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VTEB Vanguard Tax Exempt Bond ETF

50.41
-0.09 (-0.18%)
19 Jul 2024 - Closed
Delayed by 15 minutes
Name Symbol Market Type
Vanguard Tax Exempt Bond ETF AMEX:VTEB AMEX Exchange Traded Fund
  Price Change % Change Price High Price Low Price Open Price Traded Last Trade
  -0.09 -0.18% 50.41 50.47 50.41 50.47 3,743,560 23:43:05

Post-effective Amendment (investment Company, Rule 485(b)) (485bpos)

27/02/2020 11:20am

Edgar (US Regulatory)


SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT (NO. 2-57689) UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

Pre-Effective Amendment No.

Post-Effective Amendment No. 102

and

REGISTRATION STATEMENT (811-02687) UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY

ACT OF 1940

Amendment No. 106

VANGUARD MUNICIPAL BOND 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

Anne E. Robinson, Esquire

P.O. Box 876

Valley Forge, PA 19482

Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering:

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box) [ ] immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)

[X]on February 27, 2020, 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.

 

Vanguard Municipal Bond Funds Prospectus

February 27, 2020

Investor Shares & Admiral™ Shares

Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund Investor Shares (VMSXX) Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VWSTX) Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares (VWSUX) Vanguard Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VMLTX) Vanguard Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares (VMLUX) Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VWITX) Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares (VWIUX) Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VWLTX) Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares (VWLUX) Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VWAHX) Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares (VWALX)

See the inside front cover for important information about access to your fund's annual and semiannual shareholder reports.

This prospectus contains financial data for the Funds through the fiscal year ended October 31, 2019.

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.

Important information about access to shareholder reports

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the SEC, paper copies of your fund's annual and semiannual shareholder reports will no longer be sent to you by mail, unless you specifically request them. Instead, you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted on the website and will be provided with a link to access the report.

If you have already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and do not need to take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the fund electronically by contacting your financial intermediary (such as a broker-dealer or bank) or, if you invest directly with the fund, by calling Vanguard at one of the phone numbers on the back cover of this prospectus or by logging on to vanguard.com.

You may elect to receive paper copies of all future shareholder reports free of charge. If you invest through a financial intermediary, you can contact the intermediary to request that you continue to receive paper copies. If you invest directly with the fund, you can call Vanguard at one of the phone numbers on the back cover of this prospectus or log on to vanguard.com. Your election to receive paper copies will apply to all the funds you hold through an intermediary or directly with Vanguard.

Contents

Vanguard Fund Summaries

 

Financial Highlights

51

Municipal Money Market Fund

1

Investing With Vanguard

62

 

 

 

 

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

5

Purchasing Shares

62

 

 

 

 

Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

11

Converting Shares

65

 

 

 

 

Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

17

Redeeming Shares

67

 

 

 

 

Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

22

Exchanging Shares

71

 

 

 

 

High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund

27

Frequent-Trading Limitations

71

 

 

 

 

Investing in Tax-Exempt Funds

32

Other Rules You Should Know

73

 

 

 

 

Investing in Money Market Funds

33

Fund and Account Updates

77

 

 

 

 

More on the Funds

35

Contacting Vanguard

79

 

 

 

 

The Funds and Vanguard

45

Additional Information

80

 

 

 

 

Investment Advisor

45

Glossary of Investment Terms

82

 

 

 

 

Dividends, Capital Gains, and Taxes

47

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share Price

50

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to provide current income that is exempt from federal personal income taxes while maintaining liquidity and a stable share price of $1.

Fees and Expenses

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.

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

 

 

Account Service Fee (for certain fund account balances below $10,000)

$20/year

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

 

Management Fees

0.13%

 

 

12b-1 Distribution Fee

None

 

 

Other Expenses

0.02%

 

 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.15%

 

 

Example

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual 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 Fund provides 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 redeem your investment at the end of the given period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

$15

$48

$85

$192

 

 

 

 

1

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests in a variety of high-quality, short-term municipal securities. To be considered high quality, a security must be determined by Vanguard to present minimal credit risk based in part on a consideration of maturity, portfolio diversification, portfolio liquidity, and credit quality. The Fund invests in securities with effective maturities of 397 days or less, maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity of 60 days or less, and maintains a dollar-weighted average life of 120 days or less.

Principal Risks

The Fund is designed for investors with a low tolerance for risk; however, the Fund is subject to the following risks, which could affect the Fund's performance:

Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Because the Fund's income is based on short-term interest rates—which can fluctuate significantly over short periods—income risk is expected to be high.

Credit risk, which is the chance that the issuer of a security 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 security to decline. Credit risk should be very low for the Fund because it invests primarily in securities that are considered to be of high 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.

Tax risk, which is the chance that all or a portion of the tax-exempt income from municipal bonds held by the Fund will be declared taxable, possibly with retroactive effect, because of unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service or state or local tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a bond issuer.

Derivatives risk. The Fund may invest in structured products such as tender option bonds and long-term municipal securities combined with a demand feature (e.g., variable rate demand notes or VRDNs), which may involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of investments directly in the underlying securities or assets.

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. Although the Fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. The Fund may impose a fee upon sale of your shares or may temporarily suspend your ability to sell shares if the Fund's liquidity falls below required minimums because of market conditions or other factors. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The Fund's sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the Fund, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the Fund at any time.

2

Annual Total Returns

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 has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the Fund compare with those of a comparative benchmark, which has investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Returns for the Municipal Money Market Funds Average are derived from data provided by Lipper, a Thomson Reuters Company. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance or by calling Vanguard toll-free at 800-662-7447.

Annual Total Returns — Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund Investor Shares

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

 

 

30%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10%

0.14

0.06

0.04

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.33

0.74

1.31

1.40

 

 

0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-10%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 0.40% (quarter ended June 30, 2019), and the lowest return for a quarter was 0.00% (quarter ended March 31, 2014).

Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2019

 

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund

1.40%

0.76%

0.41%

 

 

 

 

Tax-Exempt Money Market Funds Average

 

 

 

 

1.06%

0.52%

0.26%

 

 

 

 

3

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)

Portfolio Manager

Justin A. Schwartz, CFA, Portfolio Manager at Vanguard and head of Vanguard's Municipal Money Market Funds. He has managed the Fund since 2016.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase or redeem shares online through our website (vanguard.com), by mail (The Vanguard Group, P.O. Box 1110, Valley Forge, PA 19482-1110), or by telephone (800-662-2739). When your trade is processed depends on the day and time Vanguard receives your request in good order and the manner in which it is submitted. Generally, trades placed after the close of business are processed during the next business day. The minimum investment amount required to open and maintain a Fund account for Investor Shares is $3,000. The minimum investment amount required to add to an existing Fund account is generally $1. Financial intermediaries and Vanguard-advised clients should contact Vanguard for information on special eligibility rules that may apply to them regarding Investor Shares. If you are investing through an intermediary, please contact that firm directly for more information regarding your eligibility. The Fund is only eligible for purchase within accounts beneficially owned by natural persons.

Tax Information

The Fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gain. A majority of the income dividends that you receive from the Fund are expected to be exempt from federal income taxes. However, a portion of the Fund's distributions may be subject to federal, state, or local income taxes or the federal alternative minimum tax.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.

4

Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to provide current income that is exempt from federal personal income taxes, with limited price volatility.

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.

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

None

 

 

 

Account Service Fee (for certain fund account balances below

$20/year

$20/year

$10,000)

 

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

 

(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

Investor Shares

Admiral Shares

 

 

 

Management Fees

0.15%

0.08%

 

 

 

12b-1 Distribution Fee

None

None

 

 

 

Other Expenses

0.02%

0.01%

 

 

 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.17%

0.09%

 

 

 

5

Examples

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 were to invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume 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 redeem your investment at the end of the given period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Investor Shares

$17

$55

$96

$217

 

 

 

 

 

Admiral Shares

$9

$29

$51

$115

 

 

 

 

 

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 examples, reduce the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 34% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund has no limitations on the maturity of individual securities but is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 1 to 2 years. At least 75% of the securities held by the Fund are municipal bonds in the top three credit-rating categories as determined by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) (e.g., Aaa, Aa, and A by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's)) or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the advisor. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in medium-grade quality bonds, as determined by an NRSRO (e.g., Baa by Moody's) or by the advisor. The remaining 5% may be invested in securities with lower credit ratings or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the advisor.

6

Principal 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 is subject to the following risks, which could affect the Fund's performance:

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 will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund because it invests primarily in short-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of longer-term bonds.

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 bond funds.

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. Extension risk is generally low for short-term bond funds.

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. In general, credit risk should be relatively low for the Fund because it invests primarily in bonds that are considered to be of high quality.

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.

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.

Tax risk, which is the chance that all or a portion of the tax-exempt income from municipal bonds held by the Fund will be declared taxable, possibly with retroactive effect, because of unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service or state or local tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a bond issuer.

Derivatives risk. The Fund may invest in structured products such as tender option bonds and long-term municipal securities combined with a demand feature (e.g., variable rate demand notes or VRDNs), which may involve risks different from, and

7

possibly greater than, those of investments directly in the underlying securities or assets.

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.

Annual Total Returns

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, which has investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance or by calling Vanguard toll-free at 800-662-7447.

Annual Total Returns — Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

 

 

30%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10%

0.95

1.60

0.99

0.48

0.65

0.45

0.36

0.99

1.59

2.38

 

 

0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-10%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 0.79% (quarter ended March 31, 2019), and the lowest return for a quarter was –0.34% (quarter ended June 30, 2013).

8

Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2019

 

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

2.38%

1.15%

1.04%

 

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

2.38

1.15

1.04

 

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

2.07

1.15

1.05

 

 

 

 

Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

2.46%

1.24%

1.13%

 

 

 

 

Bloomberg Barclays 1 Year Municipal Bond Index

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

2.46%

1.20%

1.10%

 

 

 

 

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 may differ for each share class. 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 may 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.

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)

Portfolio Manager

Justin A. Schwartz, CFA, Portfolio Manager at Vanguard and head of Vanguard's Municipal Money Market Funds. He has managed the Fund since 2016.

9

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase or redeem shares online through our website (vanguard.com), by mail (The Vanguard Group, P.O. Box 1110, Valley Forge, PA 19482-1110), or by telephone (800-662-2739). The minimum investment amount required to open and maintain a Fund account for Investor Shares or Admiral Shares is $3,000 or $50,000, respectively. The minimum investment amount required to add to an existing Fund account is generally $1. Financial intermediaries, institutional clients, and Vanguard-advised clients should contact Vanguard for information on special eligibility rules that may apply to them regarding Admiral Shares. If you are investing through an intermediary, please contact that firm directly for more information regarding your eligibility.

Tax Information

The Fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gain. A majority of the income dividends that you receive from the Fund are expected to be exempt from federal income taxes. However, a portion of the Fund's distributions may be subject to federal, state, or local income taxes or the federal alternative minimum tax.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.

10

Vanguard Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to provide current income that is exempt from federal personal income taxes, with limited price volatility.

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.

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

None

 

 

 

Account Service Fee (for certain fund account balances below

$20/year

$20/year

$10,000)

 

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

 

(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

Investor Shares

Admiral Shares

 

 

 

Management Fees

0.15%

0.08%

 

 

 

12b-1 Distribution Fee

None

None

 

 

 

Other Expenses

0.02%

0.01%

 

 

 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.17%

0.09%

 

 

 

11

Examples

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 were to invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume 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 redeem your investment at the end of the given period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Investor Shares

$17

$55

$96

$217

 

 

 

 

 

Admiral Shares

$9

$29

$51

$115

 

 

 

 

 

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 examples, reduce the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 21% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund has no limitations on the maturity of individual securities but is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 2 to 6 years. At least 75% of the securities held by the Fund are municipal bonds in the top three credit-rating categories as determined by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) (e.g., Aaa, Aa, and A by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's)) or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the advisor. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in medium-grade quality bonds, as determined by an NRSRO (e.g., Baa by Moody's) or by the advisor. The remaining 5% may be invested in securities with lower credit ratings or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the advisor.

12

Principal 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 is subject to the following risks, which could affect the Fund's performance:

Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally high for limited-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund's monthly income to fluctuate.

Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund because it invests primarily in short-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of longer-term bonds.

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 to moderate for limited-term bond funds.

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. Extension risk is generally low for limited-term bond funds.

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. In general, credit risk should be relatively low for the Fund because it invests primarily in bonds that are considered to be of high quality.

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.

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.

Tax risk, which is the chance that all or a portion of the tax-exempt income from municipal bonds held by the Fund will be declared taxable, possibly with retroactive effect, because of unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service or state or local tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a bond issuer.

Derivatives risk. The Fund may invest in structured products such as tender option bonds and long-term municipal securities combined with a demand feature (e.g., variable rate demand notes or VRDNs), which may involve risks different from, and

13

possibly greater than, those of investments directly in the underlying securities or assets.

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.

Annual Total Returns

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, which has investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance or by calling Vanguard toll-free at 800-662-7447.

Annual Total Returns — Vanguard Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

 

 

30%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10%

1.97

3.71

1.77

0.49

1.79

1.32

 

 

2.01

1.55

3.95

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-0.16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-10%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 1.50% (quarter ended March 31, 2019), and the lowest return for a quarter was –1.53% (quarter ended December 31, 2016).

14

Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2019

 

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

Vanguard Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

3.95%

1.73%

1.83%

 

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

3.95

1.73

1.83

 

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

3.12

1.71

1.82

 

 

 

 

Vanguard Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

4.04%

1.82%

1.92%

 

 

 

 

Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year Municipal Bond Index

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

4.03%

1.82%

2.03%

 

 

 

 

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 may differ for each share class. 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 may 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.

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)

Portfolio Manager

Adam M. Ferguson, CFA, Portfolio Manager at Vanguard. He has managed the Fund since 2017.

15

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase or redeem shares online through our website (vanguard.com), by mail (The Vanguard Group, P.O. Box 1110, Valley Forge, PA 19482-1110), or by telephone (800-662-2739). The minimum investment amount required to open and maintain a Fund account for Investor Shares or Admiral Shares is $3,000 or $50,000, respectively. The minimum investment amount required to add to an existing Fund account is generally $1. Financial intermediaries, institutional clients, and Vanguard-advised clients should contact Vanguard for information on special eligibility rules that may apply to them regarding Admiral Shares. If you are investing through an intermediary, please contact that firm directly for more information regarding your eligibility.

Tax Information

The Fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gain. A majority of the income dividends that you receive from the Fund are expected to be exempt from federal income taxes. However, a portion of the Fund's distributions may be subject to federal, state, or local income taxes or the federal alternative minimum tax.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.

16

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to provide a moderate and sustainable level of current income that is exempt from federal personal income taxes.

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.

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

None

 

 

 

Account Service Fee (for certain fund account balances below

$20/year

$20/year

$10,000)

 

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

 

(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

Investor Shares

Admiral Shares

 

 

 

Management Fees

0.15%

0.08%

 

 

 

12b-1 Distribution Fee

None

None

 

 

 

Other Expenses

0.02%

0.01%

 

 

 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.17%

0.09%

 

 

 

17

Examples

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 were to invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume 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 redeem your investment at the end of the given period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Investor Shares

$17

$55

$96

$217

 

 

 

 

 

Admiral Shares

$9

$29

$51

$115

 

 

 

 

 

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 examples, reduce the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 8% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund has no limitations on the maturity of individual securities but is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 6 to 12 years. At least 75% of the securities held by the Fund are municipal bonds in the top three credit-rating categories as determined by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) (e.g., Aaa, Aa, and A by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's)) or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the advisor. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in medium-grade quality bonds, as determined by an NRSRO (e.g., Baa by Moody's) or by the advisor. The remaining 5% may be invested in securities with lower credit ratings or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the advisor.

18

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:

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 will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests primarily 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 (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 moderate for intermediate-term bond funds.

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. Extension risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds.

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. In general, credit risk should be relatively low for the Fund because it invests primarily in bonds that are considered to be of high quality.

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.

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.

Tax risk, which is the chance that all or a portion of the tax-exempt income from municipal bonds held by the Fund will be declared taxable, possibly with retroactive effect, because of unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service or state or local tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a bond issuer.

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.

19

Annual Total Returns

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, which has investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance or by calling Vanguard toll-free at 800-662-7447.

Annual Total Returns — Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

 

 

30%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20%

 

 

9.62

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10%

 

 

5.70

 

 

7.25

 

 

 

 

4.53

 

 

6.78

 

 

2.13

 

 

 

 

2.86

0.08

1.25

 

 

0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-10%

 

 

 

 

 

 

-1.56

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 3.45% (quarter ended June 30, 2011), and the lowest return for a quarter was –3.60% (quarter ended December 31, 2010).

Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2019

 

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

6.78%

3.07%

3.81%

 

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

6.78

3.07

3.81

 

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

5.13

3.00

3.66

 

 

 

 

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

6.87%

3.16%

3.90%

 

 

 

 

Bloomberg Barclays 1-15 Year Municipal Bond Index

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

6.44%

3.01%

3.66%

 

 

 

 

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

20

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 may differ for each share class. 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 may 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.

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)

Portfolio Manager

James M. D'Arcy, CFA, Portfolio Manager at Vanguard. He has managed the Fund since 2013.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase or redeem shares online through our website (vanguard.com), by mail (The Vanguard Group, P.O. Box 1110, Valley Forge, PA 19482-1110), or by telephone (800-662-2739). The minimum investment amount required to open and maintain a Fund account for Investor Shares or Admiral Shares is $3,000 or $50,000, respectively. The minimum investment amount required to add to an existing Fund account is generally $1. Financial intermediaries, institutional clients, and Vanguard-advised clients should contact Vanguard for information on special eligibility rules that may apply to them regarding Admiral Shares. If you are investing through an intermediary, please contact that firm directly for more information regarding your eligibility.

Tax Information

The Fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gain. A majority of the income dividends that you receive from the Fund are expected to be exempt from federal income taxes. However, a portion of the Fund's distributions may be subject to federal, state, or local income taxes or the federal alternative minimum tax.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.

21

Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to provide a high and sustainable level of current income that is exempt from federal personal income taxes.

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.

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

None

 

 

 

Account Service Fee (for certain fund account balances below

$20/year

$20/year

$10,000)

 

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

 

(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

Investor Shares

Admiral Shares

 

 

 

Management Fees

0.15%

0.08%

 

 

 

12b-1 Distribution Fee

None

None

 

 

 

Other Expenses

0.02%

0.01%

 

 

 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.17%

0.09%

 

 

 

22

Examples

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 were to invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume 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 redeem your investment at the end of the given period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Investor Shares

$17

$55

$96

$217

 

 

 

 

 

Admiral Shares

$9

$29

$51

$115

 

 

 

 

 

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 examples, reduce the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 16% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund has no limitations on the maturity of individual securities but is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 10 to 25 years. At least 75% of the securities held by the Fund are municipal bonds in the top three credit-rating categories as determined by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) (e.g., Aaa, Aa, and A by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's)) or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the advisor. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in medium-grade quality bonds, as determined by an NRSRO (e.g., Baa by Moody's) or by the advisor. The remaining 5% may be invested in securities with lower credit ratings or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the advisor.

23

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:

Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk should be low for the Fund because it invests primarily in long-term bonds.

Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be high for the Fund because it invests primarily in long-term bonds, whose prices are more sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of shorter-term bonds.

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 high for long-term bond funds.

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. Extension risk is generally high for long-term bond funds.

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. In general, credit risk should be relatively low for the Fund because it invests primarily in bonds that are considered to be of high quality.

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.

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.

Tax risk, which is the chance that all or a portion of the tax-exempt income from municipal bonds held by the Fund will be declared taxable, possibly with retroactive effect, because of unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service or state or local tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a bond issuer.

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.

24

Annual Total Returns

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, which has investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance or by calling Vanguard toll-free at 800-662-7447.

Annual Total Returns — Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

 

 

30%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20%

 

 

10.69

 

 

 

 

11.07

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10%

 

 

8.08

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.43

 

 

8.49

 

 

1.50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.97

0.63

0.90

 

 

 

 

0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-10%

 

 

 

 

 

 

-2.95

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 4.15% (quarter ended June 30, 2011), and the lowest return for a quarter was –4.64% (quarter ended December 31, 2010).

Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2019

 

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

8.49%

4.04%

4.78%

 

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

8.35

3.97

4.74

 

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

6.43

3.89

4.58

 

 

 

 

Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

8.57%

4.13%

4.87%

 

 

 

 

Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

7.54%

3.53%

4.34%

 

 

 

 

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

25

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 may differ for each share class. 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 may 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.

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)

Portfolio Manager

Mathew M. Kiselak, Principal of Vanguard. He has managed the Fund since 2010.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase or redeem shares online through our website (vanguard.com), by mail (The Vanguard Group, P.O. Box 1110, Valley Forge, PA 19482-1110), or by telephone (800-662-2739). The minimum investment amount required to open and maintain a Fund account for Investor Shares or Admiral Shares is $3,000 or $50,000, respectively. The minimum investment amount required to add to an existing Fund account is generally $1. Financial intermediaries, institutional clients, and Vanguard-advised clients should contact Vanguard for information on special eligibility rules that may apply to them regarding Admiral Shares. If you are investing through an intermediary, please contact that firm directly for more information regarding your eligibility.

Tax Information

The Fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gain. A majority of the income dividends that you receive from the Fund are expected to be exempt from federal income taxes. However, a portion of the Fund's distributions may be subject to federal, state, or local income taxes or the federal alternative minimum tax.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.

26

Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to provide a high and sustainable level of current income that is exempt from federal personal income taxes.

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.

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

None

 

 

 

Account Service Fee (for certain fund account balances below

$20/year

$20/year

$10,000)

 

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

 

(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

Investor Shares

Admiral Shares

 

 

 

Management Fees

0.15%

0.08%

 

 

 

12b-1 Distribution Fee

None

None

 

 

 

Other Expenses

0.02%

0.01%

 

 

 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.17%

0.09%

 

 

 

27

Examples

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 were to invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. These examples assume 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 redeem your investment at the end of the given period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

Investor Shares

$17

$55

$96

$217

 

 

 

 

 

Admiral Shares

$9

$29

$51

$115

 

 

 

 

 

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 examples, reduce the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 16% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in investment-grade municipal bonds, as determined by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) (e.g., Baa or higher by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's)) or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the advisor. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in less-than-investment-grade bonds, as determined by an NRSRO (e.g., Baa by Moody's) or by the advisor. The Fund has no limitations on the maturity of individual securities but is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 10 to 25 years.

28

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:

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. Credit risk should be relatively moderate for the Fund because it invests a portion of its assets in moderate to low- quality bonds.

Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk should be low for the Fund because it invests primarily in long-term bonds.

Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be high for the Fund because it invests primarily in long-term bonds, whose prices are more sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of shorter-term bonds.

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 high for high-yield bond funds.

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. Extension risk is generally high for high-yield bond funds.

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.

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.

Tax risk, which is the chance that all or a portion of the tax-exempt income from municipal bonds held by the Fund will be declared taxable, possibly with retroactive effect, because of unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service or state or local tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a bond issuer.

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.

29

Annual Total Returns

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, which has investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance or by calling Vanguard toll-free at 800-662-7447.

Annual Total Returns — Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

 

 

30%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20%

 

 

10.98

 

 

 

 

11.62

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10%

 

 

9.36

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.84

 

 

9.17

 

 

2.55

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.13

0.83

1.29

 

 

0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-10%

 

 

 

 

 

 

-3.22

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 4.49% (quarter ended June 30, 2011), and the lowest return for a quarter was –4.81% (quarter ended December 31, 2010).

Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2019

 

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

9.17%

4.60%

5.35%

 

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

9.08

4.58

5.34

 

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

6.94

4.39

5.08

 

 

 

 

Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

9.26%

4.69%

5.43%

 

 

 

 

Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

7.54%

3.53%

4.34%

 

 

 

 

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

30

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 may differ for each share class. 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 may 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.

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)

Portfolio Manager

Mathew M. Kiselak, Principal of Vanguard. He has managed the Fund since 2010.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase or redeem shares online through our website (vanguard.com), by mail (The Vanguard Group, P.O. Box 1110, Valley Forge, PA 19482-1110), or by telephone (800-662-2739). The minimum investment amount required to open and maintain a Fund account for Investor Shares or Admiral Shares is $3,000 or $50,000, respectively. The minimum investment amount required to add to an existing Fund account is generally $1. Financial intermediaries, institutional clients, and Vanguard-advised clients should contact Vanguard for information on special eligibility rules that may apply to them regarding Admiral Shares. If you are investing through an intermediary, please contact that firm directly for more information regarding your eligibility.

