497 1 vit042003.txt VANGUARD INDEX FUNDS 497 FILING [SHIP] THE VANGUARD GROUP LOGO VANGUARD(R) U.S. STOCK INDEX FUNDS SUPPLEMENT TO THE PROSPECTUS NEW TARGET INDEXES FOR SIX FUNDS On March 28, 2003, the board of trustees of Vanguard Index Funds approved the adoption of new target indexes for six funds. The board believes that the new indexes, listed below, will do a better job of tracking the market segment targeted by the funds' investment objectives.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TARGETED MARKET CURRENT TARGET NEW TARGET FUND SEGMENT INDEX INDEX -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Large-cap growth MSCI(R)US stocks of U.S. S&P 500/Barra Prime Market Growth Index Fund companies Growth Index Growth Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MSCI(R)US Mid-cap stocks S&P MidCap 400 Mid Cap Mid-Cap Index Fund of U.S. companies Index 450 Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- S&P SmallCap MSCI(R)US Small-Cap Growth Small-cap growth 600/Barra Small Cap Index Fund stocks of U.S. companies Growth Index Growth Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MSCI(R)US Small-cap stocks Russell 2000 Small-Cap Small-Cap Index Fund of U.S. companies Index 1750 Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Small-cap value S&P SmallCap MSCI(R)US stocks of U.S. 600/Barra Small-Cap Small-Cap Value Index Fund companies Value Index Value Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Large-cap value MSCI(R)US stocks of U.S. S&P 500/Barra Prime Market Value Index Fund companies Value Index Value Index --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The funds' are expected to implement these changes between April 20 and September 30, 2003, and Vanguard will notify shareholders after the changes take effect. Until then, the funds will continue to track their current indexes. Each new index tracks the same market segment as the corresponding current index, so the investment objectives and risks described in the funds' current prospectuses will not change. That said, a fund's new target index could provide different investment returns (either lower or higher) or different levels of volatility than its existing index over any period of time. Transition to the new indexes will require adjustments to each fund's portfolio holdings, which could temporarily increase the funds' transaction costs and turnover rates. Only one (over, please) fund--Small-Cap Growth Index Fund--is expected to realize capital gains in moving to its new index, but the amount of these gains should be relatively modest and wholly offset by the Fund's previously realized capital losses. Additional information about the new indexes is available on www.vanguard.com. Vanguard. The Vanguard Group, and the ship logo are trademarks of The Vanguard Group, Inc. S&P 500(R), S&P MidCap 400, and S&P SmallCap 600 are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., and has 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 and Poor's makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the funds. All other marks are the exclusive property of their respective owners. (C)2003 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor. PS40N 042003