Active fixed income

Disclosures and footnotes

¹ For the 10-year period ended September 30, 2025, 41 of 48 Vanguard active bond funds outperformed their peer-group averages; results will vary for other time periods. Only funds with a 10-year history, respectively, were included in the comparison (source: LSEG Lipper). Note that the competitive performance data shown represent past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results, and that all investments are subject to risks. For the most recent performance, visit our website at vanguard.com/performance.

² All competitor fund data is sourced from Morningstar Direct as of November 2024. The combination of Morningstar category, investment type, and management style define Vanguard's category. Lowest-decile expense ratios are calculated excluding Vanguard funds. Vanguard s updated expense ratios (effective February 1, 2025) were compared with the lowest-decile expense ratios in each category. Summing all active fixed income funds that were less than or equal to the lowest-decile expense ratio and dividing by total active fixed income funds resulted in 100% of funds in the lowest-cost decile.

³ "Institutional quality" in this context is meant to convey a level of professional rigor and expertise combined with low costs.

⁴ Vanguard, September 30, 2025.

⁵ Outperformance is based upon monthly rolling three year returns of ETFs and mutual funds from October 1, 2015, to September 30, 2025, compared to their Morningstar category performance for the same period. Each share class of a fund is represented individually as a unique fund for performance comparisons. Morningstar category performance is calculated as an average across the funds. The firms in the above chart are the top 20 by active fixed income mutual fund and ETF AUM, with at least five funds, as of September 30, 2025. It includes the firm's active fixed income mutual funds or ETFs open as of September 30, 2025. Funds launched after October 1, 2012, are included in the calculations based upon the first month the fund reached three years of performance track record.

For more information about Vanguard funds, visit vanguard.com to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before investing.

All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.

Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.

Be aware that fluctuations in the financial markets and other factors may cause declines in the value of your account. There is no guarantee that any particular asset allocation or mix of funds will meet your investment objectives or provide you with a given level of income. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

International investing is subject to additional risks, including the possibility that returns will be hurt by a decline in the value of foreign currencies or by unfavorable developments in a particular country or region.

Stocks and bonds of issuers based in emerging markets are subject to national and regional political and economic risks and to the risk of currency fluctuations. These risks are especially high in emerging markets.

Bond funds are subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates, and credit risk, which is the chance 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.

U.S. government backing of Treasury or agency securities applies only to the underlying securities and does not prevent share-price fluctuations. Unlike stocks and bonds, U.S. Treasury bills are guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest.

High-yield bonds generally have medium- and lower-range credit-quality ratings and are therefore subject to a higher level of credit risk than bonds with higher credit-quality ratings.

Vanguard ETF Shares are not redeemable with the issuing Fund other than in very large aggregations worth millions of dollars. Instead, investors must buy and sell Vanguard ETF Shares in the secondary market and hold those shares in a brokerage account. In doing so, the investor may incur brokerage commissions and may pay more than net asset value when buying and receive less than net asset value when selling.