understanding not only of the referenced asset, reference rate, or index but also of the swap itself, without the benefit of observing the performance of the swap under all possible market conditions. Swap agreements may be subject to liquidity risk, which exists when a particular swap is difficult to purchase or sell. If a swap transaction is particularly large or if the relevant market is illiquid (as is the case with many OTC swaps), it may not be possible to initiate a transaction or liquidate a position at an advantageous time or price, which may result in significant losses. In addition, swap transactions may be subject to a fund's limitation on investments in illiquid securities. Swap agreements may be subject to pricing risk, which exists when a particular swap becomes extraordinarily expensive (or cheap) relative to historical prices or the prices of corresponding cash market instruments. Under certain market conditions, it may not be economically feasible to initiate a transaction or liquidate a position in time to avoid a loss or take advantage of an opportunity or to realize the intrinsic value of the swap agreement. Because some swap agreements have a leverage component, adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset, reference rate, or index can result in a loss substantially greater than the amount invested in the swap itself. Certain swaps have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. A leveraged swap transaction will not be considered to constitute the issuance of a "senior security" by a fund, and such transaction will not be subject to the 300% asset coverage requirement otherwise applicable to borrowings by a fund, if the fund covers the transaction in accordance with the requirements described under the heading "Borrowing." Like most other investments, swap agreements are subject to the risk that the market value of the instrument will change in a way detrimental to a fund's interest. A fund bears the risk that its advisor will not accurately forecast future market trends or the values of assets, reference rates, indexes, or other economic factors in establishing swap positions for the fund. If the advisor attempts to use a swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, the fund will be exposed to the risk that the swap will have or will develop imperfect or no correlation with the portfolio investment. This could cause substantial losses for the fund. Although hedging strategies involving swap instruments can reduce the risk of loss, they can also reduce the opportunity for gain or even result in losses by offsetting favorable price movements in other fund investments. Many swaps, in particular OTC swaps, are complex and often valued subjectively. Improper valuations can result in increased cash payment requirements to counterparties or a loss of value to a fund. The use of a swap agreement also involves the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the insolvency or bankruptcy of the counterparty or the failure of the counterparty to make required payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the agreement. Additionally, the use of credit default swaps can result in losses if a fund's advisor does not correctly evaluate the creditworthiness of the issuer on which the credit swap is based. The swaps market is a relatively new market and is largely unregulated. It is possible that developments in the swaps market, including potential government regulation, could adversely affect a fund's ability to terminate existing swap agreements or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements. TAX MATTERS -- FEDERAL TAX TREATMENT OF FUTURES CONTRACTS. A fund is required for federal income tax purposes to recognize for each taxable year its net unrealized gains and losses on certain futures contracts as of the end of the year as well as those actually realized during the year. In these cases, any gain or loss recognized with respect to a futures contract is considered to be 60% long-term capital gain or loss and 40% short-term capital gain or loss, without regard to the holding period of the contract. Gains and losses on certain other futures contracts (primarily non-U.S. futures contracts) are not recognized until the contracts are closed and are treated as long-term or short-term, depending on the B-25 holding period of the contract. Sales of futures contracts that are intended to hedge against a change in the value of securities held by a fund may affect the holding period of such securities and, consequently, the nature of the gain or loss on such securities upon disposition. A fund may be required to defer the recognition of losses on one position, such as futures contracts, to the extent of any unrecognized gains on a related offsetting position held by the fund. In order for a fund to continue to qualify for federal income tax treatment as a regulated investment company, at least 90% of its gross income for a taxable year must be derived from qualifying income; i.e., dividends, interest, income derived from loans of securities, gains from the sale of securities or of foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to the fund's business of investing in securities or currencies. It is anticipated that any net gain recognized on futures contracts will be considered qualifying income for purposes of the 90% requirement. A fund will distribute to shareholders annually any net capital gains that have been recognized for federal income tax purposes on futures transactions. Such distributions will be combined with distributions of capital gains realized on the fund's other investments and shareholders will be advised on the nature of the distributions. TAX MATTERS -- FEDERAL TAX TREATMENT OF NON-U.S. TRANSACTIONS. Special rules govern the federal income tax treatment of certain transactions denominated in a currency other than the U.S. dollar or determined by reference to the value of one or more currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The types of transactions covered by the special rules include the following: (1) the acquisition of, or becoming the obligor under, a bond or other debt instrument (including, to the extent provided in Treasury regulations, preferred stock); (2) the accruing of certain trade receivables and payables; and (3) the entering into or acquisition of any forward contract, futures contract, option, or similar financial instrument if such instrument is not marked to market. The disposition of a currency other than the U.S. dollar by a taxpayer whose functional currency is the U.S. dollar is also treated as a transaction subject to the special currency rules. However, foreign currency-related regulated futures contracts and non-equity options are generally not subject to the special currency rules if they are or would be treated as sold for their fair market value at year-end under the marking-to-market rules applicable to other futures contracts unless an election is made to have such currency rules apply. With respect to transactions covered by the special rules, foreign currency gain or loss is calculated separately from any gain or loss on the underlying transaction and is normally taxable as ordinary income or loss. A taxpayer may elect to treat as capital gain or loss foreign currency gain or loss arising from certain identified forward contracts, futures contracts, and options that are capital assets in the hands of the taxpayer and that are not part of a straddle. The Treasury Department issued regulations under which certain transactions subject to the special currency rules that are part of a "section 988 hedging transaction" (as defined in the IRC and the Treasury regulations) will be integrated and treated as a single transaction or otherwise treated consistently for purposes of the IRC. Any gain or loss attributable to the foreign currency component of a transaction engaged in by a fund that is not subject to the special currency rules (such as foreign equity investments other than certain preferred stocks) will be treated as capital gain or loss and will not be segregated from the gain or loss on the underlying transaction. It is anticipated that some of the non-U.S. dollar-denominated investments and foreign currency contracts a fund may make or enter into will be subject to the special currency rules described above. TAX MATTERS -- FOREIGN TAX CREDIT. Foreign governments may withhold taxes on dividends and interest paid with respect to foreign securities held by a fund. Foreign governments may also impose taxes on other payments or gains with respect to foreign securities. If, at the close of its fiscal year, more than 50% of a fund's total assets are invested in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may elect to pass through foreign taxes paid, and thereby allow shareholders to take a deduction or, if they meet certain holding period requirements, a tax credit on their tax returns. If shareholders do not meet the holding period requirements, they may still be entitled to a deduction for certain gains that were actually distributed by the fund. TAX MATTERS -- MARKET DISCOUNT. The price of a bond purchased after its original issuance may reflect market discount that, depending on the particular circumstances, may affect the tax character and amount of income required to be recognized by a fund holding the bond. In determining whether a bond is purchased with market discount, certain de minimis rules apply. TAX MATTERS --TAX CONSIDERATIONS FOR NON-U.S. INVESTORS. U.S. withholding and estate taxes may apply to any investments made by non-U.S. investors in Vanguard funds. The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, as extended by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, provides relief from U.S. withholding tax for certain properly designated distributions made with respect to a fund's taxable year beginning prior to 2010, assuming the investor provides tax documentation certifying non-U.S. status. The relief does not by its terms apply to a fund's taxable year B-26 beginning in or after 2010 unless so extended by Congress. The 2008 Act also provides a partial exemption from U.S. estate tax for fund shares held by the estate of a non-U.S. decedent who dies before January 1, 2010. Please be aware that the U.S. tax information contained in this Statement of Additional Information is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax penalties. TEMPORARY INVESTMENTS. A fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with the fund's normal fundamental or non-fundamental investment policies and strategies in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions as determined by the advisor. Such positions could include, but are not limited to, investments in (1) highly liquid short-term fixed income securities issued by or on behalf of municipal or corporate issuers, obligations of the U.S. government and its agencies, commercial paper, and bank certificates of deposit; (2) repurchase agreements involving any such securities; and (3) other money market instruments. There is no limit on the extent to which the fund may take temporary defensive positions. In taking such positions, the fund may fail to achieve its investment objective. WHEN-ISSUED, DELAYED-DELIVERY, AND FORWARD-COMMITMENT TRANSACTIONS. When-issued, delayed-delivery, and forward-commitment transactions involve a commitment to purchase or sell specific securities at a predetermined price or yield in which payment and delivery take place after the customary settlement period for that type of security. Typically, no interest accrues to the purchaser until the security is delivered. When purchasing securities pursuant to one of these transactions, payment for the securities is not required until the delivery date. However, the purchaser assumes the rights and risks of ownership, including the risks of price and yield fluctuations and the risk that the security will not be issued as anticipated. When a fund has sold a security pursuant to one of these transactions, the fund does not participate in further gains or losses with respect to the security. If the other party to a delayed-delivery transaction fails to deliver or pay for the securities, the fund could miss a favorable price or yield opportunity or suffer a loss. A fund may renegotiate a when-issued or forward-commitment transaction and may sell the underlying securities before delivery, which may result in capital gains or losses for the fund. When-issued, delayed-delivery, and forward-commitment transactions will not be considered to constitute the issuance of a "senior security" by a fund, and such transaction will not be subject to the 300% asset coverage requirement otherwise applicable to borrowings by the fund, if the fund covers the transaction in accordance with the requirements described under the heading "Borrowing." INVESTMENT POLICY RELATING TO THE SALE OF INVESTOR SHARES OF HIGH-YIELD CORPORATE FUND IN JAPAN. The Fund may borrow (as defined under Japanese law and the rules of the Japanese Securities Dealers Association) money for temporary or emergency purposes only in an amount not to exceed 10% of the Fund's net assets. INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS Each Fund is subject to the following fundamental investment limitations, which cannot be changed in any material way without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund's shares. For these purposes, a "majority" of shares means shares representing the lesser of: (1) 67% or more of the Fund's net assets voted, so long as shares representing more than 50% of the Fund's net assets are present or represented by proxy; or (2) more than 50% of the Fund's net assets. BORROWING. Each Fund may not borrow money in excess of 15% of its net assets, and any borrowings by the Fund must comply with all applicable regulatory requirements. COMMODITIES. Each Fund may not invest in commodities, except that it may invest in bond (stock) futures contracts, bond (stock) options, and options on bond (stock) futures contracts. No more than 5% of the Fund's total assets may be used as initial margin deposit for futures contracts, and no more than 20% of the Fund's total assets may be invested in futures contracts or options at any time. DIVERSIFICATION. With respect to 75% of its total assets, each Fund may not: (1) purchase more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer; or (2) purchase securities of any issuer if, as a result, more than 5% of the Fund's total assets would be invested in that issuer's securities. This limitation does not apply to obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies, or instrumentalities. ILLIQUID SECURITIES. Each Fund may not acquire any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are illiquid. INDUSTRY CONCENTRATION. Each Fund may not invest more than 25% of its total assets in any one industry. INVESTING FOR CONTROL. Each Fund may not invest in a company for purposes of controlling its management. B-27 INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE. Unless stated otherwise in the "More on the Fund(s)" section of the prospectuses, the investment objective of each Fund may not be materially changed without a shareholder vote. LOANS. Each Fund may not lend money to any person except by purchasing fixed income securities, by entering into repurchase agreements, by lending its portfolio securities, or through Vanguard's interfund lending program. MARGIN. Each Fund may not purchase securities on margin or sell securities short, except as permitted by the Fund's investment policies relating to commodities. OIL, GAS, MINERALS. Each Fund may not invest in interests in oil, gas, or other mineral exploration or development programs. PLEDGING ASSETS. Each Fund may not pledge, mortgage, or hypothecate more than 15% of its net assets. REAL ESTATE. Each Fund may not invest directly in real estate, although it may invest in securities of companies that deal in real estate and bonds secured by real estate. SENIOR SECURITIES. Each Fund may not issue senior securities, except in compliance with the 1940 Act. UNDERWRITING. Each Fund may not act as an underwriter of another issuer's securities, except to the extent that the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of the 1933 Act, in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio securities. UNSEASONED COMPANIES. Each Fund may not invest more than 5% of its total assets in companies that have less than three years of operating history (including the operating history of any predecessors). WARRANTS. Each Fund may not purchase or sell warrants, put options, or call options, except as permitted by the Fund's investment limitation relating to commodities. Compliance with the investment limitations set forth above is generally measured at the time the securities are purchased. Unless otherwise required by the 1940 Act, if a percentage restriction is adhered to at the time the investment is made, a later change in percentage resulting from a change in the market value of assets will not constitute a violation of such restriction. All investment limitations must comply with applicable regulatory requirements. For more details, see "Investment Policies." None of these limitations prevents the Funds from having an ownership interest in Vanguard. As a part owner of Vanguard, each Fund may own securities issued by Vanguard, make loans to Vanguard, and contribute to Vanguard's costs or other financial requirements. See "Management of the Funds" for more information. SHARE PRICE Multiple-class funds do not have a single share price. Rather, each class has a share price, called its net asset value, or NAV, that is calculated each business day as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (the Exchange), generally 4 p.m., Eastern time. NAV per share is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, allocated to each share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. The Exchange typically observes the following holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents' Day (Washington's Birthday), Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Although each Fund expects the same holidays to be observed in the future, the Exchange may modify its holiday schedule or hours of operation at any time. PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF SHARES PURCHASE OF SHARES The purchase price of shares of each Fund is the NAV per share next determined after the purchase request is received in good order, as defined in the Fund's prospectus. REDEMPTION OF SHARES The redemption price of shares of each Fund is the NAV