Tax Information

The Fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gain. A majority of the income dividends that you receive from the Fund are expected to be exempt from federal income taxes. However, a portion of the Fund's distributions may be subject to federal, state, or local income taxes or the federal alternative minimum tax.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.

31

Investing in Tax-Exempt Funds

What Are Municipal Bond Funds?

Municipal bond funds invest primarily in interest-bearing securities issued by state and local governments and by other governmental authorities to support their needs or to finance public projects. A municipal bond—like a bond issued by a corporation or the U.S. government—obligates the issuer to pay the bondholder a fixed or variable amount of interest periodically and to repay the principal value of the bond on a specific maturity date. Unlike most other bonds, however, municipal bonds generally pay interest that is exempt from federal income taxes and, in some cases, from state and local taxes. For certain shareholders, the interest may be subject to the alternative minimum tax.

Taxable Versus Tax-Exempt Funds

Yields on tax-exempt bonds—such as some municipal bonds—are typically lower than those on taxable bonds, so investing in a tax-exempt fund makes sense only if you stand to save more in taxes than you would earn as additional income while invested in a taxable fund.

To determine whether a tax-exempt fund—such as one of the Vanguard Municipal Bond Funds—makes sense for you, compute the tax-exempt fund's taxable-equivalent yield. This figure enables you to take taxes into account when comparing your potential return on a tax-exempt fund with the potential return on a taxable fund.

To compute the taxable-equivalent yield, divide the tax-exempt fund's yield by the difference between 100% and your federal tax bracket. For example, if you are in the 37% tax bracket and subject to the 3.8% Medicare tax, and can earn a tax-exempt yield of 5%, the taxable-equivalent yield would be 8.45% (5% divided by 59.2% [i.e.,100% – 37% – 3.8%]).

In this example, you would choose the tax-exempt fund if its taxable-equivalent yield of 8.45% were greater than the yield of a similar, though taxable, investment.

Remember that we have used an assumed tax bracket in this example. Actual taxable equivalent yields depend on your individual tax situation. Make sure to verify your actual effective marginal tax rate before calculating taxable-equivalent yields of your own.

There is no guarantee that all of a tax-exempt fund's income from its municipal bonds will remain exempt from federal, state, or local income taxes. Income from municipal bonds held by a fund could be declared taxable, possibly with retroactive effect, because of unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or state or local tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a bond issuer.

32

Investing in Money Market Funds

What is Money Market Reform?

In July 2014, the SEC implemented a number of regulatory changes designed to enhance the stability and resilience of all money market funds. The reforms have created three categories of money market funds:

Retail money market funds, which may maintain a stable net asset value (NAV) but are subject to liquidity fees and redemption gates.

Government money market funds, which may maintain a stable NAV but are not required to implement liquidity fees and redemption gates.

Institutional money market funds, which are required to have a floating NAV and are subject to liquidity fees and redemption gates.

The board of trustees of Vanguard Municipal Bond Funds (the Board), in accordance with the best interest of the shareholders, approved a number of changes in response to the SEC's 2014 amendments to the rules governing money market funds. These changes—including the Board's ability to implement liquidity fees and redemption gates if Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund's weekly liquid assets fall below established thresholds—are now in effect. As part of these changes, information regarding the Fund's weekly liquid assets for the prior six months (by day, as of the close of business) is available on the Fund's Portfolio page at vanguard.com.

How Does This Affect Vanguard Money Market Funds?

The money market fund reforms impact money market funds differently depending on the types of investors permitted to invest in a fund and the types of securities in which a fund may invest.

Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund

Vanguard has designated Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund as a retail money market fund.

Retail money market funds are defined as prime or municipal money market funds that have policies and procedures reasonably designed to limit all beneficial owners of such money market funds to natural persons. Retail money market funds are permitted to continue to maintain a stable NAV through the use of amortized cost accounting. If a retail money market fund's weekly liquid assets fall below a certain threshold, the retail money market fund may be subject to liquidity fees and redemption gates.

There are two types of liquidity fees: discretionary liquidity fees and default

liquidity fees. Liquidity fees are designed to transfer the costs of liquidating securities from shareholders who remain in the Fund to those who leave the Fund during periods when liquidity is limited.

33

Discretionary liquidity fee. The Fund may impose a liquidity fee of up to 2% on all redemptions in the event that the Fund's weekly liquid assets fall below 30% of its total assets if the Board determines that it is in the best interest of the Fund. Subject to practical limitations necessary to implement the fee, the discretionary liquidity fee may be implemented the same day that the Board determines to impose a fee. Once the Fund has restored its weekly liquid assets to 30% of total assets, any liquidity fee must be suspended.

Default liquidity fee. The Fund is required to impose a liquidity fee of 1% on all redemptions in the event that the Fund's weekly liquid assets fall below 10% of its total assets unless the Board determines that (1) the fee is not in the best interest of the Fund or (2) a lesser/higher fee (up to 2%) is in the best interest of

the Fund. A default liquidity fee is required to be implemented the business day after the Board determines to impose a fee.

In addition to, or in lieu of, the liquidity fee, the Fund is permitted to implement temporarily a redemption gate (i.e., suspend redemptions) if the Fund's weekly liquid assets fall below 30% of its total assets. The gate could remain in effect for no longer than 10 days in any 90-day period. Once the Fund has restored its weekly liquid assets to 30% of total assets, the gate must be lifted.

Once the Fund imposes a redemption gate, then unprocessed orders to redeem or exchange will be canceled and the Fund will not accept redemption or exchange orders until the gate is no longer in effect. If you still wish to redeem or exchange once the gate is lifted, you will need to submit a new redemption or exchange request to the Fund or your financial intermediary.

The Board also may determine that it would not be in the interests of the Fund to continue operating if the Fund's weekly liquid assets fall below 10% of its total assets. In the event that the Board approves liquidation of the Fund under these circumstances, the Fund may permanently suspend redemptions and liquidate.

Notices regarding liquidity fees or redemption gates will be filed with the SEC on Form N-CR. In addition, announcements will also be made in supplements to the Fund's prospectus and on the Fund's website at vanguard.com.

The Fund is subject to money market fund reform regulatory risk, which is the chance that reforms will affect the Fund's investment strategy, fees and expenses, portfolio, share liquidity, and return potential as a result of the implemented rules.

34

More on the Funds

This prospectus describes the principal risks you would face as a Fund shareholder. It is important to keep in mind one of the main principles of investing: generally, 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 symbol throughout the prospectus. It is used to mark detailed information about the more significant risks that you would confront as a Fund shareholder. To highlight terms and concepts important to mutual fund investors, we have provided Plain Talk® 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

Each Fund (other than the Municipal Money Market Fund) offers two separate classes of shares: Investor Shares and Admiral Shares. The Municipal Money Market Fund does not offer Admiral Shares.

Both share classes offered by a Fund have the same investment objective, strategies, and policies. However, different share classes have different expenses; as a result, their investment returns will differ.

Plain Talk About Costs of Investing

Costs are an important consideration in choosing a mutual fund. That is because you, as a shareholder, pay a proportionate share of the costs of operating a fund and 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.

The following sections explain the principal investment strategies and policies that each Fund uses in pursuit of its objective. The Funds' board of trustees, which oversees each 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.

Market Exposure

The Funds invest mainly in state and local municipal securities that provide tax-exempt income. As a result, they are subject to certain risks.

35

Each Fund is subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance that securities prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be negligible for money market funds, low for short-term bond funds, moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, and high for long-term bond funds.

Even though money market funds generally have a negligible interest rate risk, a low interest rate environment could adversely affect the Municipal Money Market Fund's return. Low interest rates could prevent the Fund from providing a positive yield.

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 (i.e., bonds that cannot be redeemed by the issuer) of different maturities, each with a face value of $1,000.

How Interest Rate Changes Affect the Value of a $1,000 Bond1

 

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

$954

$1,049

 

 

 

 

 

Intermediate-Term (10 years)

922

1,086

851

1,180

 

 

 

 

 

Long-Term (20 years)

874

1,150

769

1,328

 

 

 

 

 

1 Assuming a 4% coupon rate.

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 4% yield. A year later, interest rates are on the rise and bonds of comparable quality and maturity are offered with a 5% yield. With higher-yielding bonds available, you would have trouble selling your 4% 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 3% bonds were being offered, you should be able to sell your 4% bond for more than you paid.

36

Changes in interest rates can affect bond income as well as bond prices.

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 new cash flow and cash from maturing instruments in lower-yielding instruments. Income risk is generally higher for short-term bond funds and lower for long-term bond funds.

Plain Talk About Weighted Average Maturity and Weighted Average Life

A money market fund will maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity (WAM) of 60 days or less and a dollar-weighted average life (WAL) of 120 days or less. For purposes of calculating a fund's WAM, the maturity of certain longer-term adjustable-rate securities held in the portfolio will generally be the period remaining until the next interest rate adjustment. When calculating its WAL, the maturity for these adjustable-rate securities will generally be the final maturity date—the date on which principal is expected to be returned in full. Maintaining a WAL of 120 days or less limits a fund's ability to invest in longer-term adjustable-rate securities, which are generally more sensitive to changes in interest rates, particularly in volatile markets.

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, will face as interest rates rise—but also the higher the potential 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 stated maturity of a bond may differ from the effective maturity of a bond, which takes into consideration that an action such as a call or refunding may cause bonds to be repaid before their stated maturity dates.

Although falling interest rates tend to strengthen bond prices, they can cause another problem for bond fund investors—bond calls.

37

Each Fund (other than the Municipal Money Market Fund) is subject to 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 and high-yield bonds. The greater the call risk, the greater the chance for a decline in income and the potential for taxable capital gains.

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 bond. 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 coupon rates or interest rates, which make them less likely to be called.

Each Fund (other than the Municipal Money Market Fund) is subject to 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. Extension risk is generally low for short-term bond funds, moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, and high for long-term bond funds.

Each Fund is subject to credit risk, which is the chance that the issuer of a security 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 security to decline. Credit risk is generally low for funds that invest in bonds considered to be of high quality and higher for funds that invest in bonds considered to be of lower quality.

38

 

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. The lower the credit quality, the greater the perceived chance that the bond issuer will default, or fail to meet its payment obligations. All things being equal, the lower a bond's credit quality, the higher its yield should be to compensate investors for assuming additional risk.

The Funds try to minimize credit risk by purchasing a wide selection of municipal securities. As a result, there is less chance that a Fund will be seriously affected by a particular bond issuer's failure to pay either interest or principal. Under certain circumstances, however, exposure to a single issuer could cause the Municipal Money Market Fund to fail to maintain a share price of $1.

Each Fund is subject to 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.

Municipal securities are traded via a network among dealers and brokers that connect buyers with sellers. Liquidity in the tax-exempt bond market may be reduced as a result of overall economic conditions and credit tightening. There may be little trading in the secondary market for particular bonds and other debt securities, which may make them more difficult to value or sell.

39

The following summary table is provided to help you distinguish among the Funds and the expected degrees of their various risks.

Risks of the Funds

 

 

Interest

 

Extension

 

Liquidity

Tax-Exempt Fund

Income Risk

Rate Risk

Call Risk

Risk

Credit Risk

Risk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Money Market

High

Negligible

N/A

N/A

Very Low

Negligible

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short-Term

High

Low

Low

Low

Low

Low

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Limited-Term

 

 

Low to

 

 

Low to

 

High

Low

Moderate

Low

Low

Moderate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intermediate-Term

Moderate

Moderate

Moderate

Moderate

Low

Moderate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-Term

Low

High

High

High

Low

High

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High-Yield

Low

High

High

High

Moderate

High

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up to 20% of each Fund's assets may be invested in securities that are subject to the alternative minimum tax.

Plain Talk About Alternative Minimum Tax

Certain tax-exempt bonds whose proceeds are used to fund private, for-profit organizations may be considered "tax-preference items" for purposes of the alternative minimum tax (AMT)—a special tax system designed to ensure that individuals pay at least a certain level of federal taxes. Although AMT bond income is exempt from federal income tax, taxpayers may have to pay AMT on the income from bonds considered "tax-preference items."

Security Selection

Vanguard, advisor to the Funds, uses a hub-and-satellite approach to managing the Funds (other than the Municipal Money Market Fund). This allows for a team-oriented and consistent management process. The hub, composed of senior leaders, focuses on the macroeconomic outlook, high level risk allocation, and process oversight. Satellites, composed of portfolio managers, credit and quantitative analysts, and traders, construct the portfolio using the parameters set by the hub. For the Municipal Money Market Fund, Vanguard selects high-quality money market instruments. As a matter of fundamental policy, each Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in tax- exempt municipal bonds under normal market conditions. The Municipal Money Market Fund may count securities that generate income subject to the alternative minimum tax toward the 80% investment requirement.

40

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.

Other Investment Policies and Risks

In addition to investing in municipal securities, each Fund may make other kinds of investments to achieve its objective. Some of these investments may generate taxable income, and thus the Fund may need to distribute income subject to federal personal income tax or the alternative minimum tax.

Each Fund may purchase tax-exempt securities on a "when-issued" basis. When investing in "when-issued" securities, the Fund agrees to buy the securities at a certain price on a certain date, even if the market price of the securities at the time of delivery is higher or lower than the agreed-upon purchase price.

Each Fund may invest in derivatives. In general, investments in derivatives may involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of investments directly in the underlying securities or assets.

Generally speaking, a derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a stock, a bond, or a currency), a physical asset (such as gold, oil, or wheat), a market index, or a reference rate. Investments in derivatives may subject the Funds to risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of investments directly in the underlying securities or assets.

Each 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. In particular, derivatives will be used only when they may help the advisor to accomplish one or more of the following:

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.

The Funds' (other than the Municipal Money Market Fund) 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.

Each Fund may invest in tender option bond programs, a type of municipal bond derivative that allows the purchaser to receive a variable rate of tax-exempt income

41

from a trust entity that holds long-term municipal bonds. Each Fund may also invest in long-term municipal bonds combined with a demand feature (i.e., variable rate demand notes or VDRNs), which represents the right to sell the instrument back to the remarketer or liquidity provider, usually a bank, for repurchase on short notice, normally one day or seven days. A Fund may invest in these derivatives if, in the advisor's opinion, they are consistent with the Fund's objective. Derivative securities are subject to certain structural risks that, in very rare circumstances, could cause a Fund's shareholders to lose money or receive taxable income.

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. On the other hand, non-exchange- traded derivatives—such as certain swap agreements—tend to be more specialized or complex and may be more difficult to accurately value.

Cash Management

Each Fund's daily cash balance may be invested in Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund and/or Vanguard Municipal Cash Management Fund (each, a CMT Fund), which are low-cost money market funds. When investing in a CMT Fund, each Fund bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the CMT Fund in which it invests. Vanguard receives no additional revenue from Fund assets invested in a CMT Fund. Investment in a CMT Fund may generate taxable income for the Fund and potentially may require the Fund to distribute income subject to federal personal income tax or the alternative minimum tax.

Methods Used to Meet Redemption Requests

Under normal circumstances, each Fund typically expects to meet redemptions with positive cash flows. When this is not an option, each Fund seeks to maintain its risk exposure by selling a cross section of the Fund's holdings to meet redemptions, while also factoring in transaction costs. Additionally, a Fund may work with larger clients to implement their redemptions in a manner that is least disruptive to the portfolio; see "Potentially disruptive redemptions" under Redeeming Shares in the Investing With Vanguard section.

Under certain circumstances, including under stressed market conditions, there are additional tools that each Fund may use in order to meet redemptions, including advancing the settlement of market trades with counterparties to match investor

42

redemption payments or delaying settlement of an investor's transaction to match trade settlement within regulatory requirements. A Fund may also suspend payment of redemption proceeds for up to seven days; see "Emergency circumstances" under Redeeming Shares in the Investing With Vanguard section. Additionally under these unusual circumstances, a Fund may borrow money (subject to certain regulatory conditions and if available under board-approved procedures) through an interfund lending facility or through a bank line-of-credit, including a joint committed credit facility, in order to meet redemption requests.

Temporary Investment Measures

Each Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies—for instance, by allocating substantial assets to cash equivalent investments, U.S. Treasury securities, or other investment companies (including exchange-traded funds)—in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. Such conditions could include a temporary decline in the availability of municipal obligations. By temporarily departing from its normal investment policies, the Fund may distribute income subject to federal personal income tax or the alternative minimum tax and may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective.

Plain Talk About Cash Equivalent Investments

For mutual funds that hold cash equivalent investments, "cash" does not mean literally that the fund holds a stack of currency. Rather, cash refers to short-term, interest-bearing securities that can easily and quickly be converted to currency.

Most mutual funds keep at least a small percentage of assets in cash to accommodate shareholder redemptions. While some funds strive to keep cash levels at a minimum and to always remain fully invested in bonds, other bond funds allow investment advisors to hold up to 20% or more of a fund's assets in cash equivalent investments.

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, the 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

43

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 and short-term bond funds, but including Vanguard Short-Term Inflation- Protected Securities Index Fund) do not knowingly accommodate frequent trading. The board of trustees of each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds and short- term bond funds, but including Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index 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. These policies and procedures do not apply to ETF Shares because frequent trading in ETF Shares generally does not disrupt portfolio management or otherwise harm fund shareholders. 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 because the investor has a history of frequent trading or if Vanguard determines that such purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance.

Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds and short-term bond funds, but including Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund) generally prohibits, except as otherwise noted in the Investing With Vanguard section, an investor's purchases or exchanges into a fund account for 30 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 Vanguard fund (other than retail and government money market funds), in determining its net asset value, will use fair-value pricing when appropriate, 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.

44

Turnover Rate

Although the Funds (other than the Municipal Money Market Fund) generally 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 five of the Funds. (Turnover rates are not meaningful for money market funds because their holdings are so short-term.) 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. In general, the greater the turnover rate, the greater the impact transaction costs will have on a fund's return. Also, funds with high turnover rates may be more likely to generate capital gains, including short-term capital gains, that must be distributed to shareholders and will be taxable to shareholders investing through a taxable account.

The Funds and Vanguard

Each Fund is a member of The Vanguard Group, a family of over 200 funds. All of the funds that are members of The Vanguard Group (other than funds of funds) share in the expenses associated with administrative services and business operations, such as personnel, office space, and equipment.

Vanguard Marketing Corporation provides marketing services to the funds. Although fund shareholders do not pay sales commissions or 12b-1 distribution fees, each fund (other than a fund of funds) or each share class of a fund (in the case of a fund with multiple share classes) pays its allocated share of the Vanguard funds' marketing costs.

Plain Talk About Vanguard's Unique Corporate Structure

The Vanguard Group 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 are owned by third parties—either public or private stockholders—and not by the funds they serve.

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc., P.O. Box 2600, Valley Forge, PA 19482, which began operations in 1975, serves as advisor to the Funds through its Fixed Income Group. As of October 31, 2019, Vanguard served as advisor for approximately $4.7 trillion in assets. Vanguard provides investment advisory services to the Funds pursuant to the Funds' Service Agreement and subject to the supervision and oversight of the trustees and officers of the Funds.

45

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2019, the advisory expenses represented an effective annual rate of each Fund's average net assets as follows: for the Municipal Money Market Fund, 0.03%; Short-Term Tax-Exempt, Limited-Term Tax-Exempt, Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt, Long-Term Tax-Exempt, and High-Yield Tax-Exempt Funds, 0.01%.

Under the terms of an SEC exemption, the Funds' board of trustees may, without prior approval from shareholders, change the terms of an advisory agreement with a third-party investment advisor or hire a new third-party investment advisor—either as a replacement for an existing advisor or as an additional advisor. Any significant change in a Fund's advisory arrangements will be communicated to shareholders in writing. As the Funds' sponsor and overall manager, Vanguard may provide investment advisory services to a Fund 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. The Funds have filed an application seeking a similar SEC exemption with respect to investment advisors that are wholly owned subsidiaries of Vanguard. If the exemption is granted, the Funds may rely on the new SEC relief.

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 April 30.

The managers primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds are:

James M. D'Arcy, CFA, Portfolio Manager at Vanguard. He has worked in investment management since 1996, has managed investment portfolios since 1999, has been with Vanguard since 2011, and has managed the Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund since 2013. Education: B.A., University of Colorado.

Adam M. Ferguson, CFA, Portfolio Manager at Vanguard. He has been with Vanguard since 2004, has worked in investment management since 2008, and has managed the Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund since 2017. Education: B.S., Wilmington University; M.B.A., Drexel University.

46

Mathew M. Kiselak, Principal of Vanguard. He has worked in investment management since 1987, has managed investment portfolios since 1990, and has managed the High-Yield Tax-Exempt and Long-Term Tax-Exempt Funds since joining Vanguard in 2010. Education: B.S., Pace University.

Justin A. Schwartz, CFA, Portfolio Manager at Vanguard and head of Vanguard's Municipal Money Market Funds. He has been with Vanguard since 2004, has worked in investment management since 2005, has managed investment portfolios since 2010, and has managed the Municipal Money Market and Short-Term Tax-Exempt Funds since 2016. Education: B.S., University of Richmond.

The Funds' 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 short-term or long-term capital gains realized from the sale of its holdings. Income dividends generally are declared daily and distributed monthly; capital gains distributions, if any, generally occur annually in December. In addition, each Fund may occasionally make a supplemental distribution 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. The portion of such dividends that is exempt from federal income tax will be designated as "exempt-interest dividends." 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.

47

Basic Tax Points

A majority of the income dividends you receive from the Funds are expected to be exempt from federal income taxes. In addition, you should be aware of the following basic federal income tax points about tax-exempt mutual funds:

Distributions of capital gains and any investment income that is not exempt from federal income tax 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 short-term capital gains distribution that you receive is taxable to you as ordinary income.

Any distribution of net long-term capital gains is taxable to you as long-term capital gains, no matter how long you have 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.

Exempt-interest dividends from a tax-exempt fund are taken into account in determining the taxable portion of any Social Security or railroad retirement benefits that you receive.

Income paid from tax-exempt bonds whose proceeds are used to fund private,

for-profit organizations may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

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.

If you redeem or exchange shares when the Municipal Money Market Fund has imposed a liquidity fee, then the amount you receive for your redemption will be reduced by the amount of the liquidity fee and will generally cause you to recognize a loss for tax purposes equal to the amount of that fee. If the Municipal Money Market Fund has imposed a liquidity fee, it is possible that the Fund may need to distribute to its remaining shareholders all or a portion of the amount of the fee collected. This distribution may be taxable to you as ordinary income or may constitute a non-taxable return of capital.

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.

Vanguard (or your intermediary) will send you a statement each year showing the tax status of all of your distributions.

48

Individuals, trusts, and estates whose income exceeds certain threshold amounts are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on "net investment income." Net investment income takes into account distributions paid by the Fund (except exempt- interest dividends) and capital gains from any sale or exchange of Fund shares.

Income dividends 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.

Income dividends from interest earned on municipal securities of a state or its political subdivisions are generally exempt from that state's income taxes. Almost all states, however, tax interest earned on municipal securities of other states. Vanguard (or your intermediary) will annually provide you with information to help report your earnings by state from the Fund on your annual tax returns.

This prospectus provides general tax information only. Please consult your tax advisor for detailed information about any tax consequences for you.

General Information

Backup withholding. By law, Vanguard must withhold 24% of any taxable distributions or redemptions from your account if you do not:

Provide your correct taxpayer identification number.

Certify that the taxpayer identification number is correct.

Confirm that you are not subject to backup withholding.

Similarly, Vanguard (or your intermediary) must withhold taxes from your account if the IRS instructs us to do so. The backup withholding rules may also apply to distributions that are designated as exempt-interest dividends.

Foreign investors. Vanguard funds offered for sale in the United States (Vanguard U.S. funds), including the Funds offered in this prospectus, are not widely available outside the United States. Non-U.S. investors should be aware that U.S. withholding and estate taxes and certain U.S. tax reporting requirements may apply to any investments in Vanguard U.S. funds. Foreign investors should visit the non-U.S. investors page on our website at vanguard.com for information on Vanguard's non- U.S. products.

Invalid addresses. If an income dividend distribution or capital gains distribution check mailed to your address of record is returned as undeliverable, Vanguard will automatically reinvest the distribution and all future distributions until you provide us with a valid mailing address. Reinvestments will receive the net asset value calculated on the date of the reinvestment.

