Vanguard Short Duration Bond ETF
Summary Prospectus
March 26, 2025
Exchange-traded fund shares that are not individually redeemable and are listed on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.
Vanguard Short Duration Bond ETF Shares (VSDB)
The Fund’s statutory Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated March 26, 2025, as may be amended or supplemented, are incorporated into and made part of this Summary Prospectus by reference.
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s Prospectus and other information about the Fund online at www.vanguard.com/prospectus and https://personal.vanguard.com/us/literature/reports/ETFs. You can also obtain this information at no cost by calling 866-499-8473 or by sending an email request to online@vanguard.com.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not approved or disapproved these
securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the
contrary is a criminal offense.
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide high current income while maintaining limited price volatility.
Fees and Expenses
The following tables describe the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and example below.
Shareholder Fees
(Fees paid directly from your investment)
(Fees paid directly from your investment)
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|
|
|
Transaction Fee on Purchases and Sales
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None*
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Transaction Fee on Reinvested Dividends
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None*
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*
None through Vanguard (Broker fees vary)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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|
|
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Management Fees
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0.08
%
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12b-1 Distribution Fee
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None
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Other Expenses
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0.07
%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses1
|
0.15
%
|
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The expense information shown in the table reflects estimated amounts for the current
fiscal year.
Example
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund’s shares with the cost of investing in other funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you were to invest $10,000 in the Fund’s shares. This example assumes that the shares provide a return of 5% each year and that total annual fund operating expenses remain as stated in the preceding table. You would incur these hypothetical expenses whether or not you were to sell your shares at the end of the given period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 Year
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3 Years
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$15
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$48
|
This example does not include the brokerage commissions that you may pay to buy and sell shares of the Fund.
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Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in more taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund
operating expenses or in the previous expense example, reduce the Fund’s performance. The Fund has no operating history and therefore has no portfolio turnover information.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund invests in fixed income securities of various maturities, yields, and qualities. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net
assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in bonds, which include fixed income securities such as corporate bonds; U.S. Treasury obligations and other U.S. government and agency securities; and asset-backed, mortgage-backed, and mortgage-related securities. In general, bonds purchased by the Fund will have a maturity of 90 days or more at the time of their issuance.
The Fund may invest in fixed income securities of non-U.S. issuers, including emerging market countries.
The Fund’s dollar-weighted average maturity will normally range between 1 and 5 years, and may either be longer or shorter under certain market conditions, such as during periods of market stress. The Fund’s average portfolio duration will normally range between 1 to 4 years. Since the Fund will have holdings in asset-backed, mortgage-backed, and similar securities, the Fund’s weighted average maturity may be approximate to the weighted average maturity of the cash flows in the securities held by the Fund, given certain prepayment assumptions. This is also known as weighted average life.
The Fund can purchase bonds of any quality. High-quality fixed income securities are investment-grade securities that are rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (Moody’s), or another independent rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund’s advisor. Medium-quality fixed income securities are investment-grade securities that are rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody’s or another independent rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund’s advisor. Both high-quality and medium-quality fixed income securities are considered to be “investment-grade.” Lower quality fixed income securities—commonly known as “junk bonds”—are non-investment-grade securities that are rated the equivalent of Ba1 or lower by Moody’s Ratings or another independent rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund’s advisor. No more than 25% of the Fund’s assets may be invested in non-investment-grade fixed income securities, or junk bonds.
The Fund may invest in derivatives instruments, such as options, futures contracts, or other swap agreements. The Fund may also invest in to be announced (“TBA”) mortgage-backed securities and take short positions in TBA
The Fund’s dollar-weighted average maturity will normally range between 1 and 5 years, and may either be longer or shorter under certain market conditions, such as during periods of market stress. The Fund’s average portfolio duration will normally range between 1 to 4 years. Since the Fund will have holdings in asset-backed, mortgage-backed, and similar securities, the Fund’s weighted average maturity may be approximate to the weighted average maturity of the cash flows in the securities held by the Fund, given certain prepayment assumptions. This is also known as weighted average life.