next determined after the redemption request is received in good order, as defined in the Fund's prospectus. B-28 Each Fund may suspend redemption privileges or postpone the date of payment for redeemed shares: (1) during any period that the Exchange is closed or trading on the Exchange is restricted as determined by the SEC; (2) during any period when an emergency exists, as defined by the SEC, as a result of which it is not reasonably practicable for the Fund to dispose of securities it owns or to fairly determine the value of its assets; and (3) for such other periods as the SEC may permit. The Trust has filed a notice of election with the SEC to pay in cash all redemptions requested by any shareholder of record limited in amount during any 90-day period to the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the net assets of a Fund at the beginning of such period. If Vanguard determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of a Fund to make payment wholly or partly in cash, the Fund may pay the redemption price in whole or in part by a distribution in kind of readily marketable securities held by the Fund in lieu of cash in conformity with applicable rules of the SEC. Investors may incur brokerage charges on the sale of such securities received in payment of redemptions. The Funds charge a fee of $5.00 for wire redemptions in amounts less than $5,000. Additionally, the High-Yield Corporate Fund charges a redemption fee of 1% of the value of shares that were held for less than one year. The fees are withheld from redemption proceeds and retained by the Funds. Shares redeemed may be worth more or less than what was paid for them, depending on the market value of the securities held by the Funds. All High-Yield Corporate Fund shares become exempt from the redemption fee based on their initial purchase date. After redeeming shares that are exempt from redemption fees, shares you have held the longest will be redeemed first. Information regarding the application of redemption fees is described more fully in the Funds' prospectuses. RIGHT TO CHANGE POLICIES Vanguard reserves the right to (1) alter, add, or discontinue any conditions of purchase (including eligibility requirements), redemption, exchange, conversion, service, or privilege at any time without prior notice; (2) accept initial purchases by telephone; (3) freeze any account and/or suspend account services if Vanguard has received reasonable notice of a dispute regarding the assets in an account, including notice of a dispute between the registered or beneficial account owners, or if we reasonably believe a fraudulent transaction may occur or has occurred; (4) temporarily freeze any account and/or suspend account services upon initial notification to Vanguard of the death of the shareholder until Vanguard receives required documentation in good order; (5) alter, impose, discontinue, or waive any redemption fee, account service fee, or other fees charged to a group of shareholders; and (6) redeem an account or suspend account privileges, without the owner's permission to do so, in cases of threatening conduct or suspicious, fraudulent, or illegal activity. Changes may affect any or all investors. These actions will be taken when, at the sole discretion of Vanguard management, we reasonably believe they are deemed to be in the best interest of a fund. INVESTING WITH VANGUARD THROUGH OTHER FIRMS Each Fund has authorized certain agents to accept on its behalf purchase and redemption orders, and those agents are authorized to designate other intermediaries to accept purchase and redemption orders on the Fund's behalf (collectively, Authorized Agents). A Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when an Authorized Agent accepts the order in accordance with the Fund's instructions. In most instances, a customer order that is properly transmitted to an Authorized Agent will be priced at the Fund's NAV next determined after the order is received by the Authorized Agent. MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS VANGUARD Each Fund is part of the Vanguard group of investment companies, which consists of more than 150 funds. Through their jointly-owned subsidiary, Vanguard, the funds obtain at cost virtually all of their corporate management, administrative, and distribution services. Vanguard also provides investment advisory services on an at-cost basis to several of the Vanguard funds. Vanguard employs a supporting staff of management and administrative personnel needed to provide the requisite services to the funds and also furnishes the funds with necessary office space, furnishings, and equipment. Each fund B-29 pays its share of Vanguard's total expenses, which are allocated among the funds under methods approved by the board of trustees of each fund. In addition, each fund bears its own direct expenses, such as legal, auditing, and custodian fees. The funds' officers are also officers and employees of Vanguard. Vanguard, Vanguard Marketing Corporation (VMC), the funds' advisors, and the funds have adopted Codes of Ethics designed to prevent employees who may have access to nonpublic information about the trading activities of the funds (access persons) from profiting from that information. The Codes permit access persons to invest in securities for their own accounts, including securities that may be held by a fund, but place substantive and procedural restrictions on the trading activities of access persons. For example, the Codes require that access persons receive advance approval for most securities trades to ensure that there is no conflict with the trading activities of the funds. The Codes also limit the ability of Vanguard employees to engage in short-term trading of Vanguard funds. Vanguard was established and operates under an Amended and Restated Funds' Service Agreement. The Amended and Restated Funds' Service Agreement provides as follows: (1) each Vanguard fund may be called upon to invest up to 0.40% of its current net assets in Vanguard, and (2) there is no other limitation on the dollar amount that each Vanguard fund may contribute to Vanguard's capitalization. The amounts that each fund has invested are adjusted from time to time in order to maintain the proportionate relationship between each fund's relative net assets and its contribution to Vanguard's capital. As of January 31, 2009, each Fund had contributed capital to Vanguard as follows:
CAPITAL PERCENTAGE OF PERCENT OF CONTRIBUTION EACH FUND'S VANGUARD'S FUND TO VANGUARD AVERAGE NET ASSETS CAPITALIZATION ---- ----------- ------------------ -------------- Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund $ 1,815,000 0.03% 0.73% Vanguard Short-Term Federal Fund 911,000 0.03 0.36 Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund 4,581,000 0.02 1.83 Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund 2,019,000 0.03 0.81 Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund 1,822,000 0.02 0.73 Vanguard GNMA Fund 7,528,000 0.03 3.01 Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Fund 1,032,000 0.03 0.41 Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund 1,525,000 0.03 0.61 Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund 1,798,000 0.02 0.72
MANAGEMENT. Corporate management and administrative services include: (1) executive staff; (2) accounting and financial; (3) legal and regulatory; (4) shareholder account maintenance; (5) monitoring and control of custodian relationships; (6) shareholder reporting; and (7) review and evaluation of advisory and other services provided to the funds by third parties. DISTRIBUTION. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, 400 Devon Park Drive A39, Wayne, PA 19087, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vanguard, is the principal underwriter for the funds and in that capacity performs and finances marketing, promotional, and distribution activities (collectively, marketing and distribution activities) that are primarily intended to result in the sale of the funds' shares. VMC performs marketing and distribution activities at cost in accordance with the conditions of a 1981 SEC exemptive order that permits the Vanguard funds to internalize and jointly finance the marketing, promotion, and distribution of their shares. The funds' trustees review and approve the marketing and distribution expenses incurred by the funds, including the nature and cost of the activities and the desirability of each fund's continued participation in the joint arrangement. To ensure that each fund's participation in the joint arrangement falls within a reasonable range of fairness, each fund contributes to VMC's marketing and distribution expenses in accordance with an SEC-approved formula. Under that formula, one half of the marketing and distribution expenses are allocated among the funds based upon their relative net assets. The remaining half of those expenses is allocated among the funds based upon each fund's sales for the preceding 24 months relative to the total sales of the funds as a group; provided, however, that no fund's aggregate quarterly rate of contribution for marketing and distribution expenses shall exceed 125% of the average marketing and distribution expense rate for Vanguard, and that no fund shall incur annual marketing and distribution expenses in excess of 0.20 of 1% of its average month-end net assets. As of January 31, 2009, none of the Vanguard funds' allocated share of VMC's marketing and distribution expenses was greater than 0.03% of the fund's average month-end net assets. B-30 Each fund's contribution to these marketing and distribution expenses helps to maintain and enhance the attractiveness and viability of the Vanguard complex as a whole, which benefits all of the funds and their shareholders. VMC's principal marketing and distribution expenses are for advertising, promotional materials, and marketing personnel. Other marketing and distribution activities that VMC undertakes on behalf of the funds may include, but are not limited to: - Conducting or publishing Vanguard-generated research and analysis concerning the funds, other investments, the financial markets, or the economy; - Providing views, opinions, advice, or commentary concerning the funds, other investments, the financial markets, or the economy; - Providing analytical, statistical, performance, or other information concerning the funds, other investments, the financial markets, or the economy; - Providing administrative services in connection with investments in the funds or other investments, including, but not limited to, shareholder services, recordkeeping services, and educational services; - Providing products or services that assist investors or financial service providers (as defined below) in the investment decision-making process; - Providing promotional discounts, commission-free trading, fee waivers, and other benefits to clients of Vanguard Brokerage Services/(R)/ who maintain qualifying investments in the funds; and - Sponsoring, jointly sponsoring, financially supporting, or participating in conferences, programs, seminars, presentations, meetings, or other events involving fund shareholders, financial service providers, or others concerning the funds, other investments, the financial markets, or the economy, such as industry conferences, prospecting trips, due diligence visits, training or education meetings, and sales presentations. VMC performs most marketing and distribution activities itself. Some activities may be conducted by third parties pursuant to shared marketing arrangements under which VMC agrees to share the costs and performance of marketing and distribution activities in concert with a financial service provider. Financial service providers include, but are not limited to, investment advisors, broker-dealers, financial planners, financial consultants, banks, and insurance companies. Under these cost- and performance-sharing arrangements, VMC may pay or reimburse a financial service provider (or a third party it retains) for marketing and distribution activities that VMC would otherwise perform. VMC's cost- and performance-sharing arrangements may be established in connection with Vanguard investment products or services offered or provided to or through the financial service providers. VMC's arrangements for shared marketing and distribution activities may vary among financial service providers, and its payments or reimbursements to financial service providers in connection with shared marketing and distribution activities may be significant. VMC does not participate in the offshore arrangement Vanguard has established for qualifying Vanguard funds to be distributed in certain foreign countries on a private-placement basis to government-sponsored and other institutional investors through a third-party "asesor de inversiones" (investment advisor), which includes incentive-based remuneration. In connection with its marketing and distribution activities, VMC may give financial service providers (or their representatives): (1) promotional items of nominal value that display Vanguard's logo, such as golf balls, shirts, towels, pens, and mouse pads; (2) gifts that do not exceed $100 per person annually and are not preconditioned on achievement of a sales target; (3) an occasional meal, a ticket to a sporting event or the theater, or comparable entertainment that is neither so frequent nor so extensive as to raise any question of propriety and is not preconditioned on achievement of a sales target; and (4) reasonable travel and lodging accommodations to facilitate participation in marketing and distribution activities. VMC, as a matter of policy, does not pay asset-based fees, sales-based fees, or account-based fees to financial service providers in connection with its marketing and distribution activities for the Vanguard funds. VMC policy also prohibits marketing and distribution activities that are intended, designed, or likely to compromise suitability determinations by, or the fulfillment of any fiduciary duties or other obligations that apply to, financial service providers. Nonetheless, VMC's marketing and distribution activities are primarily intended to result in the sale of the funds' shares, and, as such, its activities, including shared marketing and distribution activities, may influence participating financial service providers (or their representatives) to recommend, promote, include, or invest in a Vanguard fund or share class. In addition, Vanguard or any of its subsidiaries may retain a financial service provider to provide consulting or other services, and that financial service provider also may provide services to investors. Investors should consider the possibility that any of these activities or relationships may influence a financial service provider's (or its representatives') B-31 decision to recommend, promote, include, or invest in a Vanguard fund or share class. Each financial service provider should consider its suitability determinations, fiduciary duties, and other legal obligations (or those of its representatives) in connection with any decision to consider, recommend, promote, include, or invest in a Vanguard fund or share class. The following table describes the expenses of Vanguard and VMC that are shared by the funds on an at-cost basis under the terms of two SEC exemptive orders. Amounts captioned "Management and Administrative Expenses" include a fund's allocated share of expenses associated with the management, administrative, and transfer agency services Vanguard provides to the funds. Amounts captioned "Marketing and Distribution Expenses" include a fund's allocated share of expenses associated with the marketing and distribution activities that VMC conducts on behalf of the Vanguard funds. As is the case with all mutual funds, transaction costs incurred by the the Funds for buying and selling securities are not reflected in the table. Annual Shared Fund Operating Expenses are based on expenses incurred in the fiscal years ended January 31, 2007, 2008, and 2009, and are presented as a percentage of each Funds' average month-end net assets.
ANNUAL SHARED FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (SHARED EXPENSES DEDUCTED FROM FUND ASSETS) ------------------------------------------- FUND 2007 2008 2009 ---- ---- ---- ---- VANGUARD SHORT-TERM TREASURY FUND Management and AdministrativeExpenses: .13% .12% .12% Marketing and Distribution Expenses: .02 .02 .03 VANGUARD SHORT-TERM FEDERAL FUND Management and Administrative Expenses: .13% .13% .14% Marketing and Distribution Expenses: .02 .03 .03 VANGUARD SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Management and Administrative Expenses: .14% .14% .13% Marketing and Distribution Expenses: .02 .02 .03 VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM TREASURY FUND Management and Administrative Expenses: .14% .14% .14% Marketing and Distribution Expenses: .02 .02 .03 VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Management and Administrative Expenses: .13% .12% .13% Marketing and Distribution Expenses: .02 .02 .02 VANGUARD GNMA FUND Management and Administrative Expenses: .14% .14% .14% Marketing and Distribution Expenses: .02 .02 .02 VANGUARD LONG-TERM TREASURY FUND Management and Administrative Expenses: .17% .16% .16% Marketing and Distribution Expenses: .02 .02 .02 VANGUARD LONG-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND Management and Administrative Expenses: .19% .17% .17% Marketing and Distribution Expenses: .02 .02 .02 VANGUARD HIGH-YIELD CORPORATE FUND Management and Administrative Expenses: .18% .17% .18% Marketing and Distribution Expenses: .02 .02 .02
OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES Each Fund is governed by the board of trustees to the Trust and a single set of officers. The officers manage the day-to-day operations of the Funds under the direction of the Funds' board of trustees. The trustees set broad policies for the Funds; select investment advisors; monitor fund operations, performance, and costs; nominate and select new trustees; and elect fund officers. Each trustee serves a Fund until its termination; until the trustee's retirement, resignation, or death; or as otherwise specified in the Trust's organizational documents. Any trustee may be removed at a meeting of shareholders by a vote representing two-thirds of the total net asset value of all shares of the Funds. Each trustee also serves as a director of Vanguard. B-32 The following chart shows information for each trustee and executive officer of the Funds. The mailing address of the trustees and officers is P.O. Box 876, Valley Forge, PA 19482.