49

Share Price

Share price, also known as net asset value (NAV), is calculated as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), generally 4 p.m., Eastern time, on each day that the NYSE is open for business (a business day). In the rare event the NYSE experiences unanticipated disruptions and is unavailable at the close of the trading day, a Fund reserves the right to treat such day as a business day and calculate NAVs as of the close of regular trading on the Nasdaq (or another alternate exchange if the Nasdaq is unavailable, as determined at Vanguard's discretion), generally 4 p.m., Eastern time. Each share class (other than the Municipal Money Market Fund) has its own NAV, which is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, allocated to the share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. The NAV per share for the Municipal Money Market Fund is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, of the Fund by the number of Fund shares outstanding. On U.S. holidays or other days when the NYSE is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Funds do not sell or redeem shares.

Debt securities held by a Vanguard fund are valued based on information furnished by an independent pricing service or market quotations. 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).

The instruments held by a Vanguard retail or government money market fund 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 as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The values of any mutual fund shares, including institutional money market fund shares, held by a fund are based on the NAVs of the shares. The values of any ETF shares or closed-end fund shares held by a fund are based on the market value of the shares.

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.

Although the stable share price is not guaranteed, the NAV of Vanguard retail and government money market funds is expected to remain at $1 per share. Instruments are purchased and managed with that goal in mind.

Vanguard fund share prices are published daily; share prices, along with money market fund yields, are available on our website at vanguard.com/prices.

50

Financial Highlights

Financial highlights information is intended to help you understand a fund's performance for the past five years (or, if shorter, its period of operations). Certain information reflects financial results for a single fund share. Total return represents the rate that an investor would have earned or lost each period on an investment in a fund or share class (assuming reinvestment of all distributions). This information has been obtained from the financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with fund financial statements, is included in a fund's most recent annual report to shareholders. You may obtain a free copy of a fund's latest annual or semiannual report, which is available upon request.

Municipal Money Market Fund

 

 

 

Year Ended October 31,

For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

$1.00

$1.00

$1.00

$1.00

$1.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Investment Income

.0151

.0121

.0071

.0025

.0001

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)

 

 

 

 

 

on Investments

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total from Investment Operations

.015

.012

.007

.0025

.0001

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends from Net Investment Income

(.015)

(.012)

(.007)

(.0025)

(.0001)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions from Realized Capital Gains

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Distributions

(0.15)

(.012)

(.007)

(.0025)

(.0001)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, End of Period

$1.00

$1.00

$1.00

$1.00

$1.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return2

1.48%

1.21%

0.66%

0.25%

0.01%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)

$18,111

$17,663

$17,360

$16,124

$17,222

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Total Expenses to

0.15%

0.15%

0.15%

0.12%

0.07%

Average Net Assets3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Net Investment Income to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

1.47%

1.20%

0.66%

0.24%

0.01%

1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.

2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown.

3 Vanguard and the board of trustees have agreed to temporarily limit certain net operating expenses in excess of the Fund's daily yield in order to maintain a zero or positive yield for the Fund. Vanguard and the board of trustees may terminate the temporary expense limitation at any time. The Fund is not obligated to repay this amount to Vanguard. The ratio of total expenses to average net assets before an expense reduction was 0.15% for 2016 and 0.15% for 2015. For the years ended October 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, there were no expense reductions.

51

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

 

 

Year Ended October 31,

For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

$15.68

$15.79

$15.80

$15.83

$15.86

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Investment Income

.2571

.2151

.1601

.131

.110

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)

 

 

 

 

 

on Investments

.160

(.109)

(.010)

(.030)

(.030)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total from Investment Operations

.417

.106

.150

.101

.080

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends from Net Investment Income

(.257)

(.216)

(.160)

(.131)

(.110)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions from Realized Capital Gains

––

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Distributions

(.257)

(.216)

(.160)

(.131)

(.110)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, End of Period

$15.84

$15.68

$15.79

$15.80

$15.83

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return2

2.68%

0.68%

0.95%

0.64%

0.51%

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)

$945

$1,030

$1,228

$1,234

$1,366

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Total Expenses to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

0.17%

0.17%

0.19%

0.19%

0.20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Net Investment Income to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

1.63%

1.38%

1.01%

0.83%

0.70%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portfolio Turnover Rate

34%

42%

36%

29%

32%

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.

2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown.

52

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares

 

 

 

Year Ended October 31,

For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

$15.68

$15.79

$15.80

$15.83

$15.86

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Investment Income

2701

.2291

.1761

.147

.123

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)

 

 

 

 

 

on Investments

.160

(.111)

(.010)

(.030)

(.030)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total from Investment Operations

.430

.118

.166

.117

.093

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends from Net Investment Income

(.270)

(.228)

(.176)

(.147)

(.123)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions from Realized Capital Gains

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Distributions

(.270)

(.228)

(.176)

(.147)

(.123)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, End of Period

$15.84

$15.68

$15.79

$15.80

$15.83

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return2

2.76%

0.76%

1.05%

0.74%

0.59%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)

$15,877

$15,182

$13,900

$12,604

$11,029

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Total Expenses to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

0.12%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Net Investment Income to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

1.71%

1.46%

1.11%

0.93%

0.78%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portfolio Turnover Rate

34%

42%

36%

29%

32%

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.

2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown.

53

Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

 

 

Year Ended October 31,

For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

$10.77

$10.97

$11.02

$11.04

$11.08

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Investment Income

.2091

.1911

.1661

.164

.166

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)

 

 

 

 

 

on Investments

.300

(.200)

(.050)

(.020)

(.040)

Total from Investment Operations

.509

(.009)

.116

.144

.126

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends from Net Investment Income

(.209)

(.191)

(.166)

(.164)

(.166)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions from Realized Capital Gains

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Distributions

(.209)

(.191)

(.166)

(.164)

(.166)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, End of Period

$11.07

$10.77

$10.97

$11.02

$11.04

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return2

4.76%

–0.08%

1.07%

1.31%

1.15%

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)

$1,333

$1,453

$1,761

$1,998

$2,040

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Total Expenses to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

0.17%

0.17%

0.19%

0.19%

0.20%

Ratio of Net Investment Income to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

1.90%

1.76%

1.52%

1.48%

1.51%

Portfolio Turnover Rate

21%

28%

19%

13%

16%

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.

2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown.

54

Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares

 

 

 

Year Ended October 31,

For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

$10.77

$10.97

$11.02

$11.04

$11.08

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Investment Income

.2181

.2001

.1771

.175

.175

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)

 

 

 

 

 

on Investments

.300

(.200)

(.050)

(.020)

(.040)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total from Investment Operations

.518

.127

.155

.135

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends from Net Investment Income

(.218)

(.200)

(.177)

(.175)

(.175)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions from Realized Capital Gains

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Distributions

(.218)

(.200)

(.177)

(.175)

(.175)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, End of Period

$11.07

$10.77

$10.97

$11.02

$11.04

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return2

4.84%

0.00%

1.17%

1.41%

1.23%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)

$27,720

$24,649

$23,273

$21,959

$19,035

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Total Expenses to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

0.12%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Net Investment Income to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

1.98%

1.84%

1.62%

1.58%

1.59%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portfolio Turnover Rate

21%

28%

19%

13%

16%

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.

2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown.

55

Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

 

 

Year Ended October 31,

For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

$13.67

$14.17

$14.31

$14.19

$14.26

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Investment Income

.3801

.3901

.3851

.393

.413

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)

 

 

 

 

 

on Investments

.791

(.502)

(.140)

.120

(.070)

Total from Investment Operations

1.171

(.112)

.245

.513

.343

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends from Net Investment Income

(.381)

(.388)

(.385)

(.393)

(.413)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions from Realized Capital Gains

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Distributions

(.381)

(.388)

(.385)

(.393)

(.413)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, End of Period

$14.46

$13.67

$14.17

$14.31

$14.19

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return2

8.65%

–0.80%

1.76%

3.63%

2.44%

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)

$3,620

$3,427

$4,040

$4,513

$4,416

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Total Expenses to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

0.17%

0.17%

0.19%

0.19%

0.20%

Ratio of Net Investment Income to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

2.67%

2.81%

2.73%

2.72%

2.91%

Portfolio Turnover Rate

8%

15%

15%

9%

12%

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.

2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown.

56

Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares

 

 

 

Year Ended October 31,

For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

$13.67

$14.17

$14.31

$14.19

$14.26

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Investment Income

.3911

.4011

.3991

.407

.425

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)

 

 

 

 

 

on Investments

.791

(.502)

(.140)

.120

(.070)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total from Investment Operations

1.182

(.101)

.259

.527

.355

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends from Net Investment Income

(.392)

(.399)

(.399)

(.407)

(.425)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions from Realized Capital Gains

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Distributions

(.392)

(.399)

(.399)

(.407)

(.425)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, End of Period

$14.46

$13.67

$14.17

$14.31

$14.19

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return2

8.73%

–0.72%

1.86%

3.73%

2.53%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)

$67,655

$54,714

$52,001

$48,473

$40,302

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Total Expenses to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

0.12%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Net Investment Income to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

2.75%

2.89%

2.83%

2.82%

2.99%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portfolio Turnover Rate

8%

15%

15%

9%

12%

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.

2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown.

57

Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

 

 

Year Ended October 31,

For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

$11.16

$11.65

$11.83

$11.64

$11.73

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Investment Income

.3791

.3931

.4031

.418

.430

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)

 

 

 

 

 

on Investments

.796

(.459)

(.143)

.206

(.063)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total from Investment Operations

1.175

(.066)

.260

.624

.367

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends from Net Investment Income

(.379)

(.393)

(.402)

(.418)

(.430)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions from Realized Capital Gains

(.006)

(.031)

(.038)

(.016)

(.027)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Distributions

(.385)

(.424)

(.440)

(.434)

(.457)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, End of Period

$11.95

$11.16

$11.65

$11.83

$11.64

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return2

10.66%

–0.59%

2.31%

5.39%

3.19%

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)

$977

$853

$980

$1,007

$928

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Total Expenses to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

0.17%

0.17%

0.19%

0.19%

0.20%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Net Investment Income to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

3.25%

3.44%

3.49%

3.52%

3.69%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portfolio Turnover Rate

16%

16%

19%

13%

18%

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.

2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown.

58

Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares

 

 

 

Year Ended October 31,

For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

$11.16

$11.65

$11.83

$11.64

$11.73

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Investment Income

.3881

.4021

.4151

.430

.439

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)

 

 

 

 

 

on Investments

.796

(.459)

(.143)

.206

(.063)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total from Investment Operations

1.184

(.057)

.272

.636

.376

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends from Net Investment Income

(.388)

(.402)

(.414)

(.430)

(.439)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions from Realized Capital Gains

(.006)

(.031)

(.038)

(.016)

(.027)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Distributions

(.394)

(.433)

(.452)

(.446)

(.466)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, End of Period

$11.95

$11.16

$11.65

$11.83

$11.64

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return2

10.75%

–0.51%

2.42%

5.50%

3.27%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)

$12,826

$10,825

$9,947

$9,238

$8,088

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Total Expenses to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

0.12%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Net Investment Income to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

3.33%

3.52%

3.59%

3.62%

3.77%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portfolio Turnover Rate

16%

16%

19%

13%

18%

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.

2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown.

59

High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares

 

 

 

Year Ended October 31,

For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

$10.99

$11.37

$11.47

$11.20

$11.23

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Investment Income

.3991

.4181

.4271

.413

.414

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)

 

 

 

 

 

on Investments

.773

(.377)

(.108)

.270

(.030)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total from Investment Operations

1.172

.041

.319

.683

.384

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends from Net Investment Income

(.402)

(.421)

(.419)

(.413)

(.414)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions from Realized Capital Gains

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Distributions

(.402)

(.421)

(.419)

(.413)

(.414)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, End of Period

$11.76

$10.99

$11.37

$11.47

$11.20

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return2

10.81%

0.35%

2.91%

6.15%

3.47%

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)

$2,245

$1,790

$1,904

$1,980

$1,614

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Total Expenses to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

0.17%

0.17%

0.19%

0.19%

0.20%

Ratio of Net Investment Income to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

3.48%

3.72%

3.80%

3.59%

3.69%

Portfolio Turnover Rate

16%

17%

21%

19%

21%

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.

2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown.

60

High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares

 

 

 

Year Ended October 31,

For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

$10.99

$11.37

$11.47

$11.20

$11.23

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Investment Income

.4081

.4271

.4371

.425

.423

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)

 

 

 

 

 

on Investments

.773

(.377)

(.106)

.270

(.030)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total from Investment Operations

1.181

.050

.331

.695

.393

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends from Net Investment Income

(.411)

(.430)

(.431)

(.425)

(.423)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions from Realized Capital Gains

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Distributions

(.411)

(.430)

(.431)

(.425)

(.423)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, End of Period

$11.76

$10.99

$11.37

$11.47

$11.20

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return2

10.90%

0.43%

3.01%

6.26%

3.56%

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)

$13,801

$11,032

$10,429

$9,231

$7,398

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Total Expenses to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

0.12%

Ratio of Net Investment Income to

 

 

 

 

 

Average Net Assets

3.56%

3.80%

3.90%

3.69%

3.77%

Portfolio Turnover Rate

16%

17%

21%

19%

21%

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.

2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown.

61

Investing With Vanguard

This section of the prospectus explains the basics of doing business with Vanguard. Vanguard fund shares can be held directly with Vanguard or indirectly through an intermediary, such as a bank, a broker, or an investment advisor. If you hold Vanguard fund shares directly with Vanguard, you should carefully read each topic within this section that pertains to your relationship with Vanguard. If you hold Vanguard fund shares indirectly through an intermediary (including shares held in a brokerage account through Vanguard Brokerage Services®), please see Investing With Vanguard Through Other Firms, and also refer to your account agreement with the intermediary for information about transacting in that account. Vanguard reserves the right to change the following policies without notice. Please call or check online for current information. See Contacting Vanguard.

For Vanguard fund shares held directly with Vanguard, 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. Note that each reference to "you" in this prospectus applies to any one or more registered account owners or persons authorized to transact on your account.

Purchasing Shares

Vanguard reserves the right, without 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. For Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund, financial intermediaries and Vanguard-advised clients should contact Vanguard for information on special eligibility rules that may apply to them regarding Investor Shares. If you are investing through an intermediary, please contact that firm directly for more information regarding your eligibility.

To add to an existing account. Generally $1.

Account Minimums for Admiral Shares

To open and maintain an account. $50,000. If you request Admiral Shares when you open a new account but the investment amount does not meet the account minimum for Admiral Shares, your investment will be placed in Investor Shares of the Fund. Financial intermediaries, institutional clients, and Vanguard-advised clients should contact Vanguard for information on special eligibility rules that may apply to

62

them regarding Admiral Shares. If you are investing through an intermediary, please contact that firm directly for more information regarding your eligibility.

To add to an existing account. Generally $1.

How to Initiate a Purchase Request

Be sure to check Exchanging Shares, Frequent-Trading Limitations, and Other Rules You Should Know before placing your purchase request.

Online. You may open certain types of accounts, request a purchase of shares, and request an exchange through our website or our mobile application if you are registered for online access.

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 call Vanguard to request a purchase of shares in your account or to request an exchange. See Contacting Vanguard.

By mail. You may send Vanguard your account registration form and check to open a new fund account. To add to an existing fund account, you may send your check with an Invest-by-Mail form (from a transaction confirmation or your account statement) or with a deposit slip (available online).

How to Pay for a Purchase

By electronic bank transfer. You may purchase shares of a Vanguard fund through an electronic transfer of money from a bank account. To establish the electronic bank transfer service on an account, you must designate the bank account online, complete a form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form. After the service is set up on your account, you can purchase shares by electronic bank transfer on a regular schedule (Automatic Investment Plan) or upon request. Your purchase request can be initiated online (if you are registered for online access), 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.

63

By check. You may make initial or additional purchases to your fund account by sending a check with a deposit slip or by utilizing our mobile application if you are registered for online access. Also see How to Initiate a Purchase Request. 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 Additional Information.

By exchange. You may purchase shares of a Vanguard fund using the proceeds from the simultaneous redemption of shares of another Vanguard fund. You may initiate an exchange online (if you are registered for online access), by telephone, or by mail with an exchange form. 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. See Share Price.

For purchases by check into all funds other than money market funds and for purchases by exchange, wire, or electronic bank transfer 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 for the purchase 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 for the purchase 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 for the purchase 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 for the purchase 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 for the purchase will be one business day later than for other funds.

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 vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard.

64

Earning Dividends

You generally begin earning dividends on the business day following your trade date. When buying money market fund shares through a federal funds wire on a business day, however, you generally 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; 12:30 p.m., Eastern time, for Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund).

Other Purchase Rules You Should Know

Admiral Shares. Admiral Shares generally are not available for SIMPLE IRAs and Vanguard Individual 401(k) Plans.

Check purchases. All purchase checks must be written in U.S. dollars, be drawn on a U.S. bank, and be accompanied by good order instructions. Vanguard does not accept cash, traveler's checks, starter checks, or money orders. In addition, Vanguard may refuse 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 notice, to close your account or take such other steps as we deem reasonable. Certain types of accounts may require additional documentation.

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 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 the investor has a history of frequent trading or because the purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance.

Large purchases. 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 NAVs of the two share classes.

65

Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any self-directed conversion request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing a conversion request.

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. See Share Price.

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 a Fund is at least $50,000, you may ask Vanguard to convert your Investor Shares to Admiral Shares. You may request a conversion through our website (if you are registered for online access), by telephone, or by mail. Financial intermediaries, institutional clients, and Vanguard-advised clients should contact Vanguard for information on special eligibility rules that may apply to them regarding Admiral Shares. See Contacting Vanguard. If you are investing through an intermediary, please contact that firm directly for more information regarding your eligibility.

Automatic conversions. Vanguard conducts periodic reviews of account balances and may, if your account balance in a Fund exceeds $50,000, 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. Financial intermediaries, institutional clients, and Vanguard-advised clients should contact Vanguard for information on special eligibility rules that may apply to them regarding Admiral Shares. If you are investing through an intermediary, please contact that firm directly for more information regarding your eligibility.

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.

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Redeeming Shares

How to Initiate a Redemption Request

Be sure to check Exchanging Shares, Frequent-Trading Limitations, and Other Rules You Should Know before placing your redemption request.

Online. You may request a redemption of shares or request an exchange through our website or our mobile application if you are registered for online access.

By telephone. You may call Vanguard to request a redemption of shares or an exchange. See Contacting Vanguard.

By mail. You may send a form (available online) to Vanguard to redeem from a fund account or to make an exchange.

By writing a check. If you have 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 service on an account, you must designate a bank account online, complete a form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form. After the service is set up on your account, you can redeem shares by electronic bank transfer on a regular schedule (Automatic Withdrawal Plan) or upon request. Your redemption request can be initiated online (if you are registered for online access), by telephone, or by mail.

By wire. To receive your proceeds by wire, you may instruct Vanguard to wire your redemption proceeds ($100 minimum) to a previously designated bank account. To establish the wire redemption service, you generally must designate a bank account online, complete a form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form.

Please note that Vanguard charges a $10 wire fee for outgoing wire redemptions. The fee is assessed in addition to, rather than being withheld from, redemption proceeds and is paid directly to the fund in which you invest. For example, if you redeem $100 via a wire, you will receive the full $100, and the $10 fee will be assessed to your fund account through an additional redemption of fund shares. If you redeem your entire fund account, your redemption proceeds will be reduced by the amount of the fee. The wire fee does not apply to accounts held by Flagship and Flagship Select clients; accounts held through intermediaries, including Vanguard Brokerage Services; or accounts held by institutional clients.

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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 registered for online access), by telephone, or by mail. See Exchanging Shares.

By check. If you have not chosen another redemption method, Vanguard will mail you a redemption check, generally payable to all registered account owners, normally within two business days of your trade date, and generally to the address of record.

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. See Share Price.

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; 12:30 p.m., Eastern time, for Vanguard Federal 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 all other 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: 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.

68

If your redemption request is not accurate and complete, it may be rejected. If we are unable to send your redemption proceeds by wire or electronic bank transfer because the receiving institution rejects the transfer, Vanguard will make additional efforts to complete your transaction. If Vanguard is still unable to complete the transaction, we may send the proceeds of the redemption to you by check, generally payable to all registered account owners, or use your proceeds to purchase new shares of the fund from which you sold shares for the purpose of the wire or electronic bank transfer transaction. See Other Rules You Should Know—Good Order.

If your redemption request is received in good order, we typically expect that redemption proceeds will be paid by a Fund within one business day of the trade date; however, in certain circumstances, investors may experience a longer settlement period at the time of the transaction. For further information, see "Potentially disruptive redemptions" and "Emergency circumstances."

For further information about redemption transactions, consult our website at vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard.

Earning Dividends

You generally will continue earning dividends until the first business day following your trade date. Generally, 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, if you redeem shares with a same-day wire request before 10:45 a.m., Eastern time, on a business day (2 p.m., Eastern time, for Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund; 12:30 p.m., Eastern time, for Vanguard Federal 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 Limitations for information about Vanguard's policies to limit frequent trading.

69

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 seven 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. Share certificates are no longer issued for Vanguard funds. Shares currently held in certificates cannot be redeemed, exchanged, converted, or transferred (reregistered) until you return the certificates (unsigned) to Vanguard by registered mail.

Address change. If you change your address online or by telephone, there may be up to a 14-day restriction on your ability to request check redemptions online and by telephone. You can request a redemption in writing (using a form available online) 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 generally requires the written consent of all registered account owners and may require additional documentation, such as a signature guarantee or a notarized signature. 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.

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. In connection with a determination by the board of trustees, in accordance with Rule 22e-3 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, a money market fund may suspend redemptions and postpone payment of redemption proceeds in order to facilitate an orderly liquidation of the fund. In addition, in accordance with Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the board of trustees of a retail or institutional money market fund may implement liquidity fees and redemption gates if a retail or institutional money market fund's weekly liquid assets fall below established thresholds.

70

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 registered for online access), by telephone, or by mail. See Purchasing Shares and Redeeming Shares.

If the NYSE is open for regular trading (generally until 4 p.m., Eastern time, on 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.

Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any exchange request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing an exchange request.

Call Vanguard before attempting to exchange a large dollar amount. By calling us before you attempt to exchange a large dollar amount, you may avoid delayed or rejected transactions.

Please note that Vanguard reserves the right, without notice, to revise or terminate the exchange privilege, limit the amount of any exchange, or reject an exchange, at any time, for any reason. See Frequent-Trading Limitations for additional restrictions on exchanges.

Frequent-Trading Limitations

Because excessive transactions can disrupt management of a fund and increase the fund's costs for all shareholders, the board of trustees of each Vanguard fund places certain limits on frequent trading in the funds. Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds and short-term bond funds, but including Vanguard Short-Term Inflation- Protected Securities Index Fund) limits an investor's purchases or exchanges into a fund account for 30 calendar days after the investor has redeemed or exchanged out of that fund account. ETF Shares are not subject to these frequent-trading limits.

For Vanguard Retirement Investment Program pooled plans, the limitations apply to exchanges made online or by telephone.

These frequent-trading limitations do 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®.

Discretionary transactions through Vanguard Personal Advisor Services®, Vanguard Institutional Advisory Services®, and Vanguard Digital AdvisorTM.

71

Redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees.

Redemptions of shares to remove excess shareholder contributions to certain types of retirement accounts (including, but not limited to, IRAs and Vanguard Individual 401(k) Plans).

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 funds or trusts managed by Vanguard or its affiliates that invest in other Vanguard funds. (Please note that shareholders of Vanguard's funds of funds are subject to the limitations.)

For participants in employer-sponsored defined contribution plans,* the frequent- trading limitations do 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.

Transactions executed through 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 written request to Vanguard. (Exchange requests submitted by fax, if otherwise permitted, are subject to the limitations.)

*The following Vanguard fund accounts are subject to the frequent-trading limitations: SEP-IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, certain Individual 403(b)(7) Custodial Accounts, and Vanguard Individual 401(k) Plans.

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 30-day policy

72

previously described, prohibiting a client's purchases of fund shares, and/or revoking 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 intermediary (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, including for the benefit of certain of the intermediary's clients. Intermediaries also may monitor their clients' trading activities with respect to Vanguard funds.