The Fund can purchase bonds of any quality. High-quality fixed income securities are investment-grade securities that are rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (Moody’s), or another independent rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund’s advisor. Medium-quality fixed income securities are investment-grade securities that are rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody’s or another independent rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund’s advisor. Both high-quality and medium-quality fixed income securities are considered to be “investment-grade.” Lower quality fixed income securities—commonly known as “junk bonds”—are non-investment-grade securities that are rated the equivalent of Ba1 or lower by Moody’s Ratings or another independent rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund’s advisor. No more than 25% of the Fund’s assets may be invested in non-investment-grade fixed income securities, or junk bonds.
The Fund may invest in derivatives instruments, such as options, futures contracts, or other swap agreements. The Fund may also invest in to be announced (“TBA”) mortgage-backed securities and take short positions in TBA
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securities. The Fund may also invest in structured product instruments, including
asset-backed securities, agency and non-agency commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities, collateralized mortgage obligations, variable rate demand notes issued by government or government agencies, and collateralized loan obligations.
The Fund seeks to have a majority of its assets denominated in or hedged back to the U.S. dollar but has the ability to invest in bonds denominated in a foreign currency on an unhedged basis. The Fund may attempt to hedge some or all of its foreign currency exposure, primarily through the use of foreign currency exchange contracts, in an effort to manage the currency risk associated with investing in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar.
The Fund seeks to have a majority of its assets denominated in or hedged back to the U.S. dollar but has the ability to invest in bonds denominated in a foreign currency on an unhedged basis. The Fund may attempt to hedge some or all of its foreign currency exposure, primarily through the use of foreign currency exchange contracts, in an effort to manage the currency risk associated with investing in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar.
Principal Risks
An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or long periods of time. You should expect the Fund’s share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range. The Fund is subject to the following risks, which could affect the Fund’s performance, and the level of risk may vary based on market conditions:
• Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates.
• 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 new cash flow and cash from maturing bonds in lower- yielding bonds. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds and moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund’s monthly income to fluctuate accordingly.
• Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest or 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.
• 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.
• Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (redeem) securities with higher coupon rates or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose any price
appreciation above the bond’s call price and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s
income. Such redemptions and subsequent reinvestments would also increase the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate. Call risk is generally low for short-term bonds,
moderate for intermediate-term bonds, and higher for long-term bonds. The greater the call risk, the greater the chance for a decline in income and the potential for taxable capital gains.
• 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 any price appreciation above the mortgage’s principal and
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would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income. Such prepayments and subsequent reinvestments would also increase the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate.
• Extension risk, which is the chance that during periods of rising interest rates, certain debt securities will be paid off substantially more slowly than originally
anticipated, and the value of those securities may fall. For funds that invest in
mortgage-backed securities, extension risk is the chance that during periods of rising interest rates, homeowners will repay their mortgages at slower rates. This
will lengthen the duration or average life of mortgage-backed securities held by the Fund and delay the Fund’s ability to reinvest proceeds at higher interest rates. Extension risk is generally high for high-yield bond funds.
• Derivatives risk. The Fund may invest in derivatives, which may involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of investments directly in the underlying securities or assets.
• Structured products risk. The Fund is subject to structured products risk. Structured products are subject to the risks associated with the underlying assets
and may decline in value due to changes in the underlying assets. Certain structured products may be thinly traded or have a limited trading market, and as
a result may be characterized as illiquid. Structured products are also subject to
credit risk; the assets backing the structured product may be insufficient to pay
interest or principal. In addition to the general risks associated with credit investments, structured products carry additional risks, including: the collateral
may decline in value or default; the distributions from collateral securities may
not be adequate to make interest or other payments; and the structured products may be subordinate to other classes.
• Emerging markets risk, which is the chance that the bonds of governments, government agencies, government-owned corporations, and foreign companies located in emerging market countries will be substantially more volatile, and substantially less liquid, than the bonds of governments, government agencies, government-owned corporations, and foreign companies located in more developed foreign markets because, among other factors, emerging market countries can have more variable economic performance; greater custodial and operational risks; less developed legal, tax, regulatory, financial reporting, accounting, and record keeping systems; and greater political, social, and economic instability than developed markets.