NUMBER OF VANGUARD PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) VANGUARD FUNDS POSITION(S) FUNDS' TRUSTEE/ DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS OVERSEEN BY NAME, YEAR OF BIRTH HELD WITH FUNDS OFFICER SINCE AND OUTSIDE DIRECTORSHIPS TRUSTEE/OFFICER ------------------- --------------- -------------- -------------------------- --------------- INTERESTED TRUSTEE John J. Brennan/1/ Chairman of the May 1987 Chairman of the Board and Director (Trustee) of 157 (1954) Board and Trustee Vanguard and of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard; Chief Executive Officer and President of Vanguard (1996-2008). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES Charles D. Ellis Trustee January 2001 Applecore Partners (pro bono ventures in education); 157 (1937) Senior Advisor to Greenwich Associates (international business strategy consulting); Successor Trustee of Yale University; Overseer of the Stern School of Business at New York University; Trustee of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. Emerson U. Fullwood Trustee January 2008 Retired Executive Chief Staff and Marketing Officer for 157 (1948) North America and Corporate Vice President of Xerox Corporation (photocopiers and printers); Director of SPX Corporation (multi-industry manufacturing), the United Way of Rochester, the Boy Scouts of America, Amerigroup Corporation (direct health and medical insurance carriers), and Monroe Community College Foundation. Rajiv L. Gupta Trustee December 2001 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rohm and 157 (1945) Haas Co. (chemicals); President of Rohm and Haas Co. (2006-2008); Board Member of the American Chemistry Council; Director of Tyco International, Ltd. (diversified manufacturing and services) and Hewlett- Packard Company (electronic computer manufacturing); Trustee of The Conference Board. Amy Gutmann Trustee June 2006 President of the University of Pennsylvania; 157 (1949) Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science in the School of Arts and Sciences with secondary appointments at the Annenberg School for Communication and the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania; Director of Carnegie Corporation of New York, Schuylkill River Development Corporation, and Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce; Trustee of the National Constitution Center. JoAnn Heffernan Heisen Trustee July 1998 Retired Corporate Vice President, Chief Global Diversity 157 (1950) Officer, and Member of the Executive Committee of Johnson & Johnson (pharmaceuticals/consumer products); Vice President and Chief Information Officer (1997-2005) of Johnson & Johnson; Director of the University Medical Center at Princeton and Women's Research and Education Institute.
B-33
NUMBER OF VANGUARD PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) VANGUARD FUNDS POSITION(S) FUNDS' TRUSTEE/ DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS OVERSEEN BY NAME, YEAR OF BIRTH HELD WITH FUNDS OFFICER SINCE AND OUTSIDE DIRECTORSHIPS TRUSTEE/OFFICER ------------------- --------------- -------------- -------------------------- --------------- INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES Andre F. Perold Trustee December 2004 George Gund Professor of Finance and Banking, 157 (1952) Senior Associate Dean, and Director of Faculty Recruiting at the Harvard Business School; Director and Chairman of UNX, Inc. (equities trading firm); Chair of the Investment Committee of HighVista Strategies LLC (private investment firm). Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. Trustee January 1993 Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer, and 157 (1941) Director of NACCO Industries, Inc. (forklift trucks/ housewares/lignite); Director of Goodrich Corporation (industrial products/aircraft systems and services). J. Lawrence Wilson Trustee April 1985 Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rohm 157 (1936) and Haas Co. (chemicals); Director of Cummins Inc. (diesel engines) and AmerisourceBergen Corp. (pharmaceutical distribution); Trustee of Vanderbilt University and of Culver Educational Foundation. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXECUTIVE OFFICERS Thomas J. Higgins/1/ Chief Financial September 2008 Principal of Vanguard; Chief Financial Officer of each of 157 (1957) Officer the investment companies served by Vanguard, since September 2008; Treasurer of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard (1998-2008). Kathryn J. Hyatt/1/ Treasurer November 2008 Principal of Vanguard; Treasurer of each of the 157 (1955) investment companies served by Vanguard, since November 2008; Assistant Treasurer of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard (1988-2008). F. William McNabb III/1/ Chief Executive March 2008 Chief Executive Officer of Vanguard and of each of the 157 (1957) Officer and investment companies served by Vanguard, since President August 2008; Director and President of Vanguard since March 2008; President of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard, since March 2008; Director of Vanguard Marketing Corporation; Managing Director of Vanguard (1995-2008). Heidi Stam/1/ Secretary July 2005 Managing Director of Vanguard since 2006; General 157 (1956) Counsel of Vanguard since 2005; Secretary of Vanguard and of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard, since 2005; Director and Senior Vice President of Vanguard Marketing Corporation since 2005; Principal of Vanguard (1997-2006). 1 These individuals are "interested persons" as defined in the 1940 Act.
B-34 Mr. Ellis is a Senior Advisor to Greenwich Associates, a firm that consults on business strategy to professional financial services organizations in markets around the world. A large number of financial service providers, including Vanguard, subscribe to programs of research-based consulting. During calendar years 2007 and 2008, Vanguard paid Greenwich subscription fees amounting to approximately $400,000. Vanguard's subscription rates are similar to those of other subscribers. Board Committees: The Trust's board has the following committees: - Audit Committee: This committee oversees the accounting and financial reporting policies, the systems of internal controls, and the independent audits of each fund and Vanguard. All independent trustees serve as members of the committee. The committee held two meetings during the Funds' last fiscal year. - Compensation Committee: This committee oversees the compensation programs established by each fund and Vanguard for the benefit of their employees, officers, and trustees/directors. All independent trustees serve as members of the committee. The committee held four meetings during the Funds' last fiscal year. - Nominating Committee: This committee nominates candidates for election to Vanguard's board of directors and the board of trustees of each fund (collectively, the Vanguard boards). The committee also has the authority to recommend the removal of any director or trustee from the Vanguard boards. All independent trustees serve as members of the committee. The committee held eight meetings during the Funds' last fiscal year. The Nominating Committee will consider shareholder recommendations for trustee nominees. Shareholders may send recommendations to Mr. Rankin, Chairman of the Committee. TRUSTEE COMPENSATION The same individuals serve as trustees of all Vanguard funds and each fund pays a proportionate share of the trustees' compensation. The funds also employ their officers on a shared basis; however, officers are compensated by Vanguard, not the funds. INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES. The funds compensate their independent trustees (i.e., the ones who are not also officers of the funds) in three ways: - The independent trustees receive an annual fee for their service to the funds, which is subject to reduction based on absences from scheduled board meetings. - The independent trustees are reimbursed for the travel and other expenses that they incur in attending board meetings. - Upon retirement (after attaining age 65 and completing five years of service), the independent trustees who began their service prior to January 1, 2001, receive a retirement benefit under a separate account arrangement. As of January 1, 2001, the opening balance of each eligible trustee's separate account was generally equal to the net present value of the benefits he or she had accrued under the trustees' former retirement plan. Each eligible trustee's separate account will be credited annually with interest at a rate of 7.5% until the trustee receives his or her final distribution. Those independent trustees who began their service on or after January 1, 2001, are not eligible to participate in the plan. "INTERESTED" TRUSTEE. Mr. Brennan serves as a trustee, but is not paid in this capacity. He is, however, paid in his role as an officer of Vanguard. B-35 COMPENSATION TABLE. The following table provides compensation details for each of the trustees. We list the amounts paid as compensation and accrued as retirement benefits by the Funds for each trustee. In addition, the table shows the total amount of benefits that we expect each trustee to receive from all Vanguard funds upon retirement, and the total amount of compensation paid to each trustee by all Vanguard funds.
VANGUARD FIXED INCOME SECURITIES FUNDS TRUSTEES' COMPENSATION TABLE PENSION OR RETIREMENT ACCRUED ANNUAL TOTAL COMPENSATION AGGREGATE BENEFITS ACCRUED RETIREMENT FROM ALL VANGUARD COMPENSATION AS PART OF THESE BENEFIT AT FUNDS PAID TRUSTEE FROM THESE FUNDS/1/ FUNDS' EXPENSES/1/ JANUARY 1, 2008/2/ TO TRUSTEES/3/ ------- ---------------- --------------- --------------- ----------- John J. Brennan -- -- -- -- Charles D. Ellis $10,317 -- -- $152,500 Emerson U. Fullwood 10,025 -- -- 148,200 Rajiv L. Gupta 10,317 -- -- 152,500 Amy Gutmann 10,025 -- -- 148,200 JoAnn Heffernan Heisen 10,317 $3,710 $2,733 152,500 Andre F. Perold 10,317 -- -- 152,500 Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. 11,954 4,491 5,355 176,700 J. Lawrence Wilson 10,317 4,741 7,783 152,500 1 The amounts shown in this column are based on the Funds' fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. Each Fund within the Trust is responsible for a proportionate share of these amounts. 2 Each trustee is eligible to receive retirement benefits only after completing at least 5 years (60 consecutive months) of service as a trustee for the Vanguard funds. The annual retirement benefit will be paid in monthly installments, beginning with the month following the trustee's retirement from service, and will cease after 10 years of payments (120 monthly installments). Trustees who began their service on or after January 1, 2001, are not eligible to participate in the retirement benefit plan. 3 The amounts reported in this column reflect the total compensation paid to each trustee for his or her service as trustee of 155 Vanguard funds for the 2008 calendar year.
B-36 OWNERSHIP OF FUND SHARES All trustees allocate their investments among the various Vanguard funds based on their own investment needs. The following table shows each trustee's ownership of shares of each Fund and of all Vanguard funds served by the trustee as of December 31, 2008.