For those Vanguard funds that charge purchase and/or redemption fees, intermediaries will be asked to assess these fees on client accounts and remit these fees to the funds. The application of purchase and redemption fees and frequent- trading limitations 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 limitations. 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

When two or more shareholders have the same last name and address, just one summary prospectus (or prospectus) and/or shareholder report may be sent in an attempt to eliminate the unnecessary expense of duplicate mailings. You may request individual prospectuses and reports by contacting our Client Services Department by telephone or online. See Contacting Vanguard.

Vanguard.com

Registration. If you are a registered user of vanguard.com, you can review your account holdings; buy, sell, or exchange shares of most Vanguard funds; and perform most other transactions through our website. You must register for this service online.

Electronic delivery. Vanguard can deliver your account statements, transaction confirmations, prospectuses, certain tax forms, and shareholder 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 preferences under "Account Maintenance." You can revoke your electronic consent at any time

73

through our website, and we will begin to send paper copies of these documents within 30 days of receiving your revocation.

Telephone Transactions

Automatic. When we set up your account, we will automatically enable you to do business with us by telephone, unless you instruct us otherwise in writing.

Tele-Account®. To obtain fund and account information through Vanguard's automated telephone service, you must first establish a Personal Identification Number (PIN) by calling Tele-Account at 800-662-6273.

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 owner, 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:

Are provided by the person(s) authorized in accordance with Vanguard's policies and procedures to access the account and request transactions.

Include the fund name and account number.

Include the amount of the transaction (stated in dollars, shares, or percentage). Written instructions also must generally be provided on a Vanguard form and include:

Signature(s) and date from the authorized person(s).*

Signature guarantees or notarized signatures, if required for the type of transaction. (Call Vanguard for specific requirements.)

Any supporting documentation that may be required.*

*For Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund, documentation may be required to confirm beneficial owner is a natural person.

Good order requirements may vary among types of accounts and transactions. For more information, consult our website at vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard.

74

Vanguard reserves the right, without 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, Redeeming Shares, and Exchanging 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 generally will accept instructions from any one owner or authorized person.

Responsibility for Fraud

You should take precautions to protect yourself from fraud. Keep your account-related information private, and review any account confirmations, statements, or other information that we provide to you as soon as you receive them. Let us know immediately if you discover unauthorized activity or see something on your account that you do not understand or that looks unusual.

Vanguard will not be responsible for losses that result from transactions by a person who we reasonably believe is authorized to act on your account.

Uncashed Checks

Please cash your distribution or redemption checks promptly. Vanguard will not pay interest on uncashed checks. Vanguard may be required to transfer assets related to uncashed checks to a state under the state's abandoned property law.

Dormant Accounts

If your account has no activity in it for a period of time, Vanguard may be required to transfer it to a state under the state's abandoned property law, subject to potential federal or state withholding taxes.

Unusual Circumstances

If you experience difficulty contacting Vanguard online or by telephone, you can send us your transaction request on a Vanguard form by regular or express mail.

Investing With Vanguard Through Other Firms

You may purchase or sell shares of most Vanguard funds through a financial intermediary, such as a bank, a broker, or an investment advisor. Please consult your financial intermediary to determine which, if any, shares are available through that firm

75

and to learn about other rules that may apply. Your financial intermediary can provide you with account information and any required tax forms. You may be required to pay a commission on purchases of mutual fund shares made through a financial intermediary. Your financial intermediary will be responsible for taking reasonable actions to assist the retail or institutional money market fund to impose, lift, or modify liquidity fees or redemption gates.

Please see Frequent-Trading LimitationsAccounts Held by Intermediaries for information about the assessment of any purchase or redemption fees and the monitoring of frequent trading for accounts held by intermediaries.

Account Service Fee

Vanguard may charge a $20 account service fee on 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 may be assessed on fund accounts in all Vanguard funds, regardless of the account minimum. The fee, which will be collected by redeeming fund shares in the amount of $20, will be deducted from fund accounts subject to the fee once per calendar year.

If you elect to receive your statements and other materials electronically (i.e., by e-delivery), the account service fee will not be charged, so long as your election remains in effect. You can make your e-delivery election on vanguard.com.

Beginning on January 1, 2021, you may elect to receive paper copies of shareholder reports free of charge as noted on the cover of this prospectus.

Certain account types have alternative fee structures, including SIMPLE IRAs, Vanguard Retirement Investment Program pooled plans, and Vanguard Individual 401(k) Plans.

Low-Balance Accounts

Each Fund reserves the right to liquidate a fund account whose balance falls below the account minimum for any reason, including market fluctuation. This liquidation policy applies to nonretirement fund accounts and accounts that are held through intermediaries. Any such liquidation 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, without notice, to (1) alter, add, or discontinue any conditions of purchase (including eligibility requirements), redemption, exchange, conversion, service, or privilege at any time and (2) alter, impose, discontinue, or waive any purchase fee, redemption fee, account service fee, or other fee charged to a shareholder or a group of shareholders. Changes may affect any or all investors. These

76

actions will be taken when, at the sole discretion of Vanguard management, Vanguard believes they are in the best interest of a fund.

Account Restrictions

Vanguard reserves the right to: (1) redeem all or a portion of a fund/account to meet a legal obligation, including tax withholding, tax lien, garnishment order, or other obligation imposed on your account by a court or government agency; (2) redeem shares, close an account, or suspend account privileges, features, or options in the case of threatening conduct or activity; (3) redeem shares, close an account, or suspend account privileges, features, or options if Vanguard believes or suspects that not doing so could result in a suspicious, fraudulent, or illegal transaction; (4) place restrictions on the ability to redeem any or all shares in an account if it is required to do so by a court or government agency; (5) place restrictions on the ability to redeem any or all shares in an account if Vanguard believes that doing so will prevent fraud, financial exploitation or abuse, or to protect vulnerable investors; (6) 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; and (7) freeze any account and/or suspend account services upon initial notification to Vanguard of the death of an account owner.

Share Classes

Vanguard reserves the right, without 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 through our website, 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. 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.

77

Portfolio Summaries

We will send (or provide through our website, 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 quarter (or month). Promptly review each summary that we provide to you. 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 Information Statements

For most accounts, Vanguard (or your intermediary) is required to provide annual tax forms to assist you in preparing your income tax returns. These forms are generally available for each calendar year early in the following year. Registered users of vanguard.com can also view certain forms through our website. Vanguard (or your intermediary) may also provide you with additional tax-related documentation. For more information, consult our website at vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard.

Annual and Semiannual Reports

We will send (or provide through our website, whichever you prefer) reports about Vanguard Municipal Bond Funds twice a year, in June and December. These 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

Please consult the Funds' Statement of Additional Information or our website for a description of the policies and procedures that govern disclosure of a Fund's portfolio holdings.

78

Contacting Vanguard

Web

Vanguard.com

For the most complete source of Vanguard news

 

For fund, account, and service information

 

For most account transactions

 

For literature requests

 

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

 

 

Phone

 

 

 

Vanguard Tele-Account® 800-662-6273

For automated fund and account information

 

Toll-free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

 

 

Investor Information 800-662-7447 (Text telephone for people with hearing impairment at 800-749-7273)

For fund and service information For literature requests

Client Services 800-662-2739

For account information

(Text telephone for people with hearing

For most account transactions

impairment at 800-749-7273)

 

 

 

Institutional Division

For information and services for large institutional investors

888-809-8102

 

 

 

Financial Advisor and Intermediary

For information and services for financial intermediaries

Sales Support 800-997-2798

including financial advisors, broker-dealers, trust institutions,

 

and insurance companies

 

 

Financial Advisory and Intermediary

For account information and trading support for financial

Trading Support 800-669-0498

intermediaries including financial advisors, broker-dealers,

 

trust institutions, and insurance companies

 

 

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Additional Information

 

Inception

Newspaper

Vanguard

CUSIP

 

Date

Abbreviation

Fund Number

Number

 

 

 

 

Municipal Money Market Fund

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investor Shares

6/10/1980

VangMB

45

922907506

 

 

 

 

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investor Shares

9/1/1977

MuSht

41

922907100

 

 

 

 

 

Admiral Shares

2/12/2001

MuShtAdml

541

922907803

 

 

 

 

Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investor Shares

8/31/1987

MuLtd

31

922907704

 

 

 

 

 

Admiral Shares

2/12/2001

MuItdAdml

531

922907886

 

 

 

 

Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investor Shares

9/1/1977

MuInt

42

922907209

 

 

 

 

 

Admiral Shares

2/12/2001

MuIntAdml

542

922907878

 

 

 

 

 

Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investor Shares

9/1/1977

MuLong

43

922907308

 

 

 

 

 

Admiral Shares

2/12/2001

MuLTAdml

543

922907860

 

 

 

 

 

High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investor Shares

12/27/1978

MuHY

44

922907407

 

 

 

 

 

Admiral Shares

11/12/2001

MuHYAdml

5044

922907845

 

 

 

 

 

80

CFA® is a registered trademark owned by CFA Institute.

BLOOMBERG is a trademark and service mark of Bloomberg Finance L.P. BARCLAYS is a trademark and service mark of Barclays Bank Plc, used under license. Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates, including Bloomberg Index Services Limited (BISL) (collectively, Bloomberg), or Bloomberg's licensors, own all proprietary rights in the Bloomberg Barclays 1 Year Municipal Bond Index, Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year Municipal Bond Index, Bloomberg Barclays 1-15 Year Municipal Bond Index, and Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index (the Indices or Bloomberg Barclays Indices).

Neither Barclays Bank Plc, Barclays Capital Inc., or any affiliate (collectively Barclays) or Bloomberg is the issuer or producer of the Municipal Bond Funds and neither Bloomberg nor Barclays has any responsibilities, obligations or duties to investors in the Municipal Bond Funds. The Indices are licensed for use by The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard) as the sponsor of the Municipal Bond Funds. Bloomberg and Barclays' only relationship with Vanguard in respect to the Indices is the licensing of the Indices, which is determined, composed and calculated by BISL, or any successor thereto, without regard to the Issuer or the Municipal Bond Funds or the owners of the Municipal Bond Funds.

Additionally, Vanguard may for itself execute transaction(s) with Barclays in or relating to the Indices in connection with the Municipal Bond Funds. Investors acquire the Municipal Bond Funds from Vanguard and investors neither acquire any interest in the Indices nor enter into any relationship of any kind whatsoever with Bloomberg or Barclays upon making an investment in the Municipal Bond Funds. The Municipal Bond Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Bloomberg or Barclays. Neither Bloomberg nor Barclays makes any representation or warranty, express or implied regarding the advisability of investing in the Municipal Bond Funds or the advisability of investing in securities generally or the ability of the Indices to track corresponding or relative market performance. Neither Bloomberg nor Barclays has passed on the legality or suitability of the Municipal Bond Funds with respect to any person or entity. Neither Bloomberg nor Barclays is responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Municipal Bond Funds to be issued. Neither Bloomberg nor Barclays has any obligation to take the needs of the Issuer or the owners of the Municipal Bond Funds or any other third party into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Indices. Neither Bloomberg nor Barclays has any obligation or liability in connection with administration, marketing or trading of the Municipal Bond Funds.

The licensing agreement between Bloomberg and Barclays is solely for the benefit of Bloomberg and Barclays and not for the benefit of the owners of the Municipal Bond Funds, investors or other third parties. In addition, the licensing agreement between Vanguard and Bloomberg is solely for the benefit of Vanguard and Bloomberg and not for the benefit of the owners of the Municipal Bond Funds, investors or other third parties.

NEITHER BLOOMBERG NOR BARCLAYS SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO THE ISSUER, INVESTORS OR TO OTHER THIRD PARTIES FOR THE QUALITY, ACCURACY AND/OR COMPLETENESS OF THE BLOOMBERG BARCLAYS INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN OR FOR INTERRUPTIONS IN THE DELIVERY OF THE BLOOMBERG BARCLAYS INDICES. NEITHER BLOOMBERG NOR BARCLAYS MAKES ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE ISSUER, THE INVESTORS OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE BLOOMBERG BARCLAYS INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. NEITHER BLOOMBERG NOR BARCLAYS MAKES ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EACH HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO BLOOMBERG BARCLAYS INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN. BLOOMBERG RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THE METHODS OF CALCULATION OR PUBLICATION, OR TO CEASE THE CALCULATION OR PUBLICATION OF THE BLOOMBERG BARCLAYS INDICES, AND NEITHER BLOOMBERG NOR BARCLAYS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY MISCALCULATION OF OR ANY INCORRECT, DELAYED OR INTERRUPTED PUBLICATION WITH RESPECT TO ANY OF THE BLOOMBERG BARCLAYS INDICES. NEITHER BLOOMBERG NOR BARCLAYS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR ANY LOST PROFITS AND EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH, RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THE BLOOMBERG BARCLAYS INDICES OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN OR WITH RESPECT TO THE MUNICIPAL BOND FUNDS.

None of the information supplied by Bloomberg or Barclays and used in this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the prior written permission of both Bloomberg and Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank Plc. Barclays Bank Plc is registered in England No. 1026167. Registered office 1 Churchill Place London E14 5HP.

81

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, a put, a refunding, a prepayment, or a redemption provision or an adjustable coupon rate) will cause the bond to be repaid.

Bloomberg Barclays 1 Year Municipal Bond Index. An index that includes investment-grade tax-exempt bonds that are issued by state and local governments and have maturities of 1 to 2 years.

Bloomberg Barclays 1–5 Year Municipal Bond Index. An index that includes investment-grade tax-exempt bonds that are issued by state and local governments and have maturities of 1 to 5 years.

Bloomberg Barclays 1–15 Year Municipal Bond Index. An index that includes investment-grade tax-exempt bonds that are issued by state and local governments and have maturities of 1 to 15 years.

Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index. An index that includes most investment-grade tax-exempt bonds that are issued by state and local governments.

Capital Gains Distributions. Payments to mutual fund shareholders of gains realized on securities that a fund has sold at a profit, minus any realized losses.

Cash Equivalent 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 Rate. 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 Distributions. Payments to mutual fund shareholders of income from interest or dividends generated by a fund's investments.

Expense Ratio. A fund's total annual operating expenses expressed as a percentage of the fund's average net assets. The expense ratio includes management and administrative expenses, but it does not include the transaction costs of buying and selling portfolio securities.

82

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 generally 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 an advisor to be investment-grade.

Joint Committed Credit Facility. Each Fund participates, along with other funds managed by Vanguard, in a committed credit facility provided by a syndicate of lenders pursuant to a credit agreement that may be renewed annually; each Vanguard fund is individually liable for its borrowings, if any, under the credit facility. The amount and terms of the committed credit facility are subject to approval by the Funds board of trustees and renegotiation with the lender syndicate on an annual basis.

Municipal Bond. A bond issued by a state or local government or by other governmental authorities. Interest income from municipal bonds, and therefore dividend income from municipal bond funds, is generally free from federal income taxes and generally exempt from taxes in the state in which the bonds were issued.

Mutual Fund. An investment company that pools the money of many people and invests it in a variety of securities in an effort to achieve a specific objective over time.

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). A stock exchange based in New York City that is open for regular trading on business days, Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time.

Securities. Stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other investments.

Stable Net Asset Value (NAV). A share price that maintains a consistent value (e.g., $1.00 or $100.00) using special pricing and valuation conventions.

83

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.

84

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P.O. Box 2600

Valley Forge, PA 19482-2600

Connect with Vanguard® > vanguard.com

For More Information

If you would like more information about Vanguard Municipal 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 and is incorporated by reference into (and 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 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

Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-749-7273

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; Text telephone for people

with hearing impairment: 800-749-7273

Information Provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Reports and other information about the Funds are available in the EDGAR database on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, or you can receive copies of this information, for a fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov.

Funds' Investment Company Act file number: 811-02687

© 2020 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor.

P 045 022020

 

Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF Prospectus

February 27, 2020

Exchange-traded fund shares that are not individually redeemable and are listed on NYSE Arca

Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund ETF Shares (VTEB)

See the inside front cover for important information about access to your fund's annual and semiannual shareholder reports.

This prospectus contains financial data for the Fund through the fiscal year ended October 31, 2019.

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.

Important information about access to shareholder reports

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the SEC, paper copies of your fund's annual and semiannual shareholder reports will no longer be sent to you by mail, unless you specifically request them. Instead, you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted on the website and will be provided with a link to access the report.

If you have already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and do not need to take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the fund electronically by contacting your financial intermediary (such as a broker-dealer or bank) or, if you invest directly with the fund, by calling Vanguard at one of the phone numbers on the back cover of this prospectus or by logging on to vanguard.com.

You may elect to receive paper copies of all future shareholder reports free of charge. If you invest through a financial intermediary, you can contact the intermediary to request that you continue to receive paper copies. If you invest directly with the fund, you can call Vanguard at one of the phone numbers on the back cover of this prospectus or log on to vanguard.com. Your election to receive paper copies will apply to all the funds you hold through an intermediary or directly with Vanguard.

Contents

Vanguard ETF Summary

1

More on the Fund and ETF Shares

11

Investing in Vanguard ETF Shares

7

The Fund and Vanguard

22

 

 

 

 

Investing in Index Funds

9

Investment Advisor

22

 

 

 

 

Investing in Tax-Exempt Funds

10

Dividends, Capital Gains, and Taxes

24

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share Price and Market Price

26

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Information

27

 

 

 

 

 

 

Financial Highlights

28

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary of Investment Terms

30

 

 

 

 

ETF Summary

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment-grade segment of the U.S. municipal bond market.

Fees and Expenses

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold ETF Shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees

(Fees paid directly from your investment)

Transaction Fee on Purchases and Sales

None through Vanguard

 

(Broker fees vary)

 

 

Transaction Fee on Reinvested Dividends

None through Vanguard

 

(Broker fees vary)

 

 

Transaction Fee on Conversion to ETF Shares

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)

Management Fees

0.05%

12b-1 Distribution Fee

None

 

 

Other Expenses

0.01%

 

 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.06%

 

 

Example

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's ETF 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:

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

$6

$19

$34

$77

 

 

 

 

This example does not include the brokerage commissions that you may pay to buy and sell ETF Shares of the Fund.

1

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. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 18% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the Standard & Poor's National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index, which measures the performance of the investment-grade segment of the U.S. municipal bond market. This Index includes municipal bonds from issuers that are primarily state or local governments or agencies whose interest is exempt from U.S. federal income taxes and the federal alternative minimum tax (AMT). To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, each bond must have a rating of at least investment-grade, as determined by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) (e.g., at least BBB– by Fitch Ratings, Inc.); be denominated in U.S. dollars; and have a minimum par amount of $25 million. In addition, to be included in the Index, each bond must have a minimum term to maturity greater than one calendar month.

The Fund invests by sampling the Index, meaning that it holds a range of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full Index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. All of the Fund's investments will be selected through the sampling process, and at least 80% of the Fund's assets will be invested in securities held in the Index. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund's assets will be invested in securities whose income will be exempt from federal income taxes and the federal AMT. The Fund maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity consistent with that of the Index. As of October 31, 2019, the dollar-weighted average maturity of the Index was 5.6 years.

Principal 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 is subject to the following risks, which could affect the Fund's performance:

Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices 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.

2

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.

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.

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. In general, credit risk should be relatively low for the Fund because it invests primarily in bonds that are considered to be of high quality.

Index sampling risk, which is the chance that the securities selected for the Fund, in the aggregate, will not provide investment performance matching that of the Fund's target index. Index sampling risk for the Fund is expected to be low to moderate.

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.

Tax risk, which is the chance that all or a portion of the tax-exempt income from municipal bonds held by the Fund will be declared taxable, possibly with retroactive effect, because of unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service or state or local tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a bond issuer.

Because ETF Shares are traded on an exchange, they are subject to additional risks:

The Fund's ETF Shares are listed for trading on NYSE Arca 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 NYSE Arca, 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 NYSE Arca without first being listed on another exchange or (2) NYSE

3

Arca officials determine that such action is appropriate in the interest of a fair and orderly market or for the protection of investors.

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.

Annual Total Returns

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 ETF Shares (based on NAV) has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the ETF Shares compare with those of the Fund's target index, which has investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance or by calling Vanguard toll-free at 800-662-7447.

Annual Total Returns — Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund ETF Shares

2016

2017

2018

2019

 

10%

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5%

 

 

4.96

0.94

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0.31

 

 

 

 

 

0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-5%

-10%

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 2.82% (quarter ended March 31, 2019), and the lowest return for a quarter was –3.42% (quarter ended December 31, 2016).

4

Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2019

 

 

Since

 

 

Inception

 

 

(Aug. 21,

 

1 Year

2015)

 

 

 

Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund ETF Shares

 

 

Based on NAV

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

7.50%

3.62%

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

7.50

3.62

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

5.44

3.26

 

 

 

Based on Market Price

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

7.35

3.65

 

 

 

S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

7.42%

3.64%

 

 

 

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 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 may 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.

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)

Portfolio Manager

Stephen M. McFee, CFA, Portfolio Manager at Vanguard. He has managed the Fund since February 2020.

5

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You can buy and sell ETF Shares of the Fund through a brokerage firm. The price you pay or receive for ETF Shares will be the prevailing market price, which may be more or less 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.

Tax Information

The Fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gain. A majority of the income dividends that you receive from the Fund are expected to be exempt from federal income and alternative minimum taxes. However, a portion of the Fund's distributions may be subject to federal income and alternative minimum taxes. Dividend and capital gains distributions that you receive may also be subject to state and local income taxes.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.

6

Investing in Vanguard ETF® Shares

What Are Vanguard ETF Shares?

Vanguard ETF Shares are an exchange-traded class of shares issued by certain Vanguard funds. ETF Shares represent an interest in the portfolio of stocks or bonds held by the issuing fund. This prospectus describes Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF, a class of shares issued by Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund. In addition to ETF Shares, the Fund offers one conventional (not exchange-traded) class of shares. This prospectus, however, relates only to ETF Shares.

How Are Vanguard ETF Shares Different From Conventional Mutual Fund Shares?

Conventional mutual fund shares can be directly purchased from and redeemed with the issuing fund for cash at the net asset value (NAV), typically calculated once a day. ETF Shares, by contrast, cannot be purchased directly from or redeemed directly with the issuing fund by an individual investor. Rather, ETF Shares can only be purchased or redeemed directly from the issuing fund by certain authorized broker-dealers. These broker-dealers may purchase and redeem ETF Shares only in large blocks (Creation Units), usually in exchange for baskets of securities and not for cash (although some funds issue and redeem Creation Units in exchange for cash or a combination of cash and securities).

An organized secondary trading market is expected to exist for ETF Shares, unlike conventional mutual fund shares, because ETF Shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange. Individual investors can purchase and sell ETF Shares on the secondary market through a broker. Secondary-market transactions occur not at NAV, but at market prices that are subject to change throughout the day based on the supply of and demand for ETF Shares, changes in the prices of the fund's portfolio holdings, and other factors.

The market price of a fund's ETF Shares typically will differ somewhat from the NAV of those shares. The difference between market price and NAV is expected to be small most of the time, but in times of market disruption or extreme market volatility, the difference may become significant.

7

How Do I Buy and Sell Vanguard ETF Shares?

ETF Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on NYSE Arca. You can buy and sell ETF Shares on the secondary market in the same way you buy and sell any other exchange- traded security—through a broker. Your broker may charge a commission to execute a transaction. You will also incur the cost of the "bid-ask spread," which is the difference between the price a dealer will pay for a security and the somewhat higher price at which the dealer will sell the same security. Because secondary-market transactions occur at market prices, you may pay more (premium) or less (discount) than NAV when you buy ETF Shares and receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares. In times of severe market disruption, the bid-ask spread and premiums/discounts can increase significantly. Unless imposed by your broker, there is no minimum dollar amount you must invest and no minimum number of ETF Shares you must buy.

Your ownership of ETF Shares will be shown on the records of the broker through which you hold the shares. Vanguard will not have any record of your ownership. Your account information will be maintained by your broker, which will provide you with account statements, confirmations of your purchases and sales of ETF Shares, and tax information. Your broker also will be responsible for ensuring that you receive income and capital gains distributions, as well as shareholder reports and other communications from the fund whose ETF Shares you own. You will receive other services (e.g., dividend reinvestment and average cost information) only if your broker offers these services.

8

Investing in Index Funds

What Is Indexing?

Indexing is an investment strategy for tracking the performance of a specified market benchmark, or "index." An index is a group of securities whose overall performance is used as a standard to measure the investment performance of a particular market.