• Country/regional risk, which is the chance that world events—such as political upheaval, financial troubles, or natural disasters—will adversely affect the value
and/or liquidity of securities issued by foreign governments, government agencies, government-owned corporations, and foreign companies. Because the Fund may invest in bonds of issuers located in any one country or region, the Fund’s performance may be hurt disproportionately by the poor performance of its investments in that area. Country/regional risk is especially high in emerging
market countries.
• Currency risk, which is the chance that the value of a foreign investment, measured in U.S. dollars, will decrease because of unfavorable changes in currency exchange rates. Currency risk is especially high in emerging markets.
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• Currency hedging risk. The Fund has the ability to invest in foreign bonds which may or may not be denominated in or hedged back to U.S. dollars. The Fund will decline in value if it underhedges a currency that has weakened or overhedges a currency that has strengthened relative to the U.S. dollar. In addition, the Fund will incur expenses to hedge its foreign currency exposure. By
entering into currency hedging transactions, the Fund may eliminate any chance to benefit from favorable fluctuations in relevant currency exchange rates.
• Liquidity risk, which is the chance that the Fund may not be able to sell a security in a timely manner at a desired price.
• TBA Securities risk. A TBA transaction represents an agreement to buy or sell mortgage-backed securities with agreed-upon characteristics for a fixed unit price at a future date, but does not specify the particular security to be delivered.
TBA transactions involve the risk that the value of the mortgage-backed securities to be purchased declines prior to settlement date or the counterparty does not deliver the securities as promised.
• Counterparty risk, which is the chance that the counterparty to a derivatives contract, or other investment vehicle, with the Fund is unable or unwilling to meet
its financial obligations.
Because the Fund is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) and the Fund’s shares are traded on an exchange, the Fund is subject to additional risks:
• The Fund’s ETF Shares are listed for trading on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. and are bought and sold on the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of an ETF Share typically will approximate its net
asset value (NAV), there may be times when the market price and the NAV differ significantly. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy ETF Shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares.
• Although the Fund’s ETF Shares are listed for trading on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., it is possible that an active trading market may not be maintained.
• Trading of the Fund’s ETF Shares may be halted by the activation of individual or marketwide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when
the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified
percentage). Trading of the Fund’s ETF Shares may also be halted if (1) the shares are delisted from Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. without first being listed on another exchange or (2) Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. officials determine that such action is appropriate in the interest of a fair and orderly market or for the protection of investors.
Because of the speculative nature of junk bonds, you should carefully consider the risks associated with this Fund before you purchase shares.
Because of the speculative nature of junk bonds, you should carefully consider the risks associated with this Fund before you purchase shares.
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.
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Annual Total Returns
This is the Fund’s initial prospectus, so it does not contain performance data.
Investment Advisor
The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)
Portfolio Managers
Arvind Narayanan, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager and Principal of Vanguard. He has co-managed the Fund since its inception in March 2025.
Thanh Nguyen, CFA, Portfolio Manager at Vanguard. She has co-managed the Fund since its inception in March 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
ETF Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a brokerage firm. The price you pay or receive for ETF Shares will be the prevailing market price, which may be more (premium) or less (discount) than the NAV of the shares. The brokerage firm may charge you a commission to execute the transaction. Unless imposed by your brokerage firm, there is no minimum dollar amount you must invest and no minimum number of shares you must buy. ETF Shares of the Fund cannot be directly purchased from or redeemed with the Fund, except by certain authorized broker-dealers. These broker-dealers may purchase and redeem ETF Shares only in large blocks (Creation Units), typically in exchange for baskets of securities.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase ETF Shares (bid) and the lowest price
a seller is willing to accept for ETF Shares (ask) when buying or selling shares in
the secondary market (bid-ask spread). Recent information, including information on the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available online at vanguard.com.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains. If you are investing through a tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA or an employer- sponsored retirement or savings plan, special tax rules apply. You should consult your own tax advisor with respect to any particular U.S. or non-U.S. tax consequences of your investment in the Fund.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales
of Fund shares.
CFA® is a registered trademark owned by CFA Institute.
Vanguard Short Duration Bond ETF Shares—Fund Number V044
To request additional information about the Fund, please visit vanguard.com or contact us at 866-499-8473.
© 2025 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor.
SP V044 032025