DOLLAR RANGE OF AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF FUND SHARES VANGUARD FUND SHARES FUND TRUSTEE OWNED BY TRUSTEE OWNED BY TRUSTEE ---- ------- ---------------- ---------------- VANGUARD SHORT-TERM TREASURY FUND John J. Brennan -- Over $100,000 Charles D. Ellis -- Over $100,000 Emerson U. Fullwood -- Over $100,000 Rajiv L. Gupta -- Over $100,000 Amy Gutmann -- Over $100,000 JoAnn Heffernan Heisen -- Over $100,000 Andre F. Perold -- Over $100,000 Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. -- Over $100,000 J. Lawrence Wilson -- Over $100,000 VANGUARD SHORT-TERMFEDERAL FUND John J. Brennan -- Over $100,000 Charles D. Ellis -- Over $100,000 Emerson U. Fullwood -- Over $100,000 Rajiv L. Gupta -- Over $100,000 Amy Gutmann -- Over $100,000 JoAnn Heffernan Heisen -- Over $100,000 Andre F. Perold -- Over $100,000 Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. -- Over $100,000 J. Lawrence Wilson -- Over $100,000 VANGUARD SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND John J. Brennan -- Over $100,000 Charles D. Ellis -- Over $100,000 Emerson U. Fullwood -- Over $100,000 Rajiv L. Gupta -- Over $100,000 Amy Gutmann -- Over $100,000 JoAnn Heffernan Heisen -- Over $100,000 Andre F. Perold -- Over $100,000 Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. -- Over $100,000 J. Lawrence Wilson $50,001$100,000 Over $100,000 VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM TREASURY FUND John J. Brennan -- Over $100,000 Charles D. Ellis -- Over $100,000 Emerson U. Fullwood -- Over $100,000 Rajiv L. Gupta -- Over $100,000 Amy Gutmann -- Over $100,000 JoAnn Heffernan Heisen -- Over $100,000 Andre F. Perold -- Over $100,000 Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. -- Over $100,000 J. Lawrence Wilson -- Over $100,000 VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND John J. Brennan -- Over $100,000 Charles D. Ellis -- Over $100,000 Emerson U. Fullwood -- Over $100,000 Rajiv L. Gupta -- Over $100,000 Amy Gutmann -- Over $100,000 JoAnn Heffernan Heisen -- Over $100,000 Andre F. Perold -- Over $100,000 Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. -- Over $100,000 J. Lawrence Wilson -- Over $100,000
B-37
DOLLAR RANGE OF AGGREGATE DOLLAR RANGE OF FUND SHARES VANGUARD FUND SHARES FUND TRUSTEE OWNED BY TRUSTEE OWNED BY TRUSTEE ---- ------- ---------------- ---------------- VANGUARD GNMA FUND John J. Brennan -- Over $100,000 Charles D. Ellis -- Over $100,000 Emerson U. Fullwood -- Over $100,000 Rajiv L. Gupta -- Over $100,000 Amy Gutmann -- Over $100,000 JoAnn Heffernan Heisen -- Over $100,000 Andre F. Perold -- Over $100,000 Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. -- Over $100,000 J. Lawrence Wilson -- Over $100,000 VANGUARD LONG-TERM TREASURY FUND John J. Brennan -- Over $100,000 Charles D. Ellis -- Over $100,000 Emerson U. Fullwood -- Over $100,000 Rajiv L. Gupta -- Over $100,000 Amy Gutmann -- Over $100,000 JoAnn Heffernan Heisen -- Over $100,000 Andre F. Perold -- Over $100,000 Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. -- Over $100,000 J. Lawrence Wilson -- Over $100,000 VANGUARD LONG-TERM INVESTMENT-GRADE FUND John J. Brennan -- Over $100,000 Charles D. Ellis -- Over $100,000 Emerson U. Fullwood -- Over $100,000 Rajiv L. Gupta -- Over $100,000 Amy Gutmann -- Over $100,000 JoAnn Heffernan Heisen -- Over $100,000 Andre F. Perold -- Over $100,000 Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. -- Over $100,000 J. Lawrence Wilson -- Over $100,000 VANGUARD HIGH-YIELD CORPORATE FUND John J. Brennan Over $100,000 Over $100,000 Charles D. Ellis -- Over $100,000 Emerson U. Fullwood -- Over $100,000 Rajiv L. Gupta -- Over $100,000 Amy Gutmann -- Over $100,000 JoAnn Heffernan Heisen -- Over $100,000 Andre F. Perold -- Over $100,000 Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. -- Over $100,000 J. Lawrence Wilson $10,001-$50,000 Over $100,000
As of April 30, 2009, the trustees and executive officers of the funds owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of each class of each fund's outstanding shares. As of April 30, 2009, those listed below owned of record 5% or more of each class's outstanding shares: Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund--Investor Shares: Charles Schwab & Co Inc., San Francisco, CA (15.37%), National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (11.27%), Georgia-Pacific LLC 401K Retirement Savings Plan, Atlanta, GA (5.83%); Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund--Admiral Shares: Charles Schwab & Co Inc., San Francisco, CA (9.58%), National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (5.50%); Vanguard Short-Term Federal Fund--Investor Shares: John Hancock Life Insurance Co (USA), Boston, MA (18.61%), Charles Schwab & Co Inc., San Francisco, CA (10.50%), National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (10.01%); Vanguard Short-Term Federal Fund--Admiral Shares: National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (10.73%), Charles Schwab & Co Inc., San Francisco, CA (7.41%); Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund--Investor Shares: Charles Schwab & Co Inc., San Francisco, CA (12.42%), Vanguard STAR Fund, Malvern, PA (11.68%), National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (9.40%), STAR Fund Conservative Growth Portfolio, Valley Forge, Pa (8.81%); Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund--Admiral Shares: B-38 National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (7.98%), Charles Schwab & Co Inc., San Francisco, CA (6.69%); Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund--Investor Shares: Charles Schwab & Co Inc., San Francisco, CA (8.17%), National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (7.47%); Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund--Admiral Shares: National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (8.00%), Charles Schwab & Co Inc., San Francisco, CA (5.22%); Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund--Investor Shares: Charles Schwab & Co Inc., San Francisco, CA (17.20%), National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (9.48%); Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund--Admiral Shares: National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (9.73%), Charles Schwab & Co Inc., San Francisco, CA (5.05%); Vanguard GNMA Fund--Investor Shares: Charles Schwab & Co Inc., San Francisco, CA (16.77%), National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (8.33%), Vanguard STAR Fund, Malvern, PA (7.52%); Vanguard GNMA Fund--Admiral Shares: National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (5.29%); Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Fund--Investor Shares: Variable Annuity Life Insurance Co, Houston, TX (22.06%); Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Fund--Admiral Shares: Fidelity Investments, Covington, KY (10.79%); Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund--Investor Shares: Vanguard STAR Fund, Malvern, PA (36.67%); Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund--Admiral Shares: JPMorgan Chase Bank Trust Thomson Reuters Group Pension Plan, Columbus, OH (8.00%), Mac & Co, Pittsburgh, PA (7.10%), National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (5.99%); Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund--Investor Shares: Charles Schwab & Co Inc., San Francisco, CA (10.99%), National Financial Services Corporation, New York, NY (9.14%); Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund--Institutional Shares: Qualcomm Incorporated, San Diego, CA (60.46%), Charles Schwab & Co Inc., San Francisco, CA (14.60%), The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (8.38%), Roger Hertog & Susan E Hertog, New York, NY (8.18%). PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES INTRODUCTION Vanguard and the Boards of Trustees of the Vanguard funds (Boards) have adopted Portfolio Holdings Disclosure Policies and Procedures (Policies and Procedures) to govern the disclosure of the portfolio holdings of each Vanguard fund. Vanguard and the Boards considered each of the circumstances under which Vanguard fund portfolio holdings may be disclosed to different categories of persons under the Policies and Procedures. Vanguard and the Boards also considered actual and potential material conflicts that could arise in such circumstances between the interests of Vanguard fund shareholders, on the one hand, and those of the fund's investment advisor, distributor, or any affiliated person of the fund, its investment advisor, or its distributor, on the other. After giving due consideration to such matters and after the exercise of their fiduciary duties and reasonable business judgment, Vanguard and the Boards determined that the Vanguard funds have a legitimate business purpose for disclosing portfolio holdings to the persons described in each of the circumstances set forth in the Policies and Procedures and that the Policies and Procedures are reasonably designed to ensure that disclosure of portfolio holdings and information about portfolio holdings is in the best interests of fund shareholders and appropriately addresses the potential for material conflicts of interest. The Boards exercise continuing oversight of the disclosure of Vanguard fund portfolio holdings by (1) overseeing the implementation and enforcement of the Policies and Procedures, the Code of Ethics, and the Policies and Procedures Designed to Prevent the Misuse of Inside Information (collectively, the portfolio holdings governing policies) by the Chief Compliance Officer of Vanguard and the Vanguard funds; (2) considering reports and recommendations by the Chief Compliance Officer concerning any material compliance matters (as defined in Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act and Rule 206(4)-7 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940) that may arise in connection with any portfolio holdings governing policies; and (3) considering whether to approve or ratify any amendment to any portfolio holdings governing policies. Vanguard and the Boards reserve the right to amend the Policies and Procedures at any time and from time to time without prior notice at their sole discretion. For purposes of the Policies and Procedures, the term "portfolio holdings" means the equity and debt securities (e.g., stocks and bonds) held by a Vanguard fund and does not mean the cash investments, derivatives, and other investment positions (collectively, other investment positions) held by the fund. ONLINE DISCLOSURE OF TEN LARGEST STOCK HOLDINGS Each of the Vanguard equity funds and Vanguard balanced funds generally will seek to disclose the fund's ten largest stock portfolio holdings and the percentages that each of these ten largest stock portfolio holdings represents of the fund's total assets as of the most recent calendar-quarter-end (quarter-end ten largest stock holdings) online at B-39 www.vanguard.com in the "Portfolio" section of the fund's Portfolio & Management page, 15 calendar days after the end of the calendar quarter. In addition, those funds generally will seek to disclose the fund's ten largest stock portfolio holdings as of the most recent month-end (month-end ten largest stock holdings, and together with quarter-end ten largest stock holdings, ten largest stock holdings) online at www.vanguard.com in the "Portfolio" section of the fund's Portfolio & Management page, 10 business days after the end of the month. Online disclosure of the ten largest stock holdings is made to all categories of persons, including individual investors, institutional investors, intermediaries, third-party service providers, rating and ranking organizations, affiliated persons of a Vanguard fund, and all other persons. ONLINE DISCLOSURE OF COMPLETE PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS Each of the Vanguard funds, excluding Vanguard money market funds and Vanguard Market Neutral Fund, generally will seek to disclose the fund's complete portfolio holdings (complete portfolio holdings) as of the most recent calendar-quarter-end online at www.vanguard.com in the "Portfolio" section of the fund's Portfolio & Management page, 30 calendar days after the end of the calendar quarter. Vanguard Market Neutral Fund generally will seek to disclose the Fund's complete portfolio holdings as of the most recent calendar-quarter-end online at www.vanguard.com, in the "Portfolio" section of the Fund's Portfolio & Management page, 60 calendar days after the end of the calendar quarter. Online disclosure of complete portfolio holdings is made to all categories of persons, including individual investors, institutional investors, intermediaries, third-party service providers, rating and ranking organizations, affiliated persons of a Vanguard fund, and all other persons. Vanguard's Portfolio Review Department will review complete portfolio holdings before online disclosure is made as described above and, after consultation with a Vanguard fund's investment advisor, may withhold any portion of the fund's complete portfolio holdings from online disclosure as described above when deemed to be in the best interests of the fund. DISCLOSURE OF COMPLETE PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS TO SERVICE PROVIDERS SUBJECT TO CONFIDENTIALITY AND TRADING RESTRICTIONS Vanguard, for legitimate business purposes, may disclose Vanguard fund complete portfolio holdings at times it deems necessary and appropriate to rating and ranking organizations, financial printers, proxy voting service providers, pricing information vendors, third parties that deliver analytical, statistical, or consulting services, and other third parties that provide services (collectively, Service Providers) to Vanguard, Vanguard subsidiaries, and/or the Vanguard funds. Disclosure of complete portfolio holdings to a Service Provider is conditioned on the Service Provider being subject to a written agreement imposing a duty of confidentiality, including a duty not to trade on the basis of any material nonpublic information. The frequency with which complete portfolio holdings may be disclosed to a Service Provider, and the length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed to the Service Provider, is determined based on the facts and circumstances, including, without limitation, the nature of the portfolio holdings information to be disclosed, the risk of harm to the funds and their shareholders, and the legitimate business purposes served by such disclosure. The frequency of disclosure to a Service Provider varies and may be as frequent as daily, with no lag. Disclosure of Vanguard fund complete portfolio holdings by Vanguard to a Service Provider must be authorized by a Vanguard fund officer or a Principal in Vanguard's Portfolio Review or Legal Department. Any disclosure of Vanguard fund complete portfolio holdings to a Service Provider as previously described may also include a list of the other investment positions that make up the fund, such as cash investments and derivatives. Currently, Vanguard fund complete portfolio holdings are disclosed to the following Service Providers as part of ongoing arrangements that serve legitimate business purposes: Abel/Noser Corporation, Advisor Software, Inc., Alcom Printing Group Inc., Apple Press, L.C., Bloomberg L.P., Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., FactSet Research Systems Inc., Intelligencer Printing Company, Investment Technology Group, Inc., Lipper, Inc., McMunn Associates Inc., Oce' Business Services, Inc., Reuters America Inc., R.R. Donnelley, Inc., State Street Bank and Trust Company, Triune Color Corporation, and Tursack Printing Inc. DISCLOSURE OF COMPLETE PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS TO VANGUARD AFFILIATES AND CERTAIN FIDUCIARIES SUBJECT TO CONFIDENTIALITY AND TRADING RESTRICTIONS Vanguard fund complete portfolio holdings may be disclosed between and among the following persons (collectively, Affiliates and Fiduciaries) for legitimate business purposes within the scope of their official duties and responsibilities, subject to such persons' continuing legal duty of confidentiality and legal duty not to trade on the basis of any material nonpublic information, as such duties are imposed under the Code of Ethics, the Policies and Procedures Designed to B-40 Prevent the Misuse of Inside Information, by agreement, or under applicable laws, rules, and regulations: (1) persons who are subject to the Code of Ethics or the Policies and Procedures Designed to Prevent the Misuse of Inside Information; (2) an investment advisor, distributor, administrator, transfer agent, or custodian to a Vanguard fund; (3) an accounting firm, an auditing firm or outside legal counsel retained by Vanguard, a Vanguard subsidiary, or a Vanguard fund; (4) an investment advisor to whom complete portfolio holdings are disclosed for due diligence purposes when the advisor is in merger or acquisition talks with a Vanguard fund's current advisor; and (5) a newly hired investment advisor or sub-advisor to whom complete portfolio holdings are disclosed prior to the time it commences its duties. The frequency with which complete portfolio holdings