There are many types of indexes. Some represent entire markets—such as the U.S. stock market or the U.S. bond market. Other indexes cover market segments—such as small-capitalization stocks or short-term bonds. One cannot invest directly in an index.

The index sponsor determines the securities to include in the index, the weighting of each security in the index, and the appropriate time to make changes to the composition of the index. Generally, the index sponsor does not provide any warranty, or accept any liability, with respect to the quality, accuracy, or completeness of either the target index or its related data. Errors made by the index sponsor may occur from time to time and may not be identified by the index sponsor for a period of time or at all. Vanguard does not provide any warranty or guarantee against such errors. Therefore, the gains, losses, or costs associated with the index sponsor's errors will generally be borne by the index fund and its shareholders.

An index fund seeks to hold all, or a representative sample, of the securities that make up its target index. Index funds attempt to mirror the performance of the target index, for better or worse. However, an index fund generally does not perform exactly like its target index. For example, index funds have operating expenses and transaction costs. Market indexes do not, and therefore they will usually have a slight performance advantage over funds that track them. The ability of an index fund to match its performance to that of its target index can also be impacted by, among other things, the timing and size of cash flows and the size of the fund. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could also have an adverse effect on a fund's ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the index.

Index funds typically have the following characteristics:

Variety of investments. Index funds generally invest in the securities of a variety of companies and industries.

Relative performance consistency. Because they seek to track market benchmarks, index funds usually do not perform dramatically better or worse than their benchmarks.

Low cost. Index funds are generally inexpensive to run compared with actively managed funds. They have low or no research costs and typically keep trading activity— and thus dealer markups and other transaction costs—to a minimum compared with actively managed funds.

9

Investing in Tax-Exempt Funds

What Are Municipal Bond Funds?

Municipal bond funds invest primarily in interest-bearing securities issued by state and local governments and by other governmental authorities to support their needs or to finance public projects. A municipal bond—like a bond issued by a corporation or the U.S. government—obligates the issuer to pay the bondholder a fixed or variable amount of interest periodically and to repay the principal value of the bond on a specific maturity date. Unlike most other bonds, however, municipal bonds generally pay interest that is exempt from federal income taxes and, in some cases, from state and local taxes. For certain shareholders, the interest may be subject to the alternative minimum tax.

Taxable Versus Tax-Exempt Funds

Yields on tax-exempt bonds—such as some municipal bonds—are typically lower than those on taxable bonds, so investing in a tax-exempt fund makes sense only if you stand to save more in taxes than you would earn as additional income while invested in a taxable fund.

To determine whether a tax-exempt fund—such as Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund—makes sense for you, compute the tax-exempt fund's taxable-equivalent yield. This figure enables you to take taxes into account when comparing your potential return on a tax-exempt fund with the potential return on a taxable fund.

To compute the taxable-equivalent yield, divide the tax-exempt fund's yield by the difference between 100% and your federal tax bracket. For example, if you are in the 37% tax bracket and subject to the 3.8% Medicare tax, and can earn a tax-exempt yield of 5%, the taxable-equivalent yield would be 8.45% (5% divided by 59.2% [i.e.,100%–37%–3.8%]).

In this example, you would choose the tax-exempt fund if its taxable-equivalent yield of 8.45% were greater than the yield of a similar, though taxable, investment.

Remember that we have used an assumed tax bracket in this example. Actual taxable- equivalent yields depend on your individual tax situation. Make sure to verify your actual effective marginal rate before calculating taxable-equivalent yields of your own.

There is no guarantee that all of a tax-exempt fund's income from its municipal bonds will remain exempt from federal, state, or local income taxes. Income from municipal bonds held by a fund could be declared taxable, possibly with retroactive effect, because of unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or state or local tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a bond issuer.

10

More on the Fund and ETF Shares

This prospectus describes the principal risks you would face as a Fund shareholder. It is important to keep in mind one of the main principles of investing: generally, 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 fund, you should take into account your personal tolerance for

fluctuations in the securities markets. Look for this symbol throughout the prospectus. It is used to mark detailed information about the more significant risks that you would confront as a Fund shareholder. To highlight terms and concepts important to fund investors, we have provided Plain Talk® 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 ETF Shares, an exchange-traded class of shares. A separate prospectus offers the Fund's Admiral™ Shares, which generally have an investment minimum of $3,000.

Both share classes offered by the Fund have the same investment objective, strategies, and policies. However, different share classes have different expenses; as a result, their investment returns will differ.

A Note to Investors

Vanguard ETF Shares can be purchased directly from the issuing Fund only by certain authorized broker-dealers in exchange for a basket of securities (or, in some cases, for cash or a combination of cash and securities). Individual investors generally will not be able to purchase ETF Shares directly from the Fund. Instead, these investors will purchase ETF Shares on the secondary market through a broker.

Plain Talk About Fund Expenses

All 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. Assuming that operating expenses remain as stated in the Fees and Expenses section, Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund ETF Shares' expense ratio would be 0.06%, or $0.60 per $1,000 of average net assets. The average expense ratio for general municipal funds in 2018 was 0.84%, or $8.40 per $1,000 of average net assets (derived from data provided by Lipper, a Thomson Reuters Company, which reports on the fund industry).

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Plain Talk About Costs of Investing

Costs are an important consideration in choosing an ETF. That is because you, as a shareholder, pay a proportionate share of the costs of operating a fund and 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.

The following sections explain the principal 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. The Fund's policy of investing at least 80% of its assets in securities that are held in its target index may be changed only upon 60 days' notice to shareholders.

Market Exposure

The Fund invests mainly in municipal bonds issued by state and local governments or agencies that provide tax-exempt income. As a result, the Fund is subject to certain risks.

The Fund is subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices will decline because of rising interest rates.

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 (i.e., bonds that cannot be redeemed by the issuer) of different maturities, each with a face value of $1,000.

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How Interest Rate Changes Affect the Value of a $1,000 Bond1

 

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

$954

$1,049

 

 

 

 

 

Intermediate-Term (10 years)

922

1,086

851

1,180

 

 

 

 

 

Long-Term (20 years)

874

1,150

769

1,328

 

 

 

 

 

1 Assuming a 4% coupon rate.

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 4% yield. A year later, interest rates are on the rise and bonds of comparable quality and maturity are offered with a 5% yield. With higher-yielding bonds available, you would have trouble selling your 4% 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 3% bonds were being offered, you should be able to sell your 4% bond for more than you paid.

Changes in interest rates can affect bond income as well as bond prices.

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 new cash flow and cash from maturing bonds in lower-yielding bonds.

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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, will face as interest rates rise—but also the higher the potential 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 stated maturity of a bond may differ from the effective maturity of a bond, which takes into consideration that an action such as a call or refunding may cause bonds to be repaid before their stated maturity dates.

Although falling interest rates tend to strengthen bond prices, they can cause another problem for bond fund investors—bond calls.

The Fund is subject to 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.

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 bond. 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 coupon rates or interest rates, which make them less likely to be called.

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The Fund is subject to 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.

The Fund is subject to 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. In general, credit risk should be relatively low for the Fund because it invests primarily in bonds that are considered to be of high 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. The lower the credit quality, the greater the perceived chance that the bond issuer will default, or fail to meet its payment obligations. All things being equal, the lower a bond's credit quality, the higher its yield should be to compensate investors for assuming additional risk.

The Fund tries to minimize credit risk by purchasing a wide selection of municipal securities. As a result, there is less chance that the Fund will be seriously affected by a particular bond issuer's failure to pay either interest or principal.

The Fund is subject to 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.

Municipal securities are traded via a network among dealers and brokers that connect buyers with sellers. Liquidity in the tax-exempt bond market may be reduced as a result of overall economic conditions and credit tightening. There may be little trading in the secondary market for particular bonds and other debt securities, which may make them more difficult to value or sell.

Security Selection

Index sampling strategy. Because it would be very expensive and inefficient to buy and sell all bonds held in its target index—which is an indexing strategy called "replication"—the Fund uses index "sampling" techniques to select securities. Using sophisticated computer programs, the Fund's advisor generally selects a representative sample of securities that approximates the full target index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. These factors include duration, cash flow, quality, and callability of the underlying bonds. In addition, the Fund keeps industry sector and subsector exposure within tight boundaries relative to its target index.

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Because the Fund does not hold all of the securities in its target index, some of the securities (and issuers) that are held will likely be overweighted (or underweighted) compared with the target index. The maximum overweight (or underweight) is constrained at the issuer level with the goal of producing well-diversified credit exposure in the portfolio. As of October 31, 2019, the number of bonds in the Fund's target index and the number of bonds held by the Fund were 11,977 and 4,285 respectively.

The Fund is subject to index sampling risk, which is the chance that the securities selected for the Fund, in the aggregate, will not provide investment performance matching that of the Fund's target index. Index sampling risk for the Fund is expected to be low to moderate.

Other Investment Policies and Risks

The Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in securities held in its target index. Up to 20% of the Fund's assets may be used to purchase nonpublic, investment-grade securities, generally referred to as 144A securities, as well as smaller public issues or medium-term notes not included in the index because of the small size of the issue. We expect the vast majority of these securities will have characteristics similar to those in the target index. Subject to the same 20% limit, the Fund may also purchase other investments that are outside of its target index or may hold bonds that, when acquired, were included in the index but subsequently were removed. Some of these investments may generate taxable income, and thus the Fund may need to distribute income subject to federal personal income tax or the alternative minimum tax.

The Fund reserves the right to substitute a different index for the index it currently tracks if the current index is discontinued, if the Fund's agreement with the sponsor of its target index is terminated, or for any other reason determined in good faith by the Fund's board of trustees. In any such instance, the substitute index would represent the same market segment as the current index.

The Fund may purchase tax-exempt securities on a "when-issued" basis. When investing in "when-issued" securities, the Fund agrees to buy the securities at a certain price on a certain date, even if the market price of the securities at the time of delivery is higher or lower than the agreed-upon purchase price.

Generally speaking, a derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a stock, a bond, or a currency), a physical asset (such as gold, oil, or wheat), a market index, or a reference rate. 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. In particular, derivatives will be used only when they may help the advisor to accomplish one or more of the following:

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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.

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. On the other hand, non-exchange- traded derivatives—such as certain swap agreements—tend to be more specialized or complex and may be more difficult to accurately value.

The Fund may invest a small portion of its assets in fixed income futures, which are a type of derivative, and/or shares of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These fixed income futures and ETFs typically provide returns similar to those of the bonds listed in the index, or in a subset of the index, the Fund seeks to track. The Fund may purchase futures or ETFs when doing so will reduce the Fund's transaction costs, facilitate cash management, mitigate risk, or have the potential to add value because the instruments are favorably priced. Vanguard receives no additional revenue from Fund assets invested 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.

Cash Management

The Fund's daily cash balance may be invested in Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund and/ or Vanguard Municipal Cash Management Fund (each, a CMT Fund), which are low-cost money market funds. When investing in a CMT Fund, the Fund bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the CMT Fund in which it invests. Vanguard receives no additional revenue from Fund assets invested in a CMT Fund. Investment in a CMT Fund may generate taxable income for the Fund and potentially may require the Fund

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to distribute income subject to federal personal income tax or the alternative minimum tax.

Methods Used to Meet Redemption Requests

Redemptions of ETF Shares are typically met through a combination of cash and securities held by the Fund; see "How Are Vanguard ETF Shares Different From Conventional Mutual Fund Shares?" If cash is used to meet redemptions, the Fund typically obtains such cash through positive cash flows or the sale of Fund holdings consistent with the Fund's investment objective and strategy. Please consult the Fund's Statement of Additional Information for further information on redemptions of ETF Shares.

Under certain circumstances, the Fund may borrow money (subject to certain regulatory conditions and if available under board-approved procedures) through an interfund lending facility or through a bank line-of-credit, including a joint committed credit facility, in order to meet redemption requests.

Temporary Investment Measures

The Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies when the advisor believes that doing so is in the Fund's best interest, so long as the strategy or policy employed is consistent with the Fund's investment objective. For instance, the Fund may invest beyond its normal limits in derivatives or exchange- traded funds that are consistent with the Fund's investment objective when those instruments are more favorably priced or provide needed liquidity, as might be the case when the Fund receives large cash flows that it cannot prudently invest immediately. By temporarily departing from its normal investment policies, the Fund may distribute income subject to federal personal income tax or the alternative minimum tax and may otherwise fail to meet its objective.

Special Risks of Exchange-Traded Shares

ETF Shares are not individually redeemable. They can be redeemed with the issuing Fund at NAV only by certain authorized broker-dealers and only in large blocks known as Creation Units. Consequently, if you want to liquidate some or all of your ETF Shares, you must sell them on the secondary market at prevailing market prices.

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The market price of ETF Shares may differ from NAV. Although it is expected that the market price of an ETF Share typically will approximate its NAV, there may be times when the market price and the NAV differ significantly. Thus, you may pay more (premium) or less (discount) 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. These discounts and premiums are likely to be greatest during times of market disruption or extreme market volatility.

Vanguard's website at vanguard.com shows the previous day's closing NAV and closing market price for the Fund's ETF Shares. The website also discloses, in the Premium/Discount Analysis section of the ETF Shares' Price & Performance page, how frequently the Fund's ETF Shares traded at a premium or discount to NAV (based on closing NAVs and market prices) and the magnitudes of such premiums

and discounts.

An active trading market may not exist. Although Vanguard ETF Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, it is possible that an active trading market may not be maintained. Although this could happen at any time, it is more likely to occur during times of severe market disruption. If you attempt to sell your ETF Shares when an active trading market is not functioning, you may have to sell at a significant discount to NAV. In extreme cases, you may not be able to sell your shares at all.

Trading may be halted. Trading of Vanguard ETF Shares on an exchange 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 ETF Shares may also be halted if (1) the shares are delisted from the listing exchange without first being listed on another exchange or (2) exchange officials determine that such action is appropriate in the interest of a fair and orderly market or for the protection of investors.

Conversion Privilege

Owners of conventional shares issued by the Fund may convert those shares to ETF Shares of equivalent value of the same fund. Please note that investors who own conventional shares through a 401(k) plan or other employer-sponsored retirement or benefit plan generally may not convert those shares to ETF Shares and should check with their plan sponsor or recordkeeper. ETF Shares, whether acquired through a conversion or purchased on the secondary market, cannot be converted to conventional shares by a shareholder. Also, ETF Shares of one fund cannot be exchanged for ETF Shares of another fund.

You must hold ETF Shares in a brokerage account. Thus, before converting conventional shares to ETF Shares, you must have an existing, or open a new,

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brokerage account. This account may be with Vanguard Brokerage Services® or with any other brokerage firm. To initiate a conversion of conventional shares to ETF Shares, please contact your broker.

Vanguard Brokerage Services does not impose a fee on conversions from Vanguard conventional shares to Vanguard ETF Shares. However, other brokerage firms may charge a fee to process a conversion. Vanguard reserves the right, in the future, to impose a transaction fee on conversions or to limit, temporarily suspend, or terminate the conversion privilege.

Converting conventional shares to ETF Shares is generally accomplished as follows. First, after your broker notifies Vanguard of your request to convert, Vanguard will transfer your conventional shares from your account to the broker's omnibus account with Vanguard (an account maintained by the broker on behalf of all its customers who hold conventional Vanguard fund shares through the broker). After the transfer, Vanguard's records will reflect your broker, not you, as the owner of the shares. Next, your broker will instruct Vanguard to convert the appropriate number or dollar amount of conventional shares in its omnibus account to ETF Shares of equivalent value, based on the respective NAVs of the two share classes.

Your Fund's transfer agent will reflect ownership of all ETF Shares in the name of the Depository Trust Company (DTC). The DTC will keep track of which ETF Shares belong to your broker, and your broker, in turn, will keep track of which ETF Shares belong to you.

Because the DTC is unable to handle fractional shares, only whole shares can be converted. For example, if you owned 300.25 conventional shares, and this was equivalent in value to 90.75 ETF Shares, the DTC account would receive 90 ETF Shares. Conventional shares with a value equal to 0.75 ETF Shares (in this example, that would be 2.481 conventional shares) would remain in the broker's omnibus account with Vanguard. Your broker then could either (1) credit your account with 0.75 ETF Shares or (2) redeem the 2.481 conventional shares for cash at NAV and deliver that cash to your account. If your broker chose to redeem your conventional shares, you would realize a gain or loss on the redemption that must be reported on your tax return (unless you hold the shares in an IRA or other tax-deferred account). Please consult your broker for information on how it will handle the conversion process, including whether it will impose a fee to process a conversion.

If you convert your conventional shares to ETF Shares through Vanguard Brokerage Services, all conventional shares for which you request conversion will be converted to ETF Shares of equivalent value. Because no fractional shares will have to be sold, the transaction will not be taxable.

Here are some important points to keep in mind when converting conventional shares of a Vanguard fund to ETF Shares:

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The conversion process can take anywhere from several days to several weeks, depending on your broker. Vanguard generally will process conversion requests either on the day they are received or on the next business day. Vanguard imposes conversion blackout windows around the dates when a fund with ETF Shares declares dividends. This is necessary to prevent a shareholder from collecting a dividend from both the conventional share class currently held and also from the ETF share class to which the shares will be converted.

Until the conversion process is complete, you will remain fully invested in a fund's conventional shares, and your investment will increase or decrease in value in tandem with the NAV of those shares.

The conversion transaction is nontaxable except, if applicable, to the very limited extent previously described.

A precautionary note to investment companies: Vanguard ETF Shares are issued by registered investment companies, and therefore the acquisition of such shares by other investment companies is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Vanguard has obtained an SEC exemptive order that allows registered investment companies to invest in the issuing funds beyond the limits of Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions, including the requirement to enter into a participation agreement with Vanguard.

Frequent Trading and Market-Timing

Unlike frequent trading of a Vanguard fund's conventional (i.e., not exchange-traded) classes of shares, frequent trading of ETF Shares does not disrupt portfolio management or otherwise harm fund shareholders. The vast majority of trading in ETF Shares occurs on the secondary market. Because these trades do not involve the issuing fund, they do not harm the fund or its shareholders. Certain broker-dealers are authorized to purchase and redeem ETF Shares directly with the issuing fund. Because these trades typically are effected in kind (i.e., for securities and not for cash), or are assessed a transaction fee when effected in cash, they do not cause any of the harmful effects to the issuing fund (as previously noted) that may result from frequent trading. For these reasons, the board of trustees of each fund that issues ETF Shares has determined that it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter frequent trading and market-timing of ETF Shares.

Portfolio Holdings

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.

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Turnover Rate

Although the Fund generally seeks to invest for the long term, it may sell securities regardless of how long they have been held. Generally, an index fund sells securities in response to redemption requests from shareholders of conventional (not exchange- traded) shares or to changes in the composition of its target index or in an effort to manage the fund's duration. 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. In general, the greater the turnover rate, the greater the impact transaction costs will have on a fund's return. Also, funds with high turnover rates may be more likely to generate capital gains, including short-term capital gains, that must be distributed to shareholders and will be taxable to shareholders investing through a taxable account.

The Fund and Vanguard

The Fund is a member of The Vanguard Group, a family of over 200 funds. All of the funds that are members of The Vanguard Group (other than funds of funds) share in the expenses associated with administrative services and business operations, such as personnel, office space, and equipment.

Vanguard Marketing Corporation provides marketing services to the funds. Although fund shareholders do not pay sales commissions or 12b-1 distribution fees, each fund (other than a fund of funds) or each share class of a fund (in the case of a fund with multiple share classes) pays its allocated share of the Vanguard funds' marketing costs.

Plain Talk About Vanguard's Unique Corporate Structure

The Vanguard Group 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 are owned by third parties—either public or private stockholders—and not by the funds they serve.

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc., 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 October 31, 2019, Vanguard served as advisor for approximately $4.7 trillion in assets. Vanguard provides investment advisory services to the Fund pursuant to the Funds' Service Agreement and subject to the supervision and oversight of the trustees and officers of the Fund.

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For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2019, the advisory expenses represented an effective annual rate of 0.01% 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 with a third-party investment advisor or hire a new third-party 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. As the Fund's sponsor and overall manager, Vanguard may provide investment advisory services to the Fund 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. The Fund has filed an application seeking a similar SEC exemption with respect to investment advisors that are wholly owned subsidiaries of Vanguard. If the exemption is granted, the Fund may rely on the new SEC relief.

For a discussion of why the board of trustees approved the Fund's investment advisory arrangement, see the most recent semiannual report to shareholders covering the fiscal period ended April 30.

The manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund is:

Stephen M. McFee, CFA, Portfolio Manager and co-lead of the municipal revenue team in Vanguard's Fixed Income Group. He has been with Vanguard since 2005, has worked in investment management since 2007, and has managed the Fund since February 2020. Education: B.A./B.S., East Stroudsburg University; M.S., St. Joseph's University.

The Fund's Statement of Additional Information provides information about the portfolio manager's compensation, other accounts under management, and ownership of shares of the Fund.

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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 short-term or long-term capital gains realized from the sale of its holdings. Income dividends generally are declared monthly and distributed monthly; capital gains distributions, if any, generally occur annually in December. In addition, the Fund may occasionally make a supplemental distribution at some other time during the year.

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. The portion of such dividends that is exempt from federal income tax will be designated as "exempt-interest dividends." 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.

Reinvestment of Distributions

In order to reinvest dividend and capital gains distributions, investors in the Fund's ETF Shares must hold their shares at a broker that offers a reinvestment service. This can be the broker's own service or a service made available by a third party, such as the broker's outside clearing firm or the DTC. If a reinvestment service is available, distributions of income and capital gains can automatically be reinvested in additional whole and fractional ETF Shares of the Fund. If a reinvestment service is not available, investors will receive their distributions in cash. To determine whether a reinvestment service is available and whether there is a commission or other charge for using this service, consult your broker.

As with all exchange-traded funds, reinvestment of dividend and capital gains distributions in additional ETF Shares will occur four business days or more after the ex-dividend date (the date when a distribution of dividends or capital gains is deducted from the price of the Fund's shares). The exact number of days depends on your broker. During that time, the amount of your distribution will not be invested in the Fund and therefore will not share in the Fund's income, gains, and losses.

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Basic Tax Points

Investors in taxable accounts should be aware of the following basic federal income tax points:

A majority of the income dividends that you receive are expected to be exempt from federal and alternative minimum taxes.

Distributions of capital gains and any investment income that is not exempt from federal income tax are taxable to you whether or not you reinvest these amounts in additional ETF Shares.

Distributions declared in December—if paid to you by the end of January—are taxable as if received in December.

Any short-term capital gains distribution that you receive is taxable to you as ordinary income.

Any distribution of net long-term capital gains is taxable to you as long-term capital gains, no matter how long you have owned ETF Shares.

Capital gains distributions may vary considerably from year to year as a result of the Fund's normal investment activities and cash flows.

Exempt-interest dividends from a tax-exempt fund are taken into account in determining the taxable portion of any Social Security or railroad retirement benefits that you receive.

Income paid from tax-exempt bonds whose proceeds are used to fund private,

for-profit organizations may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

A sale of ETF 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.

Individuals, trusts, and estates whose income exceeds certain threshold amounts are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on "net investment income." Net investment income takes into account distributions paid by the Fund (except exempt-interest dividends) and capital gains from any sale of ETF Shares.

Income dividends and capital gains distributions that you receive, as well as your gains or losses from any sale of ETF Shares, may be subject to state and local income taxes.

Income dividends from interest earned on municipal securities of a state or its political subdivisions are generally exempt from that state's income taxes. Almost all states, however, tax interest earned on municipal securities of other states. Vanguard (or your intermediary) will annually provide you with information to help report your earnings by state from the Fund on your annual tax returns.

This prospectus provides general tax information only. Please consult your tax advisor for detailed information about any tax consequences for you.

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Share Price and Market Price

Share price, also known as net asset value (NAV), is calculated as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), generally 4 p.m., Eastern time, on each day that the NYSE is open for business (a business day). In the rare event the NYSE experiences unanticipated disruptions and is unavailable at the close of the trading day, the Fund reserves the right to treat such day as a business day and calculate NAVs as of the close of regular trading on the Nasdaq (or another alternate exchange if the Nasdaq is unavailable, as determined at Vanguard's discretion), 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 the share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. On U.S. holidays or other days when the NYSE is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Fund does not sell or redeem shares.

Remember: If you buy or sell ETF Shares on the secondary market, you will pay or receive the market price, which may be higher or lower than NAV. Your transaction will be priced at NAV only if you purchase or redeem your ETF Shares in Creation Unit blocks (an option available only to certain authorized broker-dealers) or if you convert your conventional fund shares to ETF Shares.

Debt securities held by a Vanguard fund are valued based on information furnished by an independent pricing service or market quotations. 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).

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 as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The values of any mutual fund shares, including institutional money market fund shares, held by a fund are based on the NAVs of the shares. The values of any ETF shares or closed-end fund shares held by a fund are based on the market value of the shares.

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's website will show the previous day's closing NAV and closing market price for the Fund's ETF Shares.

26

Additional Information

 

 

Vanguard

CUSIP

 

Inception Date

Fund Number

Number

 

 

 

 

Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ETF Shares

8/21/2015

4391

922907746

 

 

 

 

Certain affiliates of the Fund and the advisor may purchase and resell ETF Shares pursuant to the prospectus.

27

Financial Highlights

Financial highlights information is intended to help you understand a fund's performance for the past five years (or, if shorter, its period of operations). Certain information reflects financial results for a single fund share. Total return represents the rate that an investor would have earned or lost each period on an investment in a fund or share class (assuming reinvestment of all distributions). This information has been obtained from the financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with fund financial statements, is included in a fund's most recent annual report to shareholders. You may obtain a free copy of a fund's latest annual or semiannual report, which is available upon request.

Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund ETF Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aug. 21,

 

 

 

Year Ended October 31,

20151 to

 

 

 

Oct. 31,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

$50.12

 

$51.65

$51.67

$50.33

 

$50.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Investment Income

1.2622

1.1612

1.0452

.810

 

.170

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on

3.380

 

(1.595)

(.090)

1.343

 

.255

Investments3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total from Investment Operations

4.642

 

(.434)

.955

2.153

 

.425

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends from Net Investment Income

(1.242)

 

(1.096)

(.975)

(.813)

 

(.095)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions from Realized Capital Gains

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Distributions

(1.242)

 

(1.096)

(.975)

(.813)

 

(.095)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, End of Period

$53.52

$50.12

$51.65

$51.67

 

$50.33

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return

9.36%

 

–0.85%

1.89%

4.29%

 

0.85%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)

$6,126

 

$3,509

$1,885

$550

 

$60

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Total Expenses to Average Net Assets

0.06%

 

0.08%

0.09%

0.09%

 

0.12%4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assets

2.41%

 

2.28%

2.04%

1.71%

 

1.96%4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portfolio Turnover Rate5

18%

22%

18%

8%

 

1%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1Inception.

2Calculated based on average shares outstanding.

3Includes increases from purchase fees of $0.00, $0.00, $0.02, $0.02, and $0.00.

4Annualized.

5Excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind purchases or redemptions of the Fund's capital shares, including ETF Creation Units.

28

CFA® is a registered trademark owned by CFA Institute.

The S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index (the "Index") is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("SPDJI"), and has been licensed for use by Vanguard. Standard & Poor's® and S&P® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC ("S&P"); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ("Dow Jones"); S&P® and S&P 500® are trademarks of S&P and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by Vanguard. The Tax-Exempt Bond ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates (collectively, "S&P Dow Jones Indices"). S&P Dow Jones Indices make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Tax-Exempt Bond ETF or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Tax-Exempt Bond ETF particularly or the ability of the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices' only relationship to Vanguard with respect to the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices and/or its licensors. The S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to Vanguard or the Tax-Exempt Bond ETF. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation to take the needs of Vanguard or the owners of the Tax-Exempt Bond ETF into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of the Tax-Exempt Bond ETF or the timing of the issuance or sale of the Tax-Exempt Bond ETF or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Tax-Exempt Bond ETF is to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Tax-Exempt Bond ETF. There is no assurance that investment products based on the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

S&P DOW JONES INDICES DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY VANGUARD, OWNERS OF THE TAX- EXEMPT BOND ETF, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND VANGUARD, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.

29

Glossary of Investment Terms

Authorized Participant. Institutional investors that are permitted to purchase Creation Units directly from, and redeem Creation Units directly with, the issuing fund. To be an Authorized Participant, an entity must be a participant in the Depository Trust Company and must enter into an agreement with the fund's Distributor.

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, a put, a refunding, a prepayment, or a redemption provision or an adjustable coupon rate) will cause the bond to be repaid.

Bid-Ask Spread. The difference between the price a dealer is willing to pay for a security (the bid price) and the somewhat higher price at which the dealer is willing to sell the same security (the ask price).

Capital Gains Distributions. Payments to fund shareholders of gains realized on securities that a fund has sold at a profit, minus any realized losses.

Coupon Rate. 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.

Creation Unit. A large block of a specified number of ETF Shares. Certain broker- dealers known as "Authorized Participants" may purchase and redeem ETF Shares from the issuing fund in Creation Unit size blocks.

Dividend Distributions. Payments to fund shareholders of income from interest or dividends generated by a fund's investments.

Duration. A measure of the sensitivity of bond—and bond fund—prices to interest rate movements. For example, if a bond has a duration of two years, its price would fall by approximately 2% when interest rates rise by 1%. On the other hand, the bond's price would rise by approximately 2% when interest rates fall by 1%.

30

Ex-Dividend Date. The date when a distribution of dividends and/or capital gains is deducted from the share price of a mutual fund, ETF, or stock. On the ex-dividend date, the share price drops by the amount of the distribution per share (plus or minus any market activity).

Expense Ratio. A fund's total annual operating expenses expressed as a percentage of the fund's average net assets. The expense ratio includes management and administrative expenses, but 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 generally measured from the inception date.

Indexing. A low-cost investment strategy in which a fund attempts to track—rather than outperform—a specified market benchmark, or "index."

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 an advisor to be investment-grade.

Joint Committed Credit Facility. The Fund participates, along with other funds managed by Vanguard, in a committed credit facility provided by a syndicate of lenders pursuant to a credit agreement that may be renewed annually; each Vanguard fund is individually liable for its borrowings, if any, under the credit facility. The amount and terms of the committed credit facility are subject to approval by the Fund's board of trustees and renegotiation with the lender syndicate on an annual basis.

Municipal Bond. A bond issued by a state or local government or by other governmental authorities. Interest income from municipal bonds, and therefore dividend income from municipal bond funds, is generally free from federal income taxes and generally exempt from taxes in the state in which the bonds were issued.

Mutual Fund. An investment company that pools the money of many people and invests it in a variety of securities in an effort to achieve a specific objective over time.

31

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). A stock exchange based in New York City that is open for regular trading on business days, Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time.

Par. The amount to be paid at a bond's maturity; also known as the face value.

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 investments.

Total Return. A percentage change, over a specified time period, in a 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.

32

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Institutional Division

P.O. Box 2900

Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900

Connect with Vanguard® > vanguard.com

For More Information

If you would like more information about Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF, 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's ETF Shares and is incorporated by reference into (and 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 Vanguard ETF Shares, please visit vanguard.com or contact us as follows:

The Vanguard Group

Institutional Investor Information

P.O. Box 2900

Valley Forge, PA 19482-2900

Telephone: 866-499-8473

Information Provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Reports and other information about the Fund are available in the EDGAR database on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, or you can receive copies of this information, for a fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov.

Fund's Investment Company Act file number: 811-02687

© 2020 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

U.S. Patent Nos. 6,879,964; 7,337,138; 7,720,749; 7,925,573; 8,090,646; and 8,417,623.

Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor.

P 4391 022020

 

Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund Prospectus

February 27, 2020

Admiral™ Shares

Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTEAX)

See the inside front cover for important information about access to your fund's annual and semiannual shareholder reports.

This prospectus contains financial data for the Fund through the fiscal year ended October 31, 2019.

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.

Important information about access to shareholder reports

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the SEC, paper copies of your fund's annual and semiannual shareholder reports will no longer be sent to you by mail, unless you specifically request them. Instead, you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted on the website and will be provided with a link to access the report.

If you have already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and do not need to take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the fund electronically by contacting your financial intermediary (such as a broker-dealer or bank) or, if you invest directly with the fund, by calling Vanguard at one of the phone numbers on the back cover of this prospectus or by logging on to vanguard.com.

You may elect to receive paper copies of all future shareholder reports free of charge. If you invest through a financial intermediary, you can contact the intermediary to request that you continue to receive paper copies. If you invest directly with the fund, you can call Vanguard at one of the phone numbers on the back cover of this prospectus or log on to vanguard.com. Your election to receive paper copies will apply to all the funds you hold through an intermediary or directly with Vanguard.

Contents

Fund Summary

1

Investing With Vanguard

24

Investing in Index Funds

7

Purchasing Shares

24

 

 

 

 

Investing in Tax-Exempt Funds

8

Converting Shares

27

 

 

 

 

More on the Fund

9

Redeeming Shares

27

 

 

 

 

The Fund and Vanguard

18

Exchanging Shares

31

 

 

 

 

Investment Advisor

18

Frequent-Trading Limitations

31

 

 

 

 

Dividends, Capital Gains, and Taxes

19

Other Rules You Should Know

33

 

 

 

 

Share Price

21

Fund and Account Updates

37

 

 

 

 

Financial Highlights

23

Contacting Vanguard

39

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Information

39

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary of Investment Terms

41

 

 

 

 

Fund Summary

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment-grade segment of the U.S. municipal bond market.

Fees and Expenses

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold Admiral Shares of the Fund.

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

 

 

Account Service Fee (for certain fund account balances below $10,000)

$20/year

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

 

Management Fees

0.08%

 

 

12b-1 Distribution Fee

None

 

 

Other Expenses

0.01%

 

 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.09%

 

 

1

Example

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 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 redeem your investment at the end of the given period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

$9

$29

$51

$115

 

 

 

 

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. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 18% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the Standard & Poor's National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index, which measures the performance of the investment-grade segment of the U.S. municipal bond market. This Index includes municipal bonds from issuers that are primarily state or local governments or agencies whose interest is exempt from U.S. federal income taxes and the federal alternative minimum tax (AMT). To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, each bond must have a rating of at least investment-grade, as determined by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) (e.g., at least BBB– by Fitch Ratings, Inc.); be denominated in U.S. dollars; and have a minimum par amount of $25 million. In addition, to be included in the Index, each bond must have a minimum term to maturity greater than one calendar month.

The Fund invests by sampling the Index, meaning that it holds a range of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full Index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. All of the Fund's investments will be selected through the sampling process, and at least 80% of the Fund's assets will be invested in securities held in the Index. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund's assets will

2

be invested in securities whose income will be exempt from federal income taxes and the federal AMT. The Fund maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity consistent with that of the Index. As of October 31, 2019, the dollar-weighted average maturity of the Index was 5.6 years.

Principal 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 is subject to the following risks, which could affect the Fund's performance:

Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices 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.

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.

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.

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. In general, credit risk should be relatively low for the Fund because it invests primarily in bonds that are considered to be of high quality.

Index sampling risk, which is the chance that the securities selected for the Fund, in the aggregate, will not provide investment performance matching that of the Fund's target index. Index sampling risk for the Fund is expected to be low to moderate.

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.

Tax risk, which is the chance that all or a portion of the tax-exempt income from municipal bonds held by the Fund will be declared taxable, possibly with retroactive effect, because of unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service or state or local tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a bond issuer.

3

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.

Annual Total Returns

The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. Because the eligibility requirements for the Fund's Admiral Shares were recently changed, annual total returns for the Fund's Admiral Shares are relevant for most investors. Accordingly, the information presented in the bar chart reflects the performance of the Fund's Admiral Shares. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Admiral Shares (including annual fund operating expenses but excluding shareholder fees) has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. If applicable shareholder fees were reflected, returns would be less than those shown in the bar chart. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the Admiral Shares (including annual fund operating expenses and any applicable shareholder fees) compare with those of the Fund's target index, which has investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance or by calling Vanguard toll-free at 800-662-7447.

Annual Total Returns — Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund Admiral Shares

2016

2017

2018

2019

 

10%

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.45

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5%

 

 

4.99

0.94

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0.33

 

 

 

 

 

0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-5%

-10%

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a calendar quarter was 2.82% (quarter ended March 31, 2019), and the lowest return for a quarter was –3.45% (quarter ended December 31, 2016).

4

Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2019

 

 

Since

 

 

Inception

 

 

(Aug. 25,

 

1 Year

2015)

 

 

 

Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund Admiral Shares

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

7.45%

3.65%

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

7.18

3.59

 

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

5.23

3.24

 

 

 

S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

7.42%

3.68%

 

 

 

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 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 may 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.

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)

Portfolio Manager

Stephen M. McFee, CFA, Portfolio Manager at Vanguard. He has managed the Fund since February 2020.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase or redeem shares online through our website (vanguard.com), by mail (The Vanguard Group, P.O. Box 1110, Valley Forge, PA 19482-1110), or by telephone (800-662-2739). The minimum investment amount required to open and maintain a Fund account for Admiral Shares is $3,000. The minimum investment amount required to add to an existing Fund account is generally $1. Financial intermediaries, institutional clients, and Vanguard-advised clients should contact Vanguard for information on special eligibility rules that may apply to them regarding Admiral Shares. If you are

5

investing through an intermediary, please contact that firm directly for more information regarding your eligibility.

Tax Information

The Fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gain. A majority of the income dividends that you receive from the Fund are expected to be exempt from federal income and alternative minimum taxes. However, a portion of the Fund's distributions may be subject to federal income and alternative minimum taxes. Dividend and capital gains distributions that you receive may also be subject to state and local income taxes.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.

6

Investing in Index Funds

What Is Indexing?

Indexing is an investment strategy for tracking the performance of a specified market benchmark, or "index." An index is a group of securities whose overall performance is used as a standard to measure the investment performance of a particular market.

There are many types of indexes. Some represent entire markets—such as the U.S. stock market or the U.S. bond market. Other indexes cover market segments—such as small-capitalization stocks or short-term bonds. One cannot invest directly in an index.

The index sponsor determines the securities to include in the index, the weighting of each security in the index, and the appropriate time to make changes to the composition of the index. Generally, the index sponsor does not provide any warranty, or accept any liability, with respect to the quality, accuracy, or completeness of either the target index or its related data. Errors made by the index sponsor may occur from time to time and may not be identified by the index sponsor for a period of time or at all. Vanguard does not provide any warranty or guarantee against such errors. Therefore, the gains, losses, or costs associated with the index sponsor's errors will generally be borne by the index fund and its shareholders.

An index fund seeks to hold all, or a representative sample, of the securities that make up its target index. Index funds attempt to mirror the performance of the target index, for better or worse. However, an index fund generally does not perform exactly like its target index. For example, index funds have operating expenses and transaction costs. Market indexes do not, and therefore they will usually have a slight performance advantage over funds that track them. The ability of an index fund to match its performance to that of its target index can also be impacted by, among other things, the timing and size of cash flows and the size of the fund. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could also have an adverse effect on a fund's ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the index.

Index funds typically have the following characteristics:

Variety of investments. Index funds generally invest in the securities of a variety of companies and industries.

Relative performance consistency. Because they seek to track market benchmarks, index funds usually do not perform dramatically better or worse than their benchmarks.

Low cost. Index funds are generally inexpensive to run compared with actively managed funds. They have low or no research costs and typically keep trading activity— and thus dealer markups and other transaction costs—to a minimum compared with actively managed funds.

7

Investing in Tax-Exempt Funds

What Are Municipal Bond Funds?

Municipal bond funds invest primarily in interest-bearing securities issued by state and local governments and by other governmental authorities to support their needs or to finance public projects. A municipal bond—like a bond issued by a corporation or the U.S. government—obligates the issuer to pay the bondholder a fixed or variable amount of interest periodically and to repay the principal value of the bond on a specific maturity date. Unlike most other bonds, however, municipal bonds generally pay interest that is exempt from federal income taxes and, in some cases, from state and local taxes. For certain shareholders, the interest may be subject to the alternative minimum tax.

Taxable Versus Tax-Exempt Funds

Yields on tax-exempt bonds—such as some municipal bonds—are typically lower than those on taxable bonds, so investing in a tax-exempt fund makes sense only if you stand to save more in taxes than you would earn as additional income while invested in a taxable fund.

To determine whether a tax-exempt fund—such as Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund—makes sense for you, compute the tax-exempt fund's taxable-equivalent yield. This figure enables you to take taxes into account when comparing your potential return on a tax-exempt fund with the potential return on a taxable fund.

To compute the taxable-equivalent yield, divide the tax-exempt fund's yield by the difference between 100% and your federal tax bracket. For example, if you are in the 37% tax bracket and subject to the 3.8% Medicare tax, and can earn a tax-exempt yield of 5%, the taxable-equivalent yield would be 8.45% (5% divided by 59.2% [i.e.,100%–37%–3.8%]).

In this example, you would choose the tax-exempt fund if its taxable-equivalent yield of 8.45% were greater than the yield of a similar, though taxable, investment.

Remember that we have used an assumed tax bracket in this example. Actual taxable- equivalent yields depend on your individual tax situation. Make sure to verify your actual effective marginal rate before calculating taxable-equivalent yields of your own.

There is no guarantee that all of a tax-exempt fund's income from its municipal bonds will remain exempt from federal, state, or local income taxes. Income from municipal bonds held by a fund could be declared taxable, possibly with retroactive effect, because of unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or state or local tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a bond issuer.

8

More on the Fund

This prospectus describes the principal risks you would face as a Fund shareholder. It is important to keep in mind one of the main principles of investing: generally, 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 symbol throughout the prospectus. It is used to mark detailed information about the more significant risks that you would confront as a Fund shareholder. To highlight terms and concepts important to mutual fund investors, we have provided Plain Talk® 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 Admiral Shares. The Fund also issues ETF Shares (an exchange-traded class of shares), which are offered through a separate prospectus.

Both share classes offered by the Fund have the same investment objective, strategies, and policies. However, different share classes have different expenses; as a result, their investment returns will differ.

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. Assuming that operating expenses remain as stated in the Fees and Expenses section, Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund's Admiral shares' expense ratio would be 0.09%, or $0.90 per $1,000 of average net assets. The average expense ratio for general municipal funds in 2018 was 0.84%, or $8.40 per $1,000 of average net assets (derived from data provided by Lipper, a Thomson Reuters Company, which reports on the mutual fund industry).

Plain Talk About Costs of Investing

Costs are an important consideration in choosing a mutual fund. That is because you, as a shareholder, pay a proportionate share of the costs of operating a fund and 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.

9

The following sections explain the principal 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. The Fund's policy of investing at least 80% of its assets in securities that are held in its target index may be changed only upon 60 days' notice to shareholders.

Market Exposure

The Fund invests mainly in municipal bonds issued by state and local governments or agencies that provide tax-exempt income. As a result, the Fund is subject to certain risks.

The Fund is subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices will decline because of rising interest rates.

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 (i.e., bonds that cannot be redeemed by the issuer) of different maturities, each with a face value of $1,000.

How Interest Rate Changes Affect the Value of a $1,000 Bond1

 

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

$954

$1,049

 

 

 

 

 

Intermediate-Term (10 years)

922

1,086

851

1,180

 

 

 

 

 

Long-Term (20 years)

874

1,150

769

1,328

 

 

 

 

 

1 Assuming a 4% coupon rate.

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.

10

 

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 4% yield. A year later, interest rates are on the rise and bonds of comparable quality and maturity are offered with a 5% yield. With higher-yielding bonds available, you would have trouble selling your 4% 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 3% bonds were being offered, you should be able to sell your 4% bond for more than you paid.

Changes in interest rates can affect bond income as well as bond prices.

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 new cash flow and cash from maturing bonds in lower-yielding bonds.

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, will face as interest rates rise—but also the higher the potential 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 stated maturity of a bond may differ from the effective maturity of a bond, which takes into consideration that an action such as a call or refunding may cause bonds to be repaid before their stated maturity dates.

Although falling interest rates tend to strengthen bond prices, they can cause another problem for bond fund investors—bond calls.

11

The Fund is subject to 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.

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 bond. 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 coupon rates or interest rates, which make them less likely to be called.

The Fund is subject to 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.

The Fund is subject to 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. In general, credit risk should be relatively low for the Fund because it invests primarily in bonds that are considered to be of high 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. The lower the credit quality, the greater the perceived chance that the bond issuer will default, or fail to meet its payment obligations. All things being equal, the lower a bond's credit quality, the higher its yield should be to compensate investors for assuming additional risk.

12

The Fund tries to minimize credit risk by purchasing a wide selection of municipal securities. As a result, there is less chance that the Fund will be seriously affected by a particular bond issuer's failure to pay either interest or principal.

The Fund is subject to 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.

Municipal securities are traded via a network among dealers and brokers that connect buyers with sellers. Liquidity in the tax-exempt bond market may be reduced as a result of overall economic conditions and credit tightening. There may be little trading in the secondary market for particular bonds and other debt securities, which may make them more difficult to value or sell.

Security Selection

Index sampling strategy. Because it would be very expensive and inefficient to buy and sell all bonds held in its target index—which is an indexing strategy called "replication"—the Fund uses index "sampling" techniques to select securities. Using sophisticated computer programs, the Fund's advisor generally selects a representative sample of securities that approximates the full target index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. These factors include duration, cash flow, quality, and callability of the underlying bonds. In addition, the Fund keeps industry sector and subsector exposure within tight boundaries relative to its target index.

Because the Fund does not hold all of the securities in its target index, some of the securities (and issuers) that are held will likely be overweighted (or underweighted) compared with the target index. The maximum overweight (or underweight) is constrained at the issuer level with the goal of producing well-diversified credit exposure in the portfolio. As of October 31, 2019, the number of bonds in the Fund's target index and the number of bonds held by the Fund were 11,977 and 4,285 respectively.

The Fund is subject to index sampling risk, which is the chance that the securities selected for the Fund, in the aggregate, will not provide investment performance matching that of the Fund's target index. Index sampling risk for the Fund is expected to be low to moderate.

Other Investment Policies and Risks

The Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in securities held in its target index. Up to 20% of the Fund's assets may be used to purchase nonpublic, investment-grade securities, generally referred to as 144A securities, as well as smaller public issues or medium-term notes not included in the index because of the small size of the issue. We expect the vast majority of these securities will have characteristics similar to those in the target index. Subject to the same 20% limit, the Fund may also purchase other investments that are outside of its target index or may hold bonds that, when acquired,

13

were included in the index but subsequently were removed. Some of these investments may generate taxable income, and thus the Fund may need to distribute income subject to federal personal income tax or the alternative minimum tax.

The Fund reserves the right to substitute a different index for the index it currently tracks if the current index is discontinued, if the Fund's agreement with the sponsor of its target index is terminated, or for any other reason determined in good faith by the Fund's board of trustees. In any such instance, the substitute index would represent the same market segment as the current index.

The Fund may purchase tax-exempt securities on a "when-issued" basis. When investing in "when-issued" securities, the Fund agrees to buy the securities at a certain price on a certain date, even if the market price of the securities at the time of delivery is higher or lower than the agreed-upon purchase price.

Generally speaking, a derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a stock, a bond, or a currency), a physical asset (such as gold, oil, or wheat), a market index, or a reference rate. 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. In particular, derivatives will be used only when they may help the advisor to accomplish one or more of the following:

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.

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.

14

 

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. On the other hand, non-exchange- traded derivatives—such as certain swap agreements—tend to be more specialized or complex and may be more difficult to accurately value.

The Fund may invest a small portion of its assets in fixed income futures, which are a type of derivative, and/or shares of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These fixed income futures and ETFs typically provide returns similar to those of the bonds listed in the index, or in a subset of the index, the Fund seeks to track. The Fund may purchase futures or ETFs when doing so will reduce the Fund's transaction costs, facilitate cash management, mitigate risk, or have the potential to add value because the instruments are favorably priced. Vanguard receives no additional revenue from Fund assets invested 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.

Cash Management

The Fund's daily cash balance may be invested in Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund and/ or Vanguard Municipal Cash Management Fund (each, a CMT Fund), which are low-cost money market funds. When investing in a CMT Fund, the Fund bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the CMT Fund in which it invests. Vanguard receives no additional revenue from Fund assets invested in a CMT Fund. Investment in a CMT Fund may generate taxable income for the Fund and potentially may require the Fund to distribute income subject to federal personal income tax or the alternative minimum tax.