may be disclosed between and among Affiliates and Fiduciaries, and the length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed between and among the Affiliates and Fiduciaries, is determined by such Affiliates and Fiduciaries based on the facts and circumstances, including, without limitation, the nature of the portfolio holdings information to be disclosed, the risk of harm to the funds and their shareholders, and the legitimate business purposes served by such disclosure. The frequency of disclosure between and among Affiliates and Fiduciaries varies and may be as frequent as daily, with no lag. Any disclosure of Vanguard fund complete portfolio holdings to any Affiliates and Fiduciaries as previously described may also include a list of the other investment positions that make up the fund, such as cash investments and derivatives. Disclosure of Vanguard fund complete portfolio holdings or other investment positions by Vanguard, Vanguard Marketing Corporation, or a Vanguard fund to Affiliates and Fiduciaries must be authorized by a Vanguard fund officer or a Principal of Vanguard. Currently, Vanguard fund complete portfolio holdings are disclosed to the following Affiliates and Fiduciaries as part of ongoing arrangements that serve legitimate business purposes: Vanguard and each investment advisor, custodian, and independent registered public accounting firm identified in each fund's Statement of Additional Information. DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS TO BROKER-DEALERS IN THE NORMAL COURSE OF MANAGING A FUND'S ASSETS An investment advisor, administrator, or custodian for a Vanguard fund may, for legitimate business purposes within the scope of its official duties and responsibilities, disclose portfolio holdings (whether partial portfolio holdings or complete portfolio holdings) and other investment positions that make up the fund to one or more broker-dealers during the course of, or in connection with, normal day-to-day securities and derivatives transactions with or through such broker-dealers subject to the broker-dealer's legal obligation not to use or disclose material nonpublic information concerning the fund's portfolio holdings, other investment positions, securities transactions, or derivatives transactions without the consent of the fund or its agents. The Vanguard funds have not given their consent to any such use or disclosure and no person or agent of Vanguard is authorized to give such consent except as approved in writing by the Boards of the Vanguard funds. Disclosure of portfolio holdings or other investment positions by Vanguard to broker-dealers must be authorized by a Vanguard fund officer or a Principal of Vanguard. DISCLOSURE OF NON-MATERIAL INFORMATION The Policies and Procedures permit Vanguard fund officers, Vanguard fund portfolio managers, and other Vanguard representatives (collectively, Approved Vanguard Representatives) to disclose any views, opinions, judgments, advice, or commentary, or any analytical, statistical, performance, or other information, in connection with or relating to a Vanguard fund or its portfolio holdings and/or other investment positions (collectively, commentary and analysis) or any changes in the portfolio holdings of a Vanguard fund that occurred after the most recent calendar-quarter end (recent portfolio changes) to any person if (1) such disclosure serves a legitimate business purpose, (2) such disclosure does not effectively result in the disclosure of the complete portfolio holdings of any Vanguard fund (which can be disclosed only in accordance with the Policies and Procedures), and (3) such information does not constitute material nonpublic information. Disclosure of commentary and analysis or recent portfolio changes by Vanguard, Vanguard Marketing Corporation, or a Vanguard fund must be authorized by a Vanguard fund officer or a Principal of Vanguard. An Approved Vanguard Representative must make a good faith determination whether the information constitutes material nonpublic information, which involves an assessment of the particular facts and circumstances. Vanguard believes that in most cases recent portfolio changes that involve a few or even several securities in a diversified portfolio or commentary and analysis would be immaterial and would not convey any advantage to a recipient in making an investment decision concerning a Vanguard fund. Nonexclusive examples of commentary and analysis about a Vanguard fund include (1) the allocation of the fund's portfolio holdings and other investment positions among various asset B-41 classes, sectors, industries, and countries; (2) the characteristics of the stock and bond components of the fund's portfolio holdings and other investment positions; (3) the attribution of fund returns by asset class, sector, industry, and country; and (4) the volatility characteristics of the fund. Approved Vanguard Representatives may at their sole discretion determine whether to deny any request for information made by any person, and may do so for any reason or for no reason. "Approved Vanguard Representatives" include, for purposes of the Policies and Procedures, persons employed by or associated with Vanguard or a subsidiary of Vanguard who have been authorized by Vanguard's Portfolio Review Department to disclose recent portfolio changes and/or commentary and analysis in accordance with the Policies and Procedures. Currently, Vanguard non-material portfolio holdings information is disclosed to KPMG, LLP, and R.V. Kuhns & Associates. DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS RELATED INFORMATION TO THE ISSUER OF A SECURITY FOR LEGITIMATE BUSINESS PURPOSES Vanguard, at its sole discretion, may disclose portfolio holdings information concerning a security held by one or more Vanguard funds to the issuer of such security if the issuer presents, to the satisfaction of Fund Financial Services, convincing evidence that the issuer has a legitimate business purpose for such information. Disclosure of this information to an issuer is conditioned on the issuer being subject to a written agreement imposing a duty of confidentiality, including a duty not to trade on the basis of any material nonpublic information. The frequency with which portfolio holdings information concerning a security may be disclosed to the issuer of such security, and the length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed to the issuer, is determined based on the facts and circumstances, including, without limitation, the nature of the portfolio holdings information to be disclosed, the risk of harm to the funds and their shareholders, and the legitimate business purposes served by such disclosure. The frequency of disclosure to an issuer cannot be determined in advance of a specific request and will vary based upon the particular facts and circumstances and the legitimate business purposes, but in unusual situations could be as frequent as daily, with no lag. Disclosure of portfolio holdings information concerning a security held by one or more Vanguard funds to the issuer of such security must be authorized by a Vanguard fund officer or a Principal in Vanguard's Portfolio Review or Legal Department. DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS AS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW Vanguard fund portfolio holdings (whether partial portfolio holdings or complete portfolio holdings) and other investment positions that make up a fund shall be disclosed to any person as required by applicable laws, rules, and regulations. Examples of such required disclosure include, but are not limited to, disclosure of Vanguard fund portfolio holdings (1) in a filing or submission with the SEC or another regulatory body, (2) in connection with seeking recovery on defaulted bonds in a federal bankruptcy case, (3) in connection with a lawsuit, or (4) as required by court order. Disclosure of portfolio holdings or other investment positions by Vanguard, Vanguard Marketing Corporation, or a Vanguard fund as required by applicable laws, rules, and regulations must be authorized by a Vanguard fund officer or a Principal of Vanguard. PROHIBITIONS ON DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS No person is authorized to disclose Vanguard fund portfolio holdings or other investment positions (whether online at www.vanguard.com, in writing, by fax, by e-mail, orally, or by other means) except in accordance with the Policies and Procedures. In addition, no person is authorized to make disclosure pursuant to the Policies and Procedures if such disclosure is otherwise unlawful under the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws (as defined in Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act). Furthermore, Vanguard's management, at its sole discretion, may determine not to disclose portfolio holdings or other investment positions that make up a Vanguard fund to any person who would otherwise be eligible to receive such information under the Policies and Procedures, or may determine to make such disclosures publicly as provided by the Policies and Procedures. PROHIBITIONS ON RECEIPT OF COMPENSATION OR OTHER CONSIDERATION The Policies and Procedures prohibit a Vanguard fund, its investment advisor, and any other person from paying or receiving any compensation or other consideration of any type for the purpose of obtaining disclosure of Vanguard fund portfolio holdings or other investment positions. "Consideration" includes any agreement to maintain assets in the fund or in other investment companies or accounts managed by the investment advisor or by any affiliated person of the investment advisor. B-42 INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES The Trust currently uses two investment advisors: - Vanguard provides investment advisory services to the Short-Term Treasury, Short-Term Federal, Short-Term Investment-Grade, Intermediate-Term Treasury, Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade, and Long-Term Treasury Funds. - Wellington Management Company, LLP provides investment advisory services to the GNMA, Long-Term Investment-Grade, and High-Yield Corporate Funds. For funds that are advised by independent third-party advisory firms unaffiliated with Vanguard, Vanguard hires investment advisory firms, not individual portfolio managers, to provide investment advisory services to such funds. Vanguard negotiates each advisory agreement, which contains advisory fee arrangements, on an arms-length basis with the advisory firm. Each advisory agreement is reviewed annually by each fund's board of trustees, taking into account numerous factors, which include, without limitation, the nature, extent, and quality of the services provided, investment performance, and fair market value of services provided. Each advisory agreement is between the Trust and the advisory firm, not between the Trust and the portfolio manager. The structure of the advisory fee paid to each unaffiliated investment advisory firm is described in the following sections. In addition, each firm has established policies and procedures designed to address the potential for conflicts of interest. Each firm's compensation structure and management of potential conflicts of interest is summarized by the advisory firm in the following sections for the period ended January 31, 2009. A. VANGUARD Vanguard, through its Fixed Income Group, provides investment advisory services on an at-cost basis to the Short-Term Treasury, Short-Term Federal, Short-Term Investment-Grade, Intermediate-Term Treasury, Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade, and Long-Term Treasury Funds. The compensation and other expenses of the advisory staff are allocated among the funds utilizing these services. During the fiscal years ended January 31, 2007, 2008, and 2009, the Funds incurred the following advisory expenses:
FUND 2007 2008 2009 ---- ---- ---- ---- Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund $ 271,000 $ 322,000 $ 488,000 Vanguard Short-Term Federal Fund 212,000 234,000 298,000 Vanguard Short-Term Investment- Grade Fund 1,412,000 1,643,000 1,911,000 Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund 309,000 375,000 568,000 Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund 402,000 488,000 581,000 Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Fund 174,000 198,000 278,000
The investment management staff is supervised by the senior officers of the Funds. The senior officers are directly responsible to the board of trustees of the Funds. 1. OTHER ACCOUNTS MANAGED Robert F. Auwaerter co-manages the Short- and Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Funds, which, as of January 31, 2009, collectively held assets of $27.1 billion. David R. Glocke manages the Short-, Intermediate-, and Long-Term Treasury Funds, which, as of January 31, 2009, collectively held assets of $17.4 billion. As of January 31, 2009, Mr. Glocke managed three other registered investment companies with total assets of $148.5 billion (none of which had investment advisory fees based on performance). Gregory S. Nassour co-manages the Short- and Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Funds, which as of January 31, 2009, collectively held assets of $27.1 billion. As of January 31, 2009 Mr. Nassour also managed one other registered investment company with total assets of $473.5 million and two other pooled investment vehicles with total assets of $1.5 billion (none of which had investment advisory fees based on performance). Ronald M. Reardon manages the Short-Term Federal Fund, which, as of January 31, 2009, held assets of $3.6 billion. As of January 31, 2009, Mr. Reardon managed one other pooled investment vehicle with total assets of $1.7 billion (none of which had investment advisory fees basded on performance). B-43 2. MATERIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST At Vanguard, individual portfolio managers may manage multiple accounts for multiple clients. In addition to mutual funds, these other accounts may include separate accounts, collective trusts, or offshore funds. Managing multiple accounts may give rise to potential conflicts of interest, including, for example, conflicts among investment strategies and conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities. Vanguard manages potential conflicts between funds or with other types of accounts through allocation policies and procedures, internal review processes and oversight by directors and independent third parties. Vanguard has developed trade allocation procedures and controls to ensure that no one client, regardless of type, is intentionally favored at the expense of another. Allocation policies are designed to address potential conflicts in situations where two or more funds or accounts participate in investment decisions involving the same securities. 3. DESCRIPTION OF COMPENSATION Each Fund's portfolio manager is a Vanguard employee. This section describes the compensation of the Vanguard employees who manage Vanguard mutual funds. As of January 31, 2009, a Vanguard portfolio manager's compensation generally consists of base salary, bonus, and payments under Vanguard's long-term incentive compensation program. In addition, portfolio managers are eligible for the standard retirement benefits and health and welfare benefits available to all Vanguard employees. Also, certain portfolio managers may be eligible for additional retirement benefits under several supplemental retirement plans that Vanguard adopted in the 1980's to restore dollar-for-dollar the benefits of management employees that had cut back solely as a result of tax law changes. These plans are structured to provide the same retirement benefits as the standard retirement plans. In the case of portfolio managers responsible for managing multiple Vanguard funds or accounts, the method used to determine their compensation is the same for all funds and investment accounts. A portfolio manager's base salary is determined by the manager's experience and performance in the role, taking into account the ongoing compensation benchmark analyses performed by the Vanguard Human Resources Department. A portfolio manager's base salary is generally a fixed amount that may change as a result of an annual review, upon assumption of new duties, or when a market adjustment of the position occurs. A portfolio manager's bonus is determined by a number of factors. One factor is gross, pre-tax performance of the fund relative to expectations for how the fund should have performed, given its objective, policies, strategies, and investment limitations and the market environment during the measurement period. This performance factor is not based on the value of assets held in the fund's portfolio. For each Vanguard Fixed Income Securities Fund managed by Vanguard, the performance factor depends on how successfully the portfolio manager outperforms these expectations and maintains the risk parameters of the fund over a three-year period. Additional factors include the portfolio manager's contributions to the investment management functions within the sub-asset class, contributions to the development of other investment professionals and supporting staff, and overall contributions to strategic planning and decisions for the investment group. The target bonus is expressed as a percentage of base salary. The actual bonus paid may be more or less than the target bonus, based on how well the manager satisfies the objectives stated above. The bonus is paid on an annual basis. Under the long-term incentive compensation program, all full-time employees receive a payment from Vanguard's long-term incentive compensation plan based on their years of service, job level, and, if applicable, management responsibilities. Each year, Vanguard's independent directors determine the amount of the long-term incentive compensation award for that year based on the investment performance of the Vanguard funds relative to competitors and Vanguard's operating efficiencies in providing services to the Vanguard funds. 4. OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Vanguard employees, including portfolio managers, allocate their investments among the various Vanguard funds based on their own individual investment needs and goals. Vanguard employees as a group invest a sizable portion of their personal assets in Vanguard funds. As of January 31, 2009, Vanguard employees collectively invested approximately $1.6 billion in Vanguard funds. John J. Brennan, Chairman of Vanguard and the Vanguard funds; F. William McNabb III, Chief Executive Officer and President of Vanguard and the Vanguard Funds; and George U. Sauter, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of Vanguard, invest substantially all of their personal financial assets in Vanguard funds. B-44 As of January 31, 2009, Mr. Auwaerter owned shares of the Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund within the $100,001-$500,000 range. Except as noted in the previous sentence, as of January 31, 2009, the portfolio managers did not own any shares of the Vanguard Fixed Income Securities Funds they managed. B. WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLP (WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT) Wellington Management is a Massachusetts limited liability partnership with principal offices at 75 State Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109. Wellington Management is a professional investment counseling firm which provides investment services to investment companies, employee benefit plans, endowments, foundations, and other institutions. Wellington Management and its predecessor organizations have provided investment advisory services for over 70 years. The GNMA, Long-Term Investment-Grade, and High-Yield Corporate Funds have entered into investment advisory agreements with Wellington Management to manage the investment and reinvestment of each Fund's assets and to continuously review, supervise, and administer each Fund's investment program. Wellington Management discharges its responsibilities subject to the supervision and oversight of Vanguard's Portfolio Review Group and the officers and trustees of the Fund. Vanguard's Portfolio Review Group is responsible for recommending changes in a fund's advisory arrangements to the fund's board of trustees, including changes in the amount of assets allocated to each advisor, and whether to hire, terminate, or replace an advisor. Each Fund pays Wellington Management an advisory fee at the end of each of the Fund's fiscal quarters. The fee is calculated by applying a quarterly rate, based on certain annual percentage rates, to the Fund's average daily net assets for the quarter. During the fiscal years ended January 31, 2007, 2008, and 2009, the three Funds incurred the following advisory fees: FUND 2007 2008 2009 ---- ---- ---- ---- Vanguard GNMA Fund $2,282,000 $2,226,000 $2,492,000 Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund 1,287,000 1,332,000 1,272,000 Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund 3,328,000 3,403,000 3,057,000 1. OTHER ACCOUNTS MANAGED Michael L. Hong manages the High-Yield Corporate Fund; the Fund, as of January 31, 2009, held assets of $7.8 billion. As of January 31, 2009, Mr. Hong managed one other registered investment company with total assets of $211 million (advisory fees not based on account performance). Mr. Hong also managed one other pooled investment vehicle with total assets of $558 thousand (advisory fees not based on account performance). Lucius T. Hill, III manages the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund; the Fund, as of January 31, 2009, held assets of $5.9 billion. As of January 31, 2009, Mr. Hill managed six other registered investment companies with total assets of $292 million (advisory fees not based on account performance). Mr. Hill also managed six other pooled investment vehicles with total assets of $2.1 billion (advisory fees not based on account performance), and 13 other accounts with total assets of $2.5 billion as of January 31, 2009 (advisory fees not based on account performance). Thomas L. Pappas manages the GNMA Fund; the Fund, as of January 31, 2009, held assets of $29.7 billion. As of January 31, 2009, Mr. Pappas managed three other registered investment companies with total assets of $454 million (advisory fees not based on account performance). Mr. Pappas also managed six other pooled investment vehicles with total assets of $521 million (advisory fees not based on account performance), and 18 other accounts with total assets of $23.3 billion (advisory fees based on account performance for one of these accounts with total assets of $836 million). 2. MATERIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Individual investment professionals at Wellington Management manage multiple accounts for multiple clients. These accounts may include mutual funds, separate accounts (assets managed on behalf of institutions, such as pension funds, insurance companies, foundations, or separately managed account programs sponsored by financial intermediaries), bank common trust accounts, and hedge funds. The Funds' managers listed in the prospectuses who are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of each Fund (the Portfolio Managers) generally manage accounts in several different investment styles. These accounts may have investment objectives, strategies, time horizons, tax considerations, and risk profiles that differ from those of the relevant Fund. The Portfolio Managers make B-45 investment decisions for each account, including the relevant Fund, based on the investment objective, policies, practices, benchmarks, cash flows, tax, and other relevant investment considerations applicable to that account. Consequently, the Portfolio Managers may purchase or sell securities, including IPOs, for one account and not another account, and the performance of securities purchased for one account may vary from the performance of securities purchased for other accounts. Alternatively, these accounts may be managed in a similar fashion to the relevant Fund and thus the accounts may have similar, and in some cases nearly identical, objectives, strategies, and/or holdings to that of the relevant Fund. A Portfolio Manager or other investment professionals at Wellington Management may place transactions on behalf of other accounts that are directly or indirectly contrary to investment decisions made on behalf of the relevant Fund, or make investment decisions that are similar to those made for the relevant Fund, both of which have the potential to adversely impact the relevant Fund depending on market conditions. For example, an investment professional may purchase a security in one account while appropriately selling that same security in another account. Similarly, a Portfolio Manager may purchase the same security for the relevant Fund and one or more other accounts at or about the same time, and in those instances the other accounts will have access to their respective holdings prior to the public disclosure of the relevant Fund's holdings. In addition, some of these accounts have fee structures, including performance fees, that are or have the potential to be higher, in some cases significantly higher, than the fees Wellington Management receives for managing the Funds. Because incentive payments paid by Wellington Management to the Portfolio Managers are tied to revenues earned by Wellington Management and, where noted, to the performance achieved by the manager in each account, the incentives associated with any given account may be significantly higher or lower than those associated with other accounts managed by a given Portfolio Manager. Finally, the Portfolio Managers may hold shares or investments in the other pooled investment vehicles and/or other accounts identified above. Wellington Management's goal is to meet its fiduciary obligation to treat all clients fairly and provide high quality investment services to all of its clients. Wellington Management has adopted and implemented policies and procedures, including brokerage and trade allocation policies and procedures, which it believes address the conflicts associated with managing multiple accounts for multiple clients. In addition, Wellington Management monitors a variety of areas, including compliance with primary account guidelines, the allocation of IPOs, and compliance with the firm's Code of Ethics, and places additional investment restrictions on investment professionals who manage hedge funds and certain other accounts. Furthermore, senior investment and business personnel at Wellington Management periodically review the performance of Wellington Management's investment professionals. Although Wellington Management does not track the time an investment professional spends on a single account, Wellington Management does periodically assess whether an investment professional has adequate time and resources to effectively manage the investment professional's various client mandates. 3. DESCRIPTION OF COMPENSATION Wellington Management receives a fee based on the assets under management of each Fund as set forth in the Investment Advisory Agreements between Wellington Management and Vanguard Fixed Income Securities Funds on behalf of each Fund. Wellington Management pays its investment professionals out of its total revenues and other resources, including the advisory fees earned with respect to each Fund. The following information relates to the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009. Wellington Management's compensation structure is designed to attract and retain high-caliber investment professionals necessary to deliver high quality investment management services to its clients. Wellington Management's compensation of the Portfolio Managers includes a base salary and incentive components. The base salary for each Portfolio Manager who is a partner of Wellington Management is determined by the Managing Partners of the firm. A partner's base salary is generally a fixed amount that may change as a result of an annual review. The base salary for the other Portfolio Manager is determined by the Portfolio Manager's experience and performance in his role as a Portfolio Manager. Base salaries for Wellington Management employees are reviewed annually and may be adjusted based on the recommendation of a Portfolio Manager's manager, using guidelines established by Wellington Management's Compensation Committee, which has final oversight responsibility for base salaries of employees of the firm. Each Portfolio Manager is eligible to receive an incentive payment based on the revenues earned by Wellington Management from the Fund managed by the Portfolio Manager and generally each other account managed by such Portfolio Manager. The incentives paid to the Portfolio Managers are based on the revenues earned by Wellington B-46 Management, which have no performance-related component. Wellington Management applies similar incentive structures to other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers, including accounts with performance fees. Portfolio-based incentives across all accounts managed by an investment professional can, and typically do, represent a significant portion of an investment professional's overall compensation; incentive compensation varies significantly by individual and can vary significantly from year to year. The Portfolio Managers may also be eligible for bonus payments based on their overall contribution to Wellington Management's business operations. Senior management at Wellington Management may reward individuals as it deems appropriate based on factors other than account performance. Each partner of Wellington Management is eligible to participate in a partner-funded tax-qualified retirement plan, the contributions to which are made pursuant to an actuarial formula. Messrs. Pappas and Hill are partners of the firm. 4. OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES As of January 31, 2009, Mr. Pappas owned shares of the GNMA Fund within the $100,001-$500,000 range, Mr. Hong owned shares of the High-Yield Corporate Fund within the $100,001-$500,000 range, and Mr. Hill owned shares of the Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund within the $500,001-$1,000,000 range. DURATION AND TERMINATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENTS For the GNMA, Long-Term Investment-Grade, and High-Yield Corporate Funds, the current agreements with Wellington Management are renewable for successive one-year periods, only if (1) each renewal is specifically approved by a vote of the Fund's board of trustees, including the affirmative votes of a majority of the trustees who are not parties to the agreement or "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such approval, or (2) each renewal is specifically approved by a vote of a majority of the Fund's outstanding voting securities. An agreement is automatically terminated if assigned, and may be terminated without penalty at any time either (1) by vote of the board of trustees of the Fund upon sixty (60) days' written notice to the advisor (thirty (30) days' written notice to the advisor for High-Yield Corporate Fund), (2) by a vote of a majority of the Fund's outstanding voting securities upon 60 days' written notice to the advisor (30 days' written notice to the advisor for High-Yield Corporate Fund), or (3) by an advisor upon ninety (90) days' written notice to the Fund. The Fourth Amended and Restated Funds' Service Agreement, which governs the at-cost investment advisory services provided to the Short-Term Treasury, Short-Term Federal, Short-Term Investment-Grade, Intermediate-Term Treasury, Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade, and Long-Term Treasury Funds, will continue in full force and effect until terminated or amended by mutual agreement of the Fund and Vanguard. PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS The advisor decides which securities to buy and sell on behalf of a Fund and then selects the brokers or dealers that will execute the trades on an agency basis or the dealers with whom the trades will be effected on a principal basis. For each trade, the advisor must select a broker-dealer that it believes will provide "best execution." Best execution does not necessarily mean paying the lowest spread or commission rate available. In seeking best execution, the SEC has said that an advisor should consider the full range of a broker-dealer's services. The factors considered by the advisor in seeking best execution include, but are not limited to, the broker-dealer's execution capability, clearance and settlement services, commission rate, trading expertise, willingness and ability to commit capital, ability to provide anonymity, financial responsibility, reputation and integrity, responsiveness, access to underwritten offerings and secondary markets, and access to company management, as well as the value of any research provided by the broker-dealer. In assessing which broker-dealer can provide best execution for a particular trade, the advisor also may consider the timing and size of the order and available liquidity and current market conditions. Subject to applicable legal requirements, the advisor may select a broker based partly on brokerage or research services provided to the advisor and its clients, including the Funds. The advisor may cause a Fund to pay a higher commission than other brokers would charge if the advisor determines in good faith that the amount of the commission is reasonable in relation to the value of services provided. The advisor also may receive brokerage or research services from broker-dealers that are provided at no charge in recognition of the volume of trades directed to the broker. To the extent research services or products may be a factor in selecting brokers, services and products may include written research reports analyzing performance or securities, discussions with research analysts, meetings with corporate executives to obtain oral reports on company performance, market data, and other products and services that will assist the advisor in its investment decision-making process. The B-47 research services provided by brokers through which a Fund effects securities transactions may be used by the advisor in servicing all of its accounts, and some of the services may not be used by the advisor in connection with the Fund. The types of securities in which the Funds invest are generally purchased and sold through principal transactions, meaning that the Funds normally purchase securities directly from the issuer or a primary market-maker acting as principal for the securities on a net basis. Explicit brokerage commissions are not paid on these transactions, although purchases of new issues from underwriters of securities typically include a commission or concession paid by the issuer to the underwriter, and purchases from dealers serving as market-makers typically include a dealer's mark-up (i.e., a spread between the bid and the asked prices). Brokerage commissions are paid, however, in connection with opening and closing out futures positions. As previously explained, the types of bonds that the Fund purchases do not normally involve the payment of explicit brokerage commissions. If any such brokerage commissions are paid, however, the advisor will evaluate their reasonableness by considering: (1) historical commission rates; (2) rates which other institutional investors are paying, based upon publicly available information; (3) rates quoted by brokers and dealers; (4) the size of a particular transaction, in terms of the number of shares, dollar amount, and number of clients involved; (5) the complexity of a particular transaction in terms of both execution and settlement; (6) the level and type of business done with a particular firm over a period of time; and (7) the extent to which the broker or dealer has capital at risk in the transaction. During the fiscal years ended January 31, 2007, 2008, and 2009 the Funds paid the following amounts in brokerage commissions:
FUND 2007 2008 2009 ---- ---- ---- ---- Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund/1/ $ 99,048 $56,308 $261,768 Vanguard Short-Term Federal Fund/1/ 45,088 47,248 203,854 Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund/1/ 290,164 477,352 1,220,803 Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund/1/ 67,120 61,200 299,015 Vanguard Intermediate-TermInvestment-Grade Fund/1/ 57,120 142,344 470,365 Vanguard GNMA Fund N/A N/A N/A Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Fund/1/ 45,800 28,968 154,005 Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund N/A N/A N/A Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund N/A N/A N/A
1 Several Factors can impact the frequency of a fund's portfolio transactions. Two of these factors, cash flows, and market volatility, were significant during the Funds' most recent fiscal year, resulting in higher or lower brokerage commissions for that period. Some securities that are considered for investment by a Fund may also be appropriate for other Vanguard funds or for other clients served by the advisor. If such securities are compatible with the investment policies of a Fund and one or more of the advisor's other clients, and are considered for purchase or sale at or about the same time, then transactions in such securities will be aggregated by the advisor and the purchased securities or sale proceeds will be allocated among the participating Vanguard funds and the other participating clients of the advisor in a manner deemed equitable by the advisor. Although there may be no specified formula for allocating such transactions, the allocation methods used, and the results of such allocations, will be subject to periodic review by the Funds' board of trustees. B-48 As of January 31, 2009, each Fund held securities of its "regular brokers or dealers," as that term is defined in Rule 10b-1 of the 1940 Act, as follows:
FUND REGULAR BROKER OR DEALER (OR PARENT) AGGREGATE HOLDINGS ---- ------------------------------------ ------------------ Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund -- -- Vanguard Short-Term Federal Fund -- -- Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Banc of America Securities LLC $506,223,000 Barclays Capital Inc. 70,383,000 Citigroup Global Markets Inc. 508,309,000 Goldman, Sachs & Co. 182,601,000 J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. 802,604,000 Lehman Brothers Inc. 20,982,000 Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. 319,355,000 Morgan Stanley 330,651,000 Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund -- -- Vanguard Intermediate-Term Investment-Grade Fund Banc of America Securities LLC 147,875,000 Barclays Capital Inc. 5,700,000 Citigroup Global Markets Inc. 181,788,000 Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. 84,955,000 Goldman, Sachs & Co. 103,822,000 J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. 142,272,000 Lehman Brothers Inc. 5,241,000 Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. 74,025,000 Vanguard GNMA Fund -- -- Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Fund -- -- Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund Banc of America Securities LLC 76,541,000 Citigroup Global Markets Inc. 132,940,000 Lehman Brothers Inc. -- J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. 70,124,000 Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund -- --
PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES The Board of Trustees (the Board) of each Vanguard fund that invests in stocks has adopted proxy voting procedures and guidelines to govern proxy voting by the fund. The Board has delegated oversight of proxy voting to the Proxy Oversight Committee (the Committee), made up of senior officers of Vanguard, a majority of whom are also officers of each Vanguard fund, and subject to the operating procedures and guidelines described below. The Committee reports directly to the Board. Vanguard is subject to these guidelines to the extent the guidelines call for Vanguard to administer the voting process and implement the resulting voting decisions, and for these purposes have been approved by the Board of Directors of Vanguard. The overarching objective in voting is simple: to support proposals and director nominees that maximize the value of a fund's investments--and those of fund shareholders--over the long term. While the goal is simple, the proposals the funds receive are varied and frequently complex. As such, the guidelines adopted by the Board provide a rigorous framework for assessing each proposal. Under the guidelines, each proposal must be evaluated on its merits, based on the particular facts and circumstances as presented. For ease of reference, the procedures and guidelines often refer to all funds. However, our processes and practices seek to ensure that proxy voting decisions are suitable for individual funds. For most proxy proposals, particularly those involving corporate governance, the evaluation will result in the same position being taken across all of the funds and the funds voting as a block. In some cases, however, a fund may vote differently, depending upon the nature and objective of the fund, the composition of its portfolio, and other factors. The guidelines do not permit the Board to delegate voting responsibility to a third party that does not serve as a fiduciary for the funds. Because many factors bear on each decision, the guidelines incorporate factors the Committee B-49 should consider in each voting decision. A fund may refrain from voting if that would be in the fund's and its shareholders' best interests. These circumstances may arise, for example, if the expected cost of voting exceeds the expected benefits of voting, or if exercising the vote would result in the imposition of trading or other restrictions. In evaluating proxy proposals, we consider information from many sources, including but not limited to the investment advisor for the fund, management or shareholders of a company presenting a proposal, and independent proxy research services. We will give substantial weight to the recommendations of the company's board, absent guidelines or other specific facts that would support a vote against management. In all cases, however, the ultimate decision rests with the members of the Proxy Oversight Committee, who are accountable to the fund's Board. While serving as a framework, the following guidelines cannot contemplate all possible proposals with which a fund may be presented. In the absence of a specific guideline for a particular proposal (e.g., in the case of a transactional issue or contested proxy), the Committee will evaluate the issue and cast the fund's vote in a manner that, in the Committee's view, will maximize the value of the fund's investment, subject to the individual circumstances of the fund. I. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS A. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS Good governance starts with a majority-independent board, whose key committees are made up entirely of independent directors. As such, companies should attest to the independence of directors who serve on the Compensation, Nominating, and Audit committees. In any instance in which a director is not categorically independent, the basis for the independence determination should be clearly explained in the proxy statement. While the funds will generally support the board's nominees, the following factors will be taken into account in determining each fund's vote:
FACTORS FOR APPROVAL FACTORS AGAINST APPROVAL -------------------- ------------------------ Nominated slate results in board made Nominated slate results in board made up up of a majority of independent directors. of a majority of non-independent directors. All members of Audit,Nominating, and Compensation Audit, Nominating, and/or Compensation committees include non- committees are independent of management. independent members. Incumbent board member failed to attend at least 75% of meetings in the previous year. Actions of committee(s) on which nominee serves are inconsistent with other guidelines (e.g., excessive option grants, substantial non-audit, fees lack of board independence).
B. CONTESTED DIRECTOR ELECTIONS In the case of contested board elections, we will evaluate the nominees' qualifications, the performance of the incumbent board, as well as the rationale behind the dissidents' campaign, to determine the outcome that we believe will maximize shareholder value. C. CLASSIFIED BOARDS The funds will generally support proposals to declassify existing boards (whether proposed by management or shareholders), and will block efforts by companies to adopt classified board structures in which only part of the board is elected each year. II. APPROVAL OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS The relationship between the company and its auditors should be limited primarily to the audit, although it may include certain closely related activities that do not, in the aggregate, raise any appearance of impaired independence. The funds will generally support management's recommendation for the ratification of the auditor, except in instances in which audit and audit-related fees make up less than 50% of the total fees paid by the company to the audit firm. We will evaluate on a case-by-case basis instances in which the audit firm has a substantial non-audit relationship with the company (regardless of its size relative to the audit fee) to determine whether independence has been compromised. B-50 III. COMPENSATION ISSUES A. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS Appropriately designed stock-based compensation plans, administered by an independent committee of the board and approved by shareholders, can be an effective way to align the interests of long-term shareholders with the interests of management, employees, and directors. The funds oppose plans that substantially dilute their ownership interest in the company, provide participants with excessive awards, or have inherently objectionable structural features. An independent compensation committee should have significant latitude to deliver varied compensation to motivate the company's employees. However, we will evaluate compensation proposals in the context of several factors (a company's industry, market capitalization, competitors for talent, etc.) to determine whether a particular plan or proposal balances the perspectives of employees and the company's other shareholders. We will evaluate each proposal on a case-by-case basis, taking all material facts and circumstances into account. The following factors will be among those considered in evaluating these proposals.
FACTORS FOR APPROVAL FACTORS AGAINST APPROVAL -------------------- ------------------------ Company requires senior executives to Total potential dilution (including all stock-based plans) exceeds hold a minimum amount of company stock 15% of shares outstanding. (frequently expressed as a multiple of salary). Company requires stock acquired through Annual option grants have exceeded 2% of shares outstanding. option exercise to be held for a certain period of time. Compensation program includes Plan permits repricing or replacement of options without performance-vesting awards, indexed shareholder approval. options, or other performance-linked grants. Concentration of option grants to Plan provides for the issuance of reload options. senior executives is limited (indicating that the plan is very broad-based). Stock-based compensation is Plan contains automatic share replenishment (evergreen) feature. clearly used as a substitute for cash in delivering market-competitive total pay.
B. BONUS PLANS Bonus plans, which must be periodically submitted for shareholder approval to qualify for deductibility under Section 162(m) of the IRC, should have clearly defined performance criteria and maximum awards expressed in dollars. Bonus plans with awards that are excessive, in both absolute terms and relative to a comparative group, generally will not be supported. C. EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLANS The funds will generally support the use of employee stock purchase plans to increase company stock ownership by employees, provided that shares purchased under the plan are acquired for no less than 85% of their market value and that shares reserved under the plan amount to less than 5% of the outstanding shares. D. EXECUTIVE SEVERANCE AGREEMENTS (GOLDEN PARACHUTES) While executives' incentives for continued employment should be more significant than severance benefits, there are instances--particularly in the event of a change in control--in which severance arrangements may be appropriate. Severance benefits triggered by a change in control that do not exceed three times an executive's salary and bonus may generally be approved by the compensation committee of the board without submission to shareholders. Any such arrangement under which the beneficiary receives more than three times salary and bonus--or where severance is guaranteed absent a change in control--should be submitted for shareholder approval. IV. CORPORATE STRUCTURE AND SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS The exercise of shareholder rights, in proportion to economic ownership, is a fundamental privilege of stock ownership that should not be unnecessarily limited. Such limits may be placed on shareholders' ability to act by corporate charter or by-law provisions, or by the adoption of certain takeover provisions. In general, the market for corporate control should be allowed to function without undue interference from these artificial barriers. B-51 The funds' positions on a number of the most commonly presented issues in this area are as follows: A. SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS PLANS (POISON PILLS) A company's adoption of a so-called poison pill effectively limits a potential acquirer's ability to buy a controlling interest without the approval of the target's board of directors. Such a plan, in conjunction with other takeover defenses, may serve to entrench incumbent management and directors. However, in other cases, a poison pill may force a suitor to negotiate with the board and result in the payment of a higher acquisition premium. In general, shareholders should be afforded the opportunity to approve shareholder rights plans within a year of their adoption. This provides the board with the ability to put a poison pill in place for legitimate defensive purposes, subject to subsequent approval by shareholders. In evaluating the approval of proposed shareholder rights plans, we will consider the following factors:
FACTORS FOR APPROVAL FACTORS AGAINST APPROVAL -------------------- ----------------------------- Plan is relatively short-term (3-5 years). Plan is long term (>5 years). Plan requires shareholder approval for renewal. Renewal of plan is automatic or does not require shareholder approval. Plan incorporates review by a committee Ownership trigger is less than 15%. of independent directors at least every three years (so-called TIDE provisions). Plan includes permitted-bid/qualified-offer Classified board. feature (chewable pill) that mandates a shareholder vote in certain situations. Ownership trigger is reasonable (15-20%). Board with limited independence. Highly independent,non-classified board.