Methods Used to Meet Redemption Requests

Under normal circumstances, the Fund typically expects to meet redemptions with positive cash flows. When this is not an option, the Fund seeks to maintain its risk exposure by selling a cross section of the Fund's holdings to meet redemptions, while also factoring in transaction costs. Additionally, the Fund may work with larger clients to implement their redemptions in a manner that is least disruptive to the portfolio; see "Potentially disruptive redemptions" under Redeeming Shares in the Investing With Vanguard section.

15

Under certain circumstances, including under stressed market conditions, there are additional tools that the Fund may use in order to meet redemptions, including advancing the settlement of market trades with counterparties to match investor redemption payments or delaying settlement of an investor's transaction to match trade settlement within regulatory requirements. The Fund may also suspend payment of redemption proceeds for up to seven days; see "Emergency circumstances" under Redeeming Shares in the Investing With Vanguard section. Additionally under these unusual circumstances, the Fund may borrow money (subject to certain regulatory conditions and if available under board-approved procedures) through an interfund lending facility or through a bank line-of-credit, including a joint committed credit facility, in order to meet redemption requests.

Temporary Investment Measures

The Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies when the advisor believes that doing so is in the Fund's best interest, so long as the strategy or policy employed is consistent with the Fund's investment objective. For instance, the Fund may invest beyond its normal limits in derivatives or exchange- traded funds that are consistent with the Fund's investment objective when those instruments are more favorably priced or provide needed liquidity, as might be the case when the Fund receives large cash flows that it cannot prudently invest immediately. By temporarily departing from its normal investment policies, the Fund may distribute income subject to federal personal income tax or the alternative minimum tax and may otherwise fail to meet its 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, the 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 and short-term bond funds, but including Vanguard Short-Term Inflation- Protected Securities Index Fund) do not knowingly accommodate frequent trading. The board of trustees of each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds and short- term bond funds, but including Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities

16

Index 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. These policies and procedures do not apply to ETF Shares because frequent trading in ETF Shares generally does not disrupt portfolio management or otherwise harm fund shareholders. 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 because the investor has a history of frequent trading or if Vanguard determines that such purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance.

Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds and short-term bond funds, but including Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund) generally prohibits, except as otherwise noted in the Investing With Vanguard section, an investor's purchases or exchanges into a fund account for 30 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 Vanguard fund (other than retail and government money market funds), in determining its net asset value, will use fair-value pricing when appropriate, 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 generally seeks to invest for the long term, it may sell securities regardless of how long they have been held. Generally, an index fund sells securities in response to redemption requests from shareholders of conventional (not exchange- traded) shares or to changes in the composition of its target index or in an effort to manage the fund's duration. 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. In general, the greater the turnover rate, the greater the impact transaction costs will have on a fund's return. Also, funds with high turnover rates may be more likely to generate capital gains, including short-term capital gains, that must be

17

distributed to shareholders and will be taxable to shareholders investing through a taxable account.

The Fund and Vanguard

The Fund is a member of The Vanguard Group, a family of over 200 funds. All of the funds that are members of The Vanguard Group (other than funds of funds) share in the expenses associated with administrative services and business operations, such as personnel, office space, and equipment.

Vanguard Marketing Corporation provides marketing services to the funds. Although fund shareholders do not pay sales commissions or 12b-1 distribution fees, each fund (other than a fund of funds) or each share class of a fund (in the case of a fund with multiple share classes) pays its allocated share of the Vanguard funds' marketing costs.

Plain Talk About Vanguard's Unique Corporate Structure

The Vanguard Group 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 are owned by third parties—either public or private stockholders—and not by the funds they serve.

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc., 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 October 31, 2019, Vanguard served as advisor for approximately $4.7 trillion in assets. Vanguard provides investment advisory services to the Fund pursuant to the Funds' Service Agreement and subject to the supervision and oversight of the trustees and officers of the Fund.

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2019, the advisory expenses represented an effective annual rate of 0.01% 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 with a third-party investment advisor or hire a new third-party 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. As the Fund's sponsor and overall manager, Vanguard may provide investment advisory services to the Fund 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. The Fund has filed an application

18

seeking a similar SEC exemption with respect to investment advisors that are wholly owned subsidiaries of Vanguard. If the exemption is granted, the Fund may rely on the new SEC relief.

For a discussion of why the board of trustees approved the Fund's investment advisory arrangement, see the most recent semiannual report to shareholders covering the fiscal period ended April 30.

The manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund is:

Stephen M. McFee, CFA, Portfolio Manager and co-lead of the municipal revenue team in Vanguard's Fixed Income Group. He has been with Vanguard since 2005, has worked in investment management since 2007, and has managed the Fund since February 2020. Education: B.A./B.S., East Stroudsburg University; M.S., St. Joseph's University.

The Fund's 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 short-term or long-term capital gains realized from the sale of its holdings. Income dividends generally are declared monthly and distributed monthly; capital gains distributions, if any, generally occur annually in December. In addition, the Fund may occasionally make a supplemental distribution 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. The portion of such dividends that is exempt from federal income tax will be designated as "exempt-interest dividends." 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.

19

Basic Tax Points

Investors should be aware of the following basic federal income tax points about tax- exempt mutual funds:

A majority of the income dividends that you receive are expected to be exempt from federal and alternative minimum taxes.

Distributions of capital gains and any investment income that is not exempt from federal income tax 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 short-term capital gains distribution that you receive is taxable to you as ordinary income.

Any distribution of net long-term capital gains is taxable to you as long-term capital gains, no matter how long you have 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.

Exempt-interest dividends from a tax-exempt fund are taken into account in determining the taxable portion of any Social Security or railroad retirement benefits that you receive.

Income paid from tax-exempt bonds whose proceeds are used to fund private,

for-profit organizations may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

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.

Vanguard (or your intermediary) will send you a statement each year showing the tax status of all of your distributions.

Individuals, trusts, and estates whose income exceeds certain threshold amounts are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on "net investment income." Net investment income takes into account distributions paid by the Fund (except exempt-interest dividends) and capital gains from any sale or exchange of Fund shares.

Income dividends 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.

Income dividends from interest earned on municipal securities of a state or its political subdivisions are generally exempt from that state's income taxes. Almost all states,

20

however, tax interest earned on municipal securities of other states. Vanguard (or your intermediary) will annually provide you with information to help report your earnings by state from the Fund on your annual tax returns.

This prospectus provides general tax information only. Please consult your tax advisor for detailed information about any tax consequences for you.

General Information

Backup withholding. By law, Vanguard must withhold 24% of any taxable distributions or redemptions from your account if you do not:

Provide your correct taxpayer identification number.

Certify that the taxpayer identification number is correct.

Confirm that you are not subject to backup withholding.

Similarly, Vanguard (or your intermediary) must withhold taxes from your account if the IRS instructs us to do so. The backup withholding rules may also apply to distributions that are designated as exempt-interest dividends.

Foreign investors. Vanguard funds offered for sale in the United States (Vanguard U.S. funds), including the Fund offered in this prospectus, are not widely available outside the United States. Non-U.S. investors should be aware that U.S. withholding and estate taxes and certain U.S. tax reporting requirements may apply to any investments in Vanguard U.S. funds. Foreign investors should visit the non-U.S. investors page on our website at vanguard.com for information on Vanguard's non-U.S. products.

Invalid addresses. If an income dividend distribution or capital gains distribution check mailed to your address of record is returned as undeliverable, Vanguard will automatically reinvest the distribution and all future distributions until you provide us with a valid mailing address. Reinvestments will receive the net asset value calculated on the date of the reinvestment.

Share Price

Share price, also known as net asset value (NAV), is calculated as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), generally 4 p.m., Eastern time, on each day that the NYSE is open for business (a business day). In the rare event the NYSE experiences unanticipated disruptions and is unavailable at the close of the trading day, the Fund reserves the right to treat such day as a business day and calculate NAVs as of the close of regular trading on the Nasdaq (or another alternate exchange if the Nasdaq is unavailable, as determined at Vanguard's discretion), 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 the share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. On U.S. holidays or other days

21

when the NYSE is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Fund does not sell or redeem shares.

Debt securities held by a Vanguard fund are valued based on information furnished by an independent pricing service or market quotations. 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).

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 as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The values of any mutual fund shares, including institutional money market fund shares, held by a fund are based on the NAVs of the shares. The values of any ETF shares or closed-end fund shares held by a fund are based on the market value of the shares.

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 are published daily on our website at vanguard.com/prices.

22

Financial Highlights

Financial highlights information is intended to help you understand a fund's performance for the past five years (or, if shorter, its period of operations). Certain information reflects financial results for a single fund share. Total return represents the rate that an investor would have earned or lost each period on an investment in a fund or share class (assuming reinvestment of all distributions). This information has been obtained from the financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with fund financial statements, is included in a fund's most recent annual report to shareholders. You may obtain a free copy of a fund's latest annual or semiannual report, which is available upon request.

Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund Admiral Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aug. 25,

 

 

Year Ended October 31,

20151 to

 

 

Oct. 31,

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period

2019

2018

2017

2016

 

2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period

$20.01

$20.63

$20.65

$20.10

 

$19.98

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Investment Income

.4992

.4612

.4152

.324

 

.066

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on

1.360

(.633)

(.039)

.550

 

.120

Investments3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total from Investment Operations

1.859

(.172)

.376

.874

 

.186

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividends from Net Investment Income

(.489)

(.448)

(.396)

(.324)

 

(.066)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributions from Realized Capital Gains

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Distributions

(.489)

(.448)

(.396)

(.324)

(.066)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Asset Value, End of Period

$21.38

$20.01

$20.63

$20.65

 

$20.10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return4

9.37%

–0.84%

1.86%

4.36%

 

0.93%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)

$316

$200

$134

$69

 

$7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Total Expenses to Average Net Assets

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

 

0.12%5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assets

2.38%

2.27%

2.04%

1.71%

 

1.96%5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portfolio Turnover Rate6

18%

22%

18%

8%

 

1%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1Inception.

2Calculated based on average shares outstanding.

3Includes increases from purchase fees of $0.00, $0.00, $0.01, $0.01, and $0.00.

4Total returns do not include transaction or account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown.

5Annualized.

6Excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind purchases or redemptions of the Fund's capital shares, including ETF Creation Units.

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Investing With Vanguard

This section of the prospectus explains the basics of doing business with Vanguard. Vanguard fund shares can be held directly with Vanguard or indirectly through an intermediary, such as a bank, a broker, or an investment advisor. If you hold Vanguard fund shares directly with Vanguard, you should carefully read each topic within this section that pertains to your relationship with Vanguard. If you hold Vanguard fund shares indirectly through an intermediary (including shares held in a brokerage account through Vanguard Brokerage Services®), please see Investing With Vanguard Through Other Firms, and also refer to your account agreement with the intermediary for information about transacting in that account. Vanguard reserves the right to change the following policies without notice. Please call or check online for current information. See Contacting Vanguard.

For Vanguard fund shares held directly with Vanguard, 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. Note that each reference to "you" in this prospectus applies to any one or more registered account owners or persons authorized to transact on your account.

Purchasing Shares

Vanguard reserves the right, without 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 Admiral Shares

To open and maintain an account. $3,000. Financial intermediaries, institutional clients, and Vanguard-advised clients should contact Vanguard for information on special eligibility rules that may apply to them regarding Admiral Shares. If you are investing through an intermediary, please contact that firm directly for more information regarding your eligibility.

To add to an existing account. Generally $1.

How to Initiate a Purchase Request

Be sure to check Exchanging Shares, Frequent-Trading Limitations, and Other Rules You Should Know before placing your purchase request.

Online. You may open certain types of accounts, request a purchase of shares, and request an exchange through our website or our mobile application if you are registered for online access.

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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 call Vanguard to request a purchase of shares in your account or to request an exchange. See Contacting Vanguard.

By mail. You may send Vanguard your account registration form and check to open a new fund account. To add to an existing fund account, you may send your check with an Invest-by-Mail form (from a transaction confirmation or your account statement) or with a deposit slip (available online).

How to Pay for a Purchase

By electronic bank transfer. You may purchase shares of a Vanguard fund through an electronic transfer of money from a bank account. To establish the electronic bank transfer service on an account, you must designate the bank account online, complete a form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form. After the service is set up on your account, you can purchase shares by electronic bank transfer on a regular schedule (Automatic Investment Plan) or upon request. Your purchase request can be initiated online (if you are registered for online access), 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 make initial or additional purchases to your fund account by sending a check with a deposit slip or by utilizing our mobile application if you are registered for online access. Also see How to Initiate a Purchase Request. Make your check payable to Vanguard and include the appropriate fund number (Vanguard—591).

By exchange. You may purchase shares of a Vanguard fund using the proceeds from the simultaneous redemption of shares of another Vanguard fund. You may initiate an exchange online (if you are registered for online access), by telephone, or by mail with an exchange form. 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. See Share Price.

For purchases by check into all funds other than money market funds and for purchases by exchange, wire, or electronic bank transfer 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 for the purchase will be the same day. If the purchase request is received on a business day

25

after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date for the purchase 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 for the purchase 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 for the purchase 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 for the purchase will be one business day later than for other funds.

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 vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard.

Other Purchase Rules You Should Know

Admiral Shares. Admiral Shares generally are not available for SIMPLE IRAs and Vanguard Individual 401(k) Plans.

Check purchases. All purchase checks must be written in U.S. dollars, be drawn on a U.S. bank, and be accompanied by good order instructions. Vanguard does not accept cash, traveler's checks, starter checks, or money orders. In addition, Vanguard may refuse 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 notice, to close your account or take such other steps as we deem reasonable. Certain types of accounts may require additional documentation.

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 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 the investor has a history of frequent trading or because the purchase may negatively affect a fund's operation or performance.

Large purchases. Call Vanguard before attempting to invest a large dollar amount.

26

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

If you convert from Admiral Shares to ETF Shares, the transaction will be based on the respective NAVs of the separate share classes on the trade date of the conversion. Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any self-directed conversion request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing a conversion request.

A conversion between share classes of the same fund is a nontaxable event.

Conversions to ETF Shares

Owners of conventional shares (i.e., not exchange-traded shares) issued by the Fund may convert those shares to ETF Shares of equivalent value of the same fund. Please note that investors who own conventional shares through a 401(k) plan or other employer-sponsored retirement or benefit plan generally may not convert those shares to ETF Shares and should check with their plan sponsor or recordkeeper. ETF Shares, whether acquired through a conversion or purchased on the secondary market, cannot be converted to conventional shares by a shareholder. Also, ETF Shares of one fund cannot be exchanged for ETF Shares of another fund.

ETF Shares must be held in a brokerage account. Thus, before converting conventional shares to ETF Shares, you must have an existing, or open a new, brokerage account. This account may be with Vanguard Brokerage Services or with any other brokerage firm.

Vanguard Brokerage Services does not impose a fee on conversions from conventional shares to Vanguard ETF Shares. However, other brokerage firms may charge a fee to process a conversion. Vanguard reserves the right, in the future, to impose a transaction fee on conversions or to limit, temporarily suspend, or terminate the conversion privilege. For additional information on converting conventional shares to ETF Shares, please contact Vanguard to obtain a prospectus for ETF Shares. See Contacting Vanguard.

Redeeming Shares

How to Initiate a Redemption Request

Be sure to check Exchanging Shares, Frequent-Trading Limitations, and Other Rules You Should Know before placing your redemption request.

27

Online. You may request a redemption of shares or request an exchange through our website or our mobile application if you are registered for online access.

By telephone. You may call Vanguard to request a redemption of shares or an exchange. See Contacting Vanguard.

By mail. You may send a form (available online) to Vanguard to redeem from a fund account or to make an exchange.

By writing a check. If you have 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 service on an account, you must designate a bank account online, complete a form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form. After the service is set up on your account, you can redeem shares by electronic bank transfer on a regular schedule (Automatic Withdrawal Plan) or upon request. Your redemption request can be initiated online (if you are registered for online access), by telephone, or by mail.

By wire. To receive your proceeds by wire, you may instruct Vanguard to wire your redemption proceeds ($100 minimum) to a previously designated bank account. To establish the wire redemption service, you generally must designate a bank account online, complete a form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account registration form.

Please note that Vanguard charges a $10 wire fee for outgoing wire redemptions. The fee is assessed in addition to, rather than being withheld from, redemption proceeds and is paid directly to the fund in which you invest. For example, if you redeem $100 via a wire, you will receive the full $100, and the $10 fee will be assessed to your fund account through an additional redemption of fund shares. If you redeem your entire fund account, your redemption proceeds will be reduced by the amount of the fee. The wire fee does not apply to accounts held by Flagship and Flagship Select clients; accounts held through intermediaries, including Vanguard Brokerage Services; or accounts held by institutional clients.

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 registered for online access), by telephone, or by mail. See Exchanging Shares.

By check. If you have not chosen another redemption method, Vanguard will mail you a redemption check, generally payable to all registered account owners, normally within two business days of your trade date, and generally to the address of record.

28

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. See Share Price.

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; 12:30 p.m., Eastern time, for Vanguard Federal 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 all other 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: 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. If we are unable to send your redemption proceeds by wire or electronic bank transfer because the receiving institution rejects the transfer, Vanguard will make additional efforts to complete your transaction. If Vanguard is still unable to complete the transaction, we may send the proceeds of the redemption to you by check, generally payable to all registered account owners, or use your proceeds to purchase new shares of the fund from which you sold shares for the purpose of the wire or electronic bank transfer transaction. See Other Rules You Should Know—Good Order.

29

If your redemption request is received in good order, we typically expect that redemption proceeds will be paid by the Fund within one business day of the trade date; however, in certain circumstances, investors may experience a longer settlement period at the time of the transaction. For further information, see "Potentially disruptive redemptions" and "Emergency circumstances."

For further information about redemption transactions, consult our website at vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard.

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 Limitations 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 seven 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.

Address change. If you change your address online or by telephone, there may be up to a 14-day restriction on your ability to request check redemptions online and by telephone. You can request a redemption in writing (using a form available online) 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 generally requires the written consent of all registered account owners and may require additional documentation, such as a signature guarantee or a notarized signature. 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.

30

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 registered for online access), by telephone, or by mail. See Purchasing Shares and Redeeming Shares.

If the NYSE is open for regular trading (generally until 4 p.m., Eastern time, on 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.

Vanguard will not accept your request to cancel any exchange request once processing has begun. Please be careful when placing an exchange request.

Call Vanguard before attempting to exchange a large dollar amount. By calling us before you attempt to exchange a large dollar amount, you may avoid delayed or rejected transactions.

Please note that Vanguard reserves the right, without notice, to revise or terminate the exchange privilege, limit the amount of any exchange, or reject an exchange, at any time, for any reason. See Frequent-Trading Limitations for additional restrictions on exchanges.

Frequent-Trading Limitations

Because excessive transactions can disrupt management of a fund and increase the fund's costs for all shareholders, the board of trustees of each Vanguard fund places certain limits on frequent trading in the funds. Each Vanguard fund (other than money market funds and short-term bond funds, but including Vanguard Short-Term Inflation- Protected Securities Index Fund) limits an investor's purchases or exchanges into a fund account for 30 calendar days after the investor has redeemed or exchanged out of that fund account. ETF Shares are not subject to these frequent-trading limits.

For Vanguard Retirement Investment Program pooled plans, the limitations apply to exchanges made online or by telephone.

31

These frequent-trading limitations do 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®.

Discretionary transactions through Vanguard Personal Advisor Services®, Vanguard Institutional Advisory Services®, and Vanguard Digital AdvisorTM.

Redemptions of shares to pay fund or account fees.

Redemptions of shares to remove excess shareholder contributions to certain types of retirement accounts (including, but not limited to, IRAs and Vanguard Individual 401(k) Plans).

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 funds or trusts managed by Vanguard or its affiliates that invest in other Vanguard funds. (Please note that shareholders of Vanguard's funds of funds are subject to the limitations.)

For participants in employer-sponsored defined contribution plans,* the frequent- trading limitations do 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.

Transactions executed through 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 written request to Vanguard. (Exchange requests submitted by fax, if otherwise permitted, are subject to the limitations.)

32

*The following Vanguard fund accounts are subject to the frequent-trading limitations: SEP-IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, certain Individual 403(b)(7) Custodial Accounts, and Vanguard Individual 401(k) Plans.

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 30-day policy previously described, prohibiting a client's purchases of fund shares, and/or revoking 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 intermediary (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, including for the benefit of certain of the intermediary's clients. Intermediaries also may monitor their clients' trading activities with respect to Vanguard funds.

For those Vanguard funds that charge purchase and/or redemption fees, intermediaries will be asked to assess these fees on client accounts and remit these fees to the funds. The application of purchase and redemption fees and frequent- trading limitations 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 limitations. 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

When two or more shareholders have the same last name and address, just one summary prospectus (or prospectus) and/or shareholder report may be sent in an attempt to eliminate the unnecessary expense of duplicate mailings. You may request individual prospectuses and reports by contacting our Client Services Department by telephone or online. See Contacting Vanguard.

33

Vanguard.com

Registration. If you are a registered user of vanguard.com, you can review your account holdings; buy, sell, or exchange shares of most Vanguard funds; and perform most other transactions through our website. You must register for this service online.

Electronic delivery. Vanguard can deliver your account statements, transaction confirmations, prospectuses, certain tax forms, and shareholder 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 preferences under "Account Maintenance." You can revoke your electronic consent at any time through our website, and we will begin to send paper copies of these documents within 30 days of receiving your revocation.

Telephone Transactions

Automatic. When we set up your account, we will automatically enable you to do business with us by telephone, unless you instruct us otherwise in writing.

Tele-Account®. To obtain fund and account information through Vanguard's automated telephone service, you must first establish a Personal Identification Number (PIN) by calling Tele-Account at 800-662-6273.

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 owner, 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:

Are provided by the person(s) authorized in accordance with Vanguard's policies and procedures to access the account and request transactions.

Include the fund name and account number.

Include the amount of the transaction (stated in dollars, shares, or percentage). Written instructions also must generally be provided on a Vanguard form and include:

Signature(s) and date from the authorized person(s).

34

Signature guarantees or notarized signatures, if required for the type of transaction. (Call Vanguard for specific requirements.)

Any supporting documentation that may be required.

Good order requirements may vary among types of accounts and transactions. For more information, consult our website at vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard.

Vanguard reserves the right, without 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, Redeeming Shares, and Exchanging 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 generally will accept instructions from any one owner or authorized person.

Responsibility for Fraud

You should take precautions to protect yourself from fraud. Keep your account-related information private, and review any account confirmations, statements, or other information that we provide to you as soon as you receive them. Let us know immediately if you discover unauthorized activity or see something on your account that you do not understand or that looks unusual.

Vanguard will not be responsible for losses that result from transactions by a person who we reasonably believe is authorized to act on your account.

Uncashed Checks

Please cash your distribution or redemption checks promptly. Vanguard will not pay interest on uncashed checks. Vanguard may be required to transfer assets related to uncashed checks to a state under the state's abandoned property law.

Dormant Accounts

If your account has no activity in it for a period of time, Vanguard may be required to transfer it to a state under the state's abandoned property law, subject to potential federal or state withholding taxes.

35

Unusual Circumstances

If you experience difficulty contacting Vanguard online or by telephone, you can send us your transaction request on a Vanguard form by regular or express mail.

Investing With Vanguard Through Other Firms

You may purchase or sell shares of most Vanguard funds through a financial intermediary, such as a bank, a broker, or an 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. Your financial intermediary can provide you with account information and any required tax forms. You may be required to pay a commission on purchases of mutual fund shares made through a financial intermediary.

Please see Frequent-Trading LimitationsAccounts Held by Intermediaries for information about the assessment of any purchase or redemption fees and the monitoring of frequent trading for accounts held by intermediaries.

Account Service Fee

Vanguard may charge a $20 account service fee on 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 may be assessed on fund accounts in all Vanguard funds, regardless of the account minimum. The fee, which will be collected by redeeming fund shares in the amount of $20, will be deducted from fund accounts subject to the fee once per calendar year.

If you elect to receive your statements and other materials electronically (i.e., by e-delivery), the account service fee will not be charged, so long as your election remains in effect. You can make your e-delivery election on vanguard.com.

Beginning on January 1, 2021, you may elect to receive paper copies of shareholder reports free of charge as noted on the cover of this prospectus.

Certain account types have alternative fee structures, including SIMPLE IRAs, Vanguard Retirement Investment Program pooled plans, and Vanguard Individual 401(k) Plans.