B. CUMULATIVE VOTING The funds are generally opposed to cumulative voting under the premise that it allows shareholders a voice in director elections that is disproportionate to their economic investment in the corporation. C. SUPERMAJORITY VOTE REQUIREMENTS The funds support shareholders' ability to approve or reject matters presented for a vote based on a simple majority. Accordingly, the funds will support proposals to remove supermajority requirements and oppose proposals to impose them. D. RIGHT TO CALL MEETINGS AND ACT BY WRITTEN CONSENT The funds support shareholders' right to call special meetings of the board (for good cause and with ample representation) and to act by written consent. The funds will generally vote for proposals to grant these rights to shareholders and against proposals to abridge them. E. CONFIDENTIAL VOTING The integrity of the voting process is enhanced substantially when shareholders (both institutions and individuals) can vote without fear of coercion or retribution based on their votes. As such, the funds support proposals to provide confidential voting. F. DUAL CLASSES OF STOCK We are opposed to dual class capitalization structures that provide disparate voting rights to different groups of shareholders with similar economic investments. We will oppose the creation of separate classes with different voting rights and will support the dissolution of such classes. V. CORPORATE AND SOCIAL POLICY ISSUES Proposals in this category, initiated primarily by shareholders, typically request that the company disclose or amend certain business practices. The Board generally believes that these are "ordinary business matters" that are primarily the responsibility of management and should be evaluated and approved solely by the corporation's board of directors. Often, proposals may address concerns with which the Board philosophically agrees, but absent a compelling economic B-52 impact on shareholder value (e.g., proposals to require expensing of stock options), the funds will typically abstain from voting on these proposals. This reflects the belief that regardless of our philosophical perspective on the issue, these decisions should be the province of company management unless they have a significant, tangible impact on the value of a fund's investment and management is not responsive to the matter. VI. VOTING IN FOREIGN MARKETS Corporate governance standards, disclosure requirements, and voting mechanics vary greatly among the markets outside the United States in which the funds may invest. Each fund's votes will be used, where applicable, to advocate for improvements in governance and disclosure by each fund's portfolio companies. We will evaluate issues presented to shareholders for each fund's foreign holdings in the context with the guidelines described above, as well as local market standards and best practices. The funds will cast their votes in a manner believed to be philosophically consistent with these guidelines, while taking into account differing practices by market. In addition, there may be instances in which the funds elect not to vote, as described below. Many foreign markets require that securities be "blocked" or reregistered to vote at a company's meeting. Absent an issue of compelling economic importance, we will generally not subject the fund to the loss of liquidity imposed by these requirements. The costs of voting (e.g., custodian fees, vote agency fees) in foreign markets may be substantially higher than for U.S. holdings. As such, the fund may limit its voting on foreign holdings in instances where the issues presented are unlikely to have a material impact on shareholder value. VII. VOTING ON A FUND'S HOLDINGS OF OTHER VANGUARD FUNDS Certain Vanguard funds (owner funds) may, from time to time, own shares of other Vanguard funds (underlying funds). If an underlying fund submits a matter to a vote of its shareholders, votes for and against such matters on behalf of the owner funds will be cast in the same proportion as the votes of the other shareholders in the underlying fund. VIII. THE PROXY VOTING GROUP The Board has delegated the day-to-day operations of the funds' proxy voting process to the Proxy Voting Group, which the Committee oversees. While most votes will be determined, subject to the individual circumstances of each fund, by reference to the guidelines as separately adopted by each of the funds, there may be circumstances when the Proxy Voting Group will refer proxy issues to the Committee for consideration. In addition, at any time, the Board has the authority to vote proxies, when, at the Board's or the Committee's discretion, such action is warranted. The Proxy Voting Group performs the following functions: (1) managing proxy voting vendors; (2) reconciling share positions; (3) analyzing proxy proposals using factors described in the guidelines; (4) determining and addressing potential or actual conflicts of interest that may be presented by a particular proxy; and (5) voting proxies. The Proxy Voting Group also prepares periodic and special reports to the Board, and any proposed amendments to the procedures and guidelines. IX. THE PROXY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE The Board, including a majority of the independent trustees, appoints the members of the Committee who are senior officers of Vanguard, a majority of whom are also officers of each Vanguard fund. The Committee does not include anyone whose primary duties include external client relationship management or sales. This clear separation between the proxy voting and client relationship functions is intended to eliminate any potential conflict of interest in the proxy voting process. In the unlikely event that a member of the Committee believes he or she might have a conflict of interest regarding a proxy vote, that member must recuse himself or herself from the committee meeting at which the matter is addressed, and not participate in the voting decision. The Committee works with the Proxy Voting Group to provide reports and other guidance to the Board regarding proxy voting by the funds. The Committee has an obligation to conduct its meetings and exercise its decision-making authority subject to the fiduciary standards of good faith, fairness, and Vanguard's Code of Ethics. The Committee shall authorize proxy votes that the Committee determines, at its sole discretion, to be in the best interests of each fund's shareholders. B-53 In determining how to apply the guidelines to a particular factual situation, the Committee may not take into account any interest that would conflict with the interest of fund shareholders in maximizing the value of their investments. The Board may review these procedures and guidelines and modify them from time to time. The procedures and guidelines are available on Vanguard's website at www.vanguard.com. You may obtain a free copy of a report that details how the funds voted the proxies relating to the portfolio securities held by the funds for the prior 12-month period ended June 30 by logging on to Vanguard's internet site, at www.vanguard.com, or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Each Fund's Financial Statements for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009, appearing in the Funds' 2009 Annual Reports to Shareholders, and the reports thereon of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, also appearing therein, are incorporated by reference in this Statement of Additional Information. For a more complete discussion of each Fund's performance, please see the Funds' Annual and Semiannual Reports to Shareholders, which may be obtained without charge. DESCRIPTION OF BOND RATINGS The following are excerpts from Moody's Investors Service, Inc.'s description of its bond ratings: AAA--Judged to be the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk. AA--Judged to be of high quality by all standards. Together with the Aaa group they make up what are generally known as high grade bonds. A--Possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as "upper medium grade obligations". BAA--Considered as medium-grade obligations, (i.e., they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured). Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and, in fact, have speculative characteristics as well. BA--Judged to have speculative elements; their future cannot be considered as well assured. B--Generally lack characteristics of the desirable investment. CAA--Are of poor standing. Such issues may be in default or there may be present elements of danger with respect to principal or interest. CA--Speculative in a high degree; often in default. C--Lowest rated class of bonds; regarded as having extremely poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing. Moody's also supplies numerical indicators (1, 2, and 3) to rating categories. The modifier 1 indicates that the security is in the higher end of its rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking toward the lower end of the category. The following are excerpts from Standard & Poor's description of its bond ratings: AAA--Highest grade obligations. The capacity to pay interest and repay principal is extremely strong. AA--Also qualify as high-grade obligations. They have a very strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal, and they differ from AAA issues only in small degree. A--Regarded as upper-medium-grade. They have a strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal although they are somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than debt in higher rated categories. BBB--Regarded as having an adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Whereas they normally exhibit adequate protection parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal for debt in this category than in higher rated categories. This group is the lowest that qualifies for commercial bank investment. B-54 BB, B, CCC, CC--Predominately speculative with respect to the capacity to pay interest and repay principal in accordance with terms of the obligation. BB indicates the lowest degree of speculation and CC the highest. Standard & Poor's applies indicators "+", or "-", or no character, to its rating categories. The indicators show relative standing within the major rating categories. "FTSE/(R)/" and "FTSE4Good(TM)" are trademarks jointly owned by the London Stock Exchange plc and The Financial Times Limited and are used by FTSE International Limited under license. "GEIS" and "All-World" are trademarks of FTSE International Limited. The FTSE4Good US Select Index, FTSE Global Equity Index Series (GEIS), FTSE All-World ex US Index, and FTSE High Dividend Yield Index are calculated by FTSE International Limited. FTSE International Limited does not sponsor, endorse, or promote the fund; is not in any way connected to it; and does not accept any liability in relation to its issue, operation, and trading. The funds or securities referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by MSCI, and MSCI bears no liability with respect to any such funds or securities. For any such funds or securities, the prospectus or the Statement of Additional Information contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI has with The Vanguard Group and any related funds. Russell is a trademark of The Frank Russell Company. Standard & Poor's/(R)/, S&P/(R)/, S&P 500/(R)/, Standard & Poor's 500, and 500 are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., and have been licensed for use by The Vanguard Group, Inc. Vanguard mutual funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Standard & Poor's, and Standard & Poor's makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the funds. Vanguard ETFs are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Barclays Capital. Barclays Capital makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of Vanguard ETFs or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in Vanguard ETFs particularly or the ability of the Barclays Capital Index to track general bond market performance. Barclays Capital hereby expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to the Barclays Capital index and any data included therein. Barclays Capital's only relationship to Vanguard and Vanguard ETFs is the licensing of the Barclays Capital Index which is determined, composed, and calculated by Barclays Capital without regard to Vanguard or the Vanguard ETFs. Barclays Capital is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of Vanguard ETFs to be issued. CFA/(R)/ and Chartered Financial Analyst/(R)/ are trademarks owned by CFA Institute. B-55 SAI028 052009 PART C VANGUARD FIXED INCOME SECURITIES FUNDS OTHER INFORMATION ITEM 23. EXHIBITS (a) Articles of Incorporation, Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, is filed herewith. (b) By-Laws, are filed herewith. (c) Instruments Defining Rights of Security Holders, reference is made to Articles III and V of the Registrant's Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, refer to Exhibit (a) above. (d) Investment Advisory Contracts, for Wellington Management Company LLP (with respect to Vanguard GNMA Fund, Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund, and Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund), filed on March 26, 2007, Post-Effective Amendment No. 82, are hereby incorporated by reference. The Vanguard Group, Inc., provides investment advisory services to the Funds at cost pursuant to the Amended and Restated Funds' Service Agreement, refer to Exhibit (h) below. (e) Underwriting Contracts, not applicable. (f) Bonus or Profit Sharing Contracts, reference is made to the section entitled "Management of the Funds" in Part B of this Registrant Statement. (g) Custodian Agreements, for The Bank of New York Mellon and for JP Morgan Chase Bank, are filed herewith. (h) Other Material Contracts, Fourth Amended and Restated Funds' Service Agreement, filed on May 29, 2008, Post-Effective Amendment No. 84, is hereby incorporated by reference. (i) Legal Opinion, not applicable. (j) Other Opinions, Consent of an Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, is filed herewith. (k) Omitted Financial Statements, not applicable. (l) Initial Capital Agreements, not applicable. (m) Rule 12b-1 Plan, not applicable. (n) Rule 18f-3 Plan, is filed herewith. (o) Reserved. (p) Codes of Ethics, for The Vanguard Group, Inc., filed on May 29, 2008, Post-Effective Amendment No. 84, is hereby incorporated by reference. For Wellington Management Company LLP, is filed herewith. ITEM 24. PERSONS CONTROLLED BY OR UNDER COMMON CONTROL WITH REGISTRANT Registrant is not controlled by or under common control with any person. ITEM 25. INDEMNIFICATION The Registrant's organizational documents contain provisions indemnifying Trustees and officers against liability incurred in their official capacity. Article VII, Section 2 of the Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust provides that the Registrant may indemnify and hold harmless each and every Trustee and officer from and against any and all claims, demands, costs, losses, expenses, and damages whatsoever arising out of or related to the performance of his or her duties as a Trustee or officer. Article VI of the By-Laws generally provides that the Registrant shall indemnify its Trustees and officers from any liability arising out of their past or present service in that capacity. Among other things, this provision excludes any liability arising by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or the reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the Trustee's or officer's office with the Registrant. ITEM 26. BUSINESS AND OTHER CONNECTIONS OF INVESTMENT ADVISER Wellington Management LLP is an investment adviser registered under the Advisers Act. The list required by this Item 26 of officers and partners of Wellington Management, together with any information as to any business, profession, vocation, or employment of a substantial nature engaged in by such officers and partners during the past two years, is incorporated herein by reference from Schedules B and D of Form ADV filed by Wellington Management pursuant to the Advisers Act (SEC File No. 801-15908). The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard), is an investment adviser registered under the Advisers Act. The list required by this Item 26 of officers and directors of Vanguard, together with any information as to any business, profession, vocation, or employment of a substantial nature engaged in by such officers and directors during the past two years, is incorporated herein by reference from Schedules B and D of Form ADV filed by Vanguard pursuant to the Advisers Act (SEC File No. 801-11953). ITEM 27. PRINCIPAL UNDERWRITERS a) Vanguard Marketing Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Vanguard Group, Inc., is the principal underwriter of each fund within the Vanguard group of investment companies, a family of 37 investment companies with more than 150 funds. (b) The principal business address of each named director and officer of Vanguard Marketing Corporation is 100 Vanguard Boulevard, Malvern, PA 19355.
Name Positions and Office with Underwriter Positions and Office with Funds ---- ------------------------------------- ------------------------------- R. Gregory Barton Director and Senior Vice President None Mortimer J. Buckley Director and Senior Vice President None F. William McNabb III Chairman and Director Chief Executive Officer and President Michael S. Miller Director and Managing Director None Glenn W. Reed Director None George U. Sauter Director and Senior Vice President None Heidi Stam Director and Senior Vice President Secretary Richard D. Carpenter Treasurer None David L. Cermak Principal None Joseph Colaizzo Financial and Operations Principal and Assistant None Treasurer Michael L. Kimmel Secretary None Sean P. Hagerty Principal None John C. Heywood Principal None Steve Holman Principal None Jack T. Wagner Assistant Treasurer None Jennifer M. Halliday Assistant Treasurer None Brian P. McCarthy Senior Registered Options Principal None Deborah McCracken Assistant Secretary None Miranda O'Keefe Compliance Registered Options Principal None Joseph F. Miele Registered Municipal Securities Principal None
Name Positions and Office with Underwriter Positions and Office with Funds ---- ------------------------------------- ------------------------------- Scott M. Bishop Registered Municipal Securities Principal None Bradley J. Sacco Registered Municipal Securities Principal None Jane K. Myer Principal None Pauline C. Scalvino Chief Compliance Officer Chief Compliance Officer
(c) Not applicable. ITEM 28. LOCATION OF ACCOUNTS AND RECORDS The books, accounts, and other documents required to be maintained by Section 31 (a) of the Investment Company Act and the rules promulgated thereunder will be maintained at the offices of the Registrant; the Registrant's Transfer Agent, The Vanguard Group, Inc., 100 Vanguard Boulevard, Malvern, PA 19355; and the Registrant's Custodians, The Bank of New York Mellon, One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286, and JP Morgan Chase Bank, 270 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017-2070. ITEM 29. MANAGEMENT SERVICES Other than as set forth in the section entitled "Management of the Funds" in Part B of this Registration Statement, the Registrant is not a party to any management-related service contract. ITEM 30. UNDERTAKINGS Not applicable. SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant hereby certifies that it meets all requirements for effectiveness of this Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act of 1933 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the Town of Valley Forge and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on the 28th day of May, 2009. VANGUARD FIXED INCOME SECURITIES FUNDS BY:___/s/ F. William McNabb III*___ -------------------------- F. William McNabb III Chief Executive Officer and President Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Post-Effective Amendment to the Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated: Signature Title Date ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- /s/ John J. Brennan* Chairman of the Board and May 28, 2009 -----------------------------Trustee John J. Brennan /s/ F. William McNabb III* Chief Executive Officer and May 28, 2009 -----------------------------President F. William McNabb /s/ Charles D. Ellis* Trustee May 28, 2009 ----------------------------- Charles D. Ellis /s/Emerson U. Fullwood* Trustee May 28, 2009 ----------------------------- Emerson U. Fullwood /s/ Rajiv L. Gupta* Trustee May 28, 2009 ----------------------------- Rajiv L. Gupta /s/ Amy Gutmann* Trustee May 28, 2009 ----------------------------- Amy Gutmann /s/ JoAnn Heffernan Heisen* Trustee May 28, 2009 ----------------------------- JoAnn Heffernan Heisen /s/ Andre F. Perold* Trustee May 28, 2009 ----------------------------- Andre F. Perold /s/ Alfred M. Rankin, Jr.* Trustee May 28, 2009 ----------------------------- Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. /s/ J. Lawrence Wilson* Trustee May 28, 2009 ----------------------------- J. Lawrence Wilson /s/ Thomas J. Higgins* Chief Financial Officer May 28, 2009 ----------------------------- Thomas J. Higgins *By: /s/ Heidi Stam Heidi Stam, pursuant to a Power of Attorney filed on January 18, 2008, see File Number 2-29601, Incorporated by Reference; and pursuant to a Power of Attorney filed on September 26, 2008, see File Number 2-47371, Incorporated by Reference. INDEX TO EXHIBITS Articles of Incorporation, Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ex-99.A By-Laws. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ex-99.B Custodian Agreement, JPMorgan Chase Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ex-99.G Custodian Agreement, The Bank of New York Mellon. . . . . . . . . . . . Ex-99.G Other Opinions, Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Ex-99.J Rule 18f-3 Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ex-99.N Code of Ethics, Wellington Management LLP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ex-99.P