Low-Balance Accounts

The Fund reserves the right to liquidate a fund account whose balance falls below the account minimum for any reason, including market fluctuation. This liquidation policy applies to nonretirement fund accounts and accounts that are held through intermediaries. Any such liquidation will be preceded by written notice to the investor.

36

Right to Change Policies

In addition to the rights expressly stated elsewhere in this prospectus, Vanguard reserves the right, without notice, to (1) alter, add, or discontinue any conditions of purchase (including eligibility requirements), redemption, exchange, conversions, service, or privilege at any time and (2) alter, impose, discontinue, or waive any purchase fee, redemption fee, account service fee, or other fee charged to a shareholder or a group of shareholders. Changes may affect any or all investors. These actions will be taken when, at the sole discretion of Vanguard management, Vanguard believes they are in the best interest of a fund.

Account Restrictions

Vanguard reserves the right to: (1) redeem all or a portion of a fund/account to meet a legal obligation, including tax withholding, tax lien, garnishment order, or other obligation imposed on your account by a court or government agency; (2) redeem shares, close an account, or suspend account privileges, features, or options in the case of threatening conduct or activity; (3) redeem shares, close an account, or suspend account privileges, features, or options if Vanguard believes or suspects that not doing so could result in a suspicious, fraudulent, or illegal transaction; (4) place restrictions on the ability to redeem any or all shares in an account if it is required to do so by a court or government agency; (5) place restrictions on the ability to redeem any or all shares in an account if Vanguard believes that doing so will prevent fraud, financial exploitation or abuse, or to protect vulnerable investors; (6) 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; and (7) freeze any account and/or suspend account services upon initial notification to Vanguard of the death of an account owner.

Share Classes

Vanguard reserves the right, without 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 through our website, 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

37

Statement will be sent to you itemizing the checkwriting redemptions for that month. Promptly review each confirmation statement that we provide to you. 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 through our website, 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 quarter (or month). Promptly review each summary that we provide to you. 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 Information Statements

For most accounts, Vanguard (or your intermediary) is required to provide annual tax forms to assist you in preparing your income tax returns. These forms are generally available for each calendar year early in the following year. Registered users of vanguard.com can also view certain forms through our website. Vanguard (or your intermediary) may also provide you with additional tax-related documentation. For more information, consult our website at vanguard.com or see Contacting Vanguard.

Annual and Semiannual Reports

We will send (or provide through our website, whichever you prefer) reports about Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund twice a year, in June and December. These reports include overviews of the financial markets and provide the following specific Fund information:

Performance assessments and comparisons with industry benchmarks.

Financial statements with listings of Fund holdings.

Portfolio Holdings

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.

38

Contacting Vanguard

Web

Vanguard.com

For the most complete source of Vanguard news

 

For fund, account, and service information

 

For most account transactions

 

For literature requests

 

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

 

 

Phone

 

 

 

Vanguard Tele-Account® 800-662-6273

For automated fund and account information

 

Toll-free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

 

 

Investor Information 800-662-7447 (Text telephone for people with hearing impairment at 800-749-7273)

For fund and service information For literature requests

Client Services 800-662-2739

For account information

 

 

(Text telephone for people with hearing

For most account transactions

 

 

impairment at 800-749-7273)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Institutional Division

For information and services for large institutional investors

888-809-8102

 

 

 

 

 

 

Financial Advisor and Intermediary

For information and services for financial intermediaries

Sales Support 800-997-2798

including financial advisors, broker-dealers, trust institutions,

 

and insurance companies

 

 

 

 

Financial Advisory and Intermediary

For account information and trading support for financial

Trading Support 800-669-0498

intermediaries including financial advisors, broker-dealers,

 

trust institutions, and insurance companies

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Information

 

 

 

 

 

Inception

Newspaper

Vanguard

CUSIP

 

Date

Abbreviation

Fund Number

Number

 

 

 

 

 

Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Admiral Shares

8/25/2015

TEBdIdxAdm

591

922907753

 

 

 

 

 

39

CFA® is a registered trademark owned by CFA Institute.

The "S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index" (the "Index") is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("SPDJI"), and has been licensed for use by Vanguard. Standard & Poor's® and S&P® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC ("S&P"); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ("Dow Jones"); S&P® and S&P 500® are trademarks of S&P and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by Vanguard. The Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates (collectively, "S&P Dow Jones Indices"). S&P Dow Jones Indices make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund particularly or the ability of the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices' only relationship to Vanguard with respect to the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices and/or its licensors. The S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to Vanguard or the Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation to take the needs of Vanguard or the owners of the Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of the Tax- Exempt Bond Index Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of the Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund is to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund. There is no assurance that investment products based on the S&P National AMT- Free Municipal Bond Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

S&P DOW JONES INDICES DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY VANGUARD, OWNERS OF THE TAX- EXEMPT BOND INDEX FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND VANGUARD, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.

40

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, a put, a refunding, a prepayment, or a redemption provision or an adjustable coupon rate) will cause the bond to be repaid.

Capital Gains Distributions. Payments to mutual fund shareholders of gains realized on securities that a fund has sold at a profit, minus any realized losses.

Coupon Rate. 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 Distributions. Payments to mutual fund shareholders of income from interest or dividends generated by a fund's investments.

Duration. A measure of the sensitivity of bond—and bond fund—prices to interest rate movements. For example, if a bond has a duration of two years, its price would fall by approximately 2% when interest rates rise by 1%. On the other hand, the bond's price would rise by approximately 2% when interest rates fall by 1%.

Expense Ratio. A fund's total annual operating expenses expressed as a percentage of the fund's average net assets. The expense ratio includes management and administrative expenses, but 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 generally measured from the inception date.

Indexing. A low-cost investment strategy in which a mutual fund attempts to track— rather than outperform—a specified market benchmark, or "index."

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

41

highest rating categories are considered investment-grade. Other debt securities may be considered by an advisor to be investment-grade.

Joint Committed Credit Facility. The Fund participates, along with other funds managed by Vanguard, in a committed credit facility provided by a syndicate of lenders pursuant to a credit agreement that may be renewed annually; each Vanguard fund is individually liable for its borrowings, if any, under the credit facility. The amount and terms of the committed credit facility are subject to approval by the Fund's board of trustees and renegotiation with the lender syndicate on an annual basis.

Municipal Bond. A bond issued by a state or local government or by other governmental authorities. Interest income from municipal bonds, and therefore dividend income from municipal bond funds, is generally free from federal income taxes and generally exempt from taxes in the state in which the bonds were issued.

Mutual Fund. An investment company that pools the money of many people and invests it in a variety of securities in an effort to achieve a specific objective over time.

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). A stock exchange based in New York City that is open for regular trading on business days, Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time.

Par. The amount to be paid at a bond's maturity; also known as the face value.

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 investments.

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.

42

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P.O. Box 2600

Valley Forge, PA 19482-2600

Connect with Vanguard® > vanguard.com

For More Information

If you would like more information about Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index 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 and is incorporated by reference into (and 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 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

Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-749-7273

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

Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-749-7273

Information Provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Reports and other information about the Fund are available in the EDGAR database on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, or you can receive copies of this information, for a fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov.

Fund's Investment Company Act file number: 811-02687

© 2020 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor.

P 1491 022020

PART B

VANGUARD® MUNICIPAL BOND FUNDS

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

February 27, 2020

This Statement of Additional Information is not a prospectus but should be read in conjunction with a Fund's current prospectus (dated February 27, 2020). To obtain, without charge, a prospectus or the most recent Annual Report to Shareholders, which contains the 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: vanguard.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Description of the Trust ...................................................................................................................

B-1

Fundamental Policies .......................................................................................................................

B-3

Investment Strategies, Risks, and Nonfundamental Policies ...........................................................

B-4

Share Price .....................................................................................................................................

B-21

Purchase and Redemption of Shares..............................................................................................

B-22

Management of the Funds..............................................................................................................

B-24

Investment Advisory and Other Services .......................................................................................

B-40

Portfolio Transactions ....................................................................................................................

B-43

Proxy Voting ...................................................................................................................................

B-44

Information About the ETF Share Class ........................................................................................

B-45

Financial Statements......................................................................................................................

B-51

Description of Municipal Bond Ratings..........................................................................................

B-51

Appendix A..........................................................................................................................................

B-53

DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST

Vanguard Municipal Bond Funds (the Trust) currently offers the following funds and share classes (identified by ticker symbol):

 

 

Share Classes1

 

Fund2

Investor

Admiral

ETF

 

 

 

 

Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund

VMSXX

 

 

 

 

Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

VWSTX

VWSUX

 

 

 

 

Vanguard Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

VMLTX

VMLUX

 

 

 

 

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

VWITX

VWIUX

 

 

 

 

Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

VWLTX

VWLUX

 

 

 

 

Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund

VWAHX

VWALX

 

 

 

 

Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund

VTEBX

VTEAX

VTEB

1 Individually, a class; collectively, the classes.

2 Individually, a Fund; collectively, the Funds.

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.

Throughout this document, any references to "class" apply only to the extent a Fund issues multiple classes.

B-1

Organization

The Trust was organized as Warwick Tax-Exempt Bond Fund, Inc., a Maryland corporation, in 1976. It was reorganized as a Pennsylvania business trust in 1984 and then was reorganized as a Maryland corporation in 1985. It was finally reorganized as a Delaware statutory trust in 1998. Prior to its reorganization as a Delaware statutory trust, the Trust was known as Vanguard Municipal Bond Fund, Inc. The Trust is registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act) as an open-end management investment company. All Funds within the Trust are classified as diversified within the meaning of the 1940 Act.

Service Providers

Custodian. State Street Bank and Trust Company, One Lincoln Street, Boston, MA 02111, serves as the Funds' custodian. The custodian is responsible for maintaining the Funds' assets, keeping all necessary accounts and records of Fund assets, and appointing any foreign subcustodians or foreign securities depositories.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Two Commerce Square, Suite 1800, 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. 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 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 approved by the Fund's board of trustees.

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 (please see Fundamental Policies), 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

B-2

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 by the shareholders.

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. Shareholders of each Fund (other than Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund) may convert their shares into another class of shares of the same Fund upon the satisfaction of any then-applicable eligibility requirements as described in the Fund's current prospectus. ETF Shares cannot be converted into conventional shares of a Fund by a shareholder. For additional information about the conversion rights applicable to ETF Shares, please see Information About the ETF Share Class. There are no conversion rights associated with the Municipal Money Market Fund.

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 for treatment 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 relating to the source of its income and the diversification of its assets. If a Fund fails to meet these requirements in any taxable year, the Fund will, in some cases, be able to cure such failure, including by paying a fund-level tax, paying interest, making additional distributions, and/or disposing of certain assets. If the Fund is ineligible to or otherwise does not cure such failure for any 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.

Each Fund may declare a capital gain dividend consisting of the excess (if any) of net realized long-term capital gains over net realized short-term capital losses. Net capital gains for a fiscal year are computed by taking into account any capital loss carryforwards of the Fund. For Fund fiscal years beginning on or after December 22, 2010, capital losses may be carried forward indefinitely and retain their character as either short-term or long-term. Under prior law, net capital losses could be carried forward for eight tax years and were treated as short-term capital losses. A Fund is required to use capital losses arising in fiscal years beginning on or after December 22, 2010, before using capital losses arising in fiscal years beginning prior to December 22, 2010.

FUNDAMENTAL POLICIES

Each Fund is subject to the following fundamental investment policies, 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.

80% Policy. Each Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in tax-exempt securities under normal market conditions. For purposes of these 80% policies, assets include net assets and borrowings for investment purposes.

Borrowing. Each Fund may borrow money only as permitted by the 1940 Act or other governing statute, by the Rules thereunder, or by the SEC or other regulatory agency with authority over the Fund.

Commodities. Each Fund may invest in commodities only as permitted by the 1940 Act or other governing statute, by the Rules thereunder, or by the SEC or other regulatory agency with authority over the Fund.

B-3

Diversification. Each Fund (other than Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund) may not 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 or its agencies or instrumentalities or any municipal bond guaranteed by the U.S. government. Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund may, however, invest in a single issuer as permitted by the SEC (which currently permits a money market fund to invest up to 25% of its total assets in the highest quality securities of a single issuer for a period of up to three business days).

With respect to 75% of its total assets, Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index 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 or its agencies or instrumentalities.

Industry Concentration. Each Fund (other than Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund) will not concentrate its investments in the securities of issuers whose principal business activities are in the same industry or group of industries.

Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund will not concentrate its investments in the securities of issuers whose principal business activities are in the same industry or group of industries, except that the Fund reserves the right to concentrate its investments in government securities, as defined in the 1940 Act, and certificates of deposit and bankers' acceptances issued by domestic banks (which may include U.S. branches of non-U.S. banks).

Investment Objective. The investment objective of each Fund may not be materially changed without a shareholder vote.

Loans. Each Fund may make loans to another person only as permitted by the 1940 Act or other governing statute, by the Rules thereunder, or by the SEC or other regulatory agency with authority over the Fund.

Real Estate. Each Fund may not invest directly in real estate unless it is acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments. This restriction shall not prevent the Fund from investing in securities or other instruments (1) issued by companies that invest, deal, or otherwise engage in transactions in real estate or (2) backed or secured by real estate or interests in real estate.

Senior Securities. Each Fund may not issue senior securities except as permitted by the 1940 Act or other governing statute, by the Rules thereunder, or by the SEC or other regulatory agency with authority over the Fund.

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 Securities Act of 1933 (the 1933 Act), in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio securities.

Compliance with the fundamental policies previously described is generally measured at the time the securities are purchased. Unless otherwise required by the 1940 Act (as is the case with borrowing), 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 fundamental policies must comply with applicable regulatory requirements. For more details, see Investment Strategies, Risks, and Nonfundamental Policies.

None of these policies 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.

INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, RISKS, AND NONFUNDAMENTAL POLICIES

Some of the investment strategies and policies described on the following pages 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 strategies and policies will be determined immediately after the acquisition of such securities or assets by the Fund. Subsequent changes in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the Fund's investment strategies and policies.

The following investment strategies, risks, and policies supplement each Fund's investment strategies, risks, and policies set forth in the prospectus. With respect to the different investments discussed as follows, a Fund may acquire such investments to the extent consistent with its investment strategies and policies.

B-4

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 (at the time of borrowing) made for 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 with the proceeds of such borrowing. 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 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 participating in other similar trading practices (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, by a fund, of a "senior security," as that term is defined in Section 18(g) 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 maintains an offsetting financial position; 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 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.

Cybersecurity Risks. The increased use of technology to conduct business could subject a fund and its third-party service providers (including, but not limited to, investment advisors, transfer agents, and custodians) to risks associated with cybersecurity. In general, a cybersecurity incident can occur as a result of a deliberate attack designed to gain unauthorized access to digital systems. If the attack is successful, an unauthorized person or persons could misappropriate assets or sensitive information, corrupt data, or cause operational disruption. A cybersecurity incident could also occur unintentionally if, for example, an authorized person inadvertently released proprietary or confidential information. Vanguard has developed robust technological safeguards and business continuity plans to prevent, or reduce the impact of, potential cybersecurity incidents. Additionally, Vanguard has a process for assessing the information security and/or cybersecurity programs implemented by a fund's third-party service providers, which helps minimize the risk of potential incidents that could impact a Vanguard fund or its shareholders. Despite these measures, a cybersecurity incident still has the potential to disrupt business operations, which could negatively impact a fund and/ or its shareholders. Some examples of negative impacts that could occur as a result of a cybersecurity incident include, but are not limited to, the following: a fund may be unable to calculate its net asset value (NAV), a fund's shareholders may be unable to transact business, a fund may be unable to process transactions, or a fund may be unable to safeguard its data or the personal information of its shareholders.

Debt Securities. A debt security, sometimes called a fixed income security, consists of a certificate or other evidence of a debt (secured or unsecured) upon which the issuer of the debt security promises to pay the holder 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

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unrated securities. Debt securities are subject to a variety of risks, such as interest rate risk, income risk, call risk, prepayment risk, extension risk, inflation risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, and (in the case of foreign securities) country risk and currency risk. The reorganization of an issuer under the federal bankruptcy laws or an out-of-court restructuring of an issuer's capital structure 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 to the same issuer or a related entity.

Debt Securities—Commercial Paper. Commercial paper refers to short-term, unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations to finance short-term credit needs. It is usually sold on a discount basis and has a maturity at the time of issuance not exceeding 9 months. High-quality commercial paper typically has the following characteristics: (1) liquidity ratios are adequate to meet cash requirements; (2) long-term senior debt is also high credit quality; (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. In assessing the credit quality of commercial paper issuers, the following factors may be considered: (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. The short-term nature of a commercial paper investment makes it less susceptible to interest rate risk than longer-term fixed income securities because interest rate risk typically increases as maturity lengths increase. Additionally, an issuer may expect to repay commercial paper obligations at maturity from the proceeds of the issuance of new commercial paper. As a result, investment in commercial paper is subject to the risk the issuer cannot issue enough new commercial paper to satisfy its outstanding commercial paper payment obligations, also known as rollover risk. Commercial paper may suffer from reduced liquidity due to certain circumstances, in particular, during stressed markets. In addition, as with all fixed income securities, an issuer may default on its commercial paper obligation.

Variable-amount master-demand notes are demand obligations that permit the investment of fluctuating amounts at varying market rates of interest pursuant to an 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, along with 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 (e.g., lower than Baa3/P-2 by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's) or below BBB–/A-2 by Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC (Standard & Poor's)) or, if unrated, 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 they 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 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, a merger, or a leveraged buyout. Companies that issue high-yield

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securities are often highly leveraged and may not have more traditional methods of financing available to them. 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. An actual or anticipated economic downturn or 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's advisor to sell a high-yield security or the price at which a fund's advisor could sell a high-yield security, and it could also 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 of the securities.

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—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 or reference rate (such as the London Inter-bank Offered Rate (LIBOR), the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), or another reference 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. The greater liquidity risk may exist, for example, because of 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 the date of maturity. Such liquidity risk may be heightened for certain types of variable rate securities called "extendible municipal securities," in which the holder of a security is required to retain the investment for the length of the remarketing period (the time frame in which a remarketing agent seeks a new buyer for the security). Extendible municipal securities typically have extended remarketing periods of up to 13 months after a tender date. A demand instrument with a demand notice exceeding seven days may be considered illiquid if there is no secondary market for such security. Extendible municipal securities that have been "extended" into a longer remarketing period may also be considered illiquid.

Derivatives. A derivative is a financial instrument that has a value 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, certain forward-commitment transactions, options on securities, caps, floors, collars, swap agreements, and certain 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, may be privately negotiated and entered into in the over-the-counter market (OTC Derivatives) or may be cleared through a clearinghouse (Cleared Derivatives) and traded on an exchange or swap execution facility. As a result of

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the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act), certain swap agreements, such as certain standardized credit default and interest rate swap agreements, must be cleared through a clearinghouse and traded on an exchange or swap execution facility. This could result in an increase in the overall costs of such transactions. While the intent of derivatives regulatory reform is to mitigate risks associated with derivatives markets, the new regulations could, among other things, increase liquidity and decrease pricing for more standardized products while decreasing liquidity and increasing pricing for less standardized products. The risks associated with the use of derivatives are different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the securities or assets on which the derivatives are based.

Derivatives may be used for a variety of purposes, including—but not limited to—hedging, managing risk, seeking to stay fully invested, seeking to reduce transaction costs, seeking to simulate an investment in equity or debt securities or other investments, and 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. Some investors may use derivatives primarily for speculative purposes while other uses of derivatives may not constitute speculation. There is no assurance that any derivatives strategy used by a fund's advisor will succeed. The other parties to a fund's OTC Derivatives contracts (usually referred to as "counterparties") will not be considered the issuers thereof for purposes of certain provisions of the 1940 Act and the IRC, although such OTC Derivatives may qualify as securities or investments under such laws. A fund's advisors, however, will monitor and adjust, as appropriate, the fund's credit risk exposure to OTC 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 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.

When a fund enters into a Cleared Derivative, an initial margin deposit with a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) is required. Initial margin deposits are typically calculated as an amount equal to the volatility in market value of a Cleared Derivative over a fixed period. If the value of the fund's Cleared Derivatives declines, the fund will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to the FCM to settle the change in value. If the value of the fund's Cleared Derivatives increases, the FCM will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to the fund to settle the change in value. This process is known as "marking-to-market" and is calculated on a daily basis.

For OTC Derivatives, a fund is subject to 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 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 certain 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 certain 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, by a fund, of a "senior security," as that term is defined in Section 18(g) 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."

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

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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.

Each Fund intends to comply with Rule 4.5 under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), under which a mutual fund may be excluded from the definition of the term Commodity Pool Operator (CPO) if the fund meets certain conditions such as limiting its investments in certain CEA-regulated instruments (e.g., futures, options, or swaps) and complying with certain marketing restrictions. Accordingly, Vanguard is not subject to registration or regulation as a CPO with respect to each Fund under the CEA. A Fund will only enter into futures contracts and futures options that are traded on a U.S. or foreign exchange, board of trade, or similar entity or that are quoted on an automated quotation system.

Exchange-Traded Funds. A fund may purchase shares of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). 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 principal 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 an ETF's shares may trade at a discount or a premium to their net asset value; (2) an active trading market for an ETF's shares may not develop or be maintained; and (3) trading of an ETF's 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 an ETF's shares may also be halted if the shares are delisted from the exchange without first being listed on another exchange or if the listing exchange's officials determine that such action is appropriate in the interest of a fair and orderly market or for the protection of investors.

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®* 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 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. Patent Nos. 6,879,964; 7,337,138; 7,720,749; 7,925,573; 8,090,646; and 8,417,623.

Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts. Futures contracts and options on futures contracts are derivatives. Each Fund's obligation under futures contracts will not exceed 20% of its total assets. The reasons for which a Fund may invest in futures include (1) to keep cash on hand to meet shareholder redemptions or other needs while simulating full investment in bonds or (2) to reduce the Fund's transaction costs or add value when these instruments are favorably priced.

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

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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 or market price for the relevant commodity on the last trading day of the contract and the price for the relevant commodity agreed upon at the outset of the contract. 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 an amount equal to the volatility in market value of a contract over a fixed period. If the value of the fund's position declines, the fund will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to the FCM to settle the change in value. If the value of the fund's position increases, the FCM will be required to make additional "variation margin" payments to the fund to settle the change in value. This process is known as "marking-to-market" and is calculated on a daily basis. A futures transaction will not be considered to constitute the issuance, by a fund, of a "senior security," as that term is defined in Section 18(g) 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."

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 previously described in the case of futures contracts. A futures option transaction will not be considered to constitute the issuance, by a fund, of a "senior security," as that term is defined in Section 18(g) 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."

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) for 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.

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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. U.S. 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 Instruments. 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 a hybrid 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 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; 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; contingent convertible securities, which are fixed income securities that, under certain circumstances, either convert into common stock of the issuer or undergo a principal write-down by a predetermined percentage if the issuer's capital ratio falls below a predetermined trigger level; and trust-preferred securities, which are preferred stocks of a special-purpose trust that holds subordinated debt of the corporate parent. 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 the 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 the 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, thus magnifying movements within 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

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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. Hybrid instruments may also carry liquidity risk since the instruments are often "customized" to meet the needs of an issuer or, sometimes, the portfolio needs of a particular investor, and therefore the number of investors that are willing and able to buy such instruments in the secondary market may be smaller than that for more traditional securities.

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, a fund's investments in these products may be subject to the limitations described under the heading "Other Investment Companies."

Interfund Borrowing and Lending. The SEC has granted an exemption permitting registered open-end 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 requirements 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 fund may lend money if the loan would cause its aggregate outstanding loans through the program to exceed 15% 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.

Money Market Fund Reform. The money market fund reforms adopted by the SEC in July 2014 became effective on October 14, 2016. The reforms impact money market funds differently depending on the types of investors permitted to invest in a fund, the types of securities in which a fund may invest, and the principal investments of a money market fund. The reforms impose new liquidity-related requirements on money market funds (including the potential implementation of liquidity fees and redemption gates). Other changes required by the reforms relate to diversification, disclosure, and stress testing requirements. The imposition and termination of a liquidity fee or redemption gate and/or the provision of financial support by an affiliated person of a money market fund will be reported by a money market fund to the SEC on Form N-CR. A money market fund's designation as institutional, retail, or government determines whether the fund is required to have a floating net asset value (NAV) or is permitted to have a stable NAV. These changes may have significant adverse effects upon a money market fund's investment strategy, fees and expenses, portfolio (including the liquidity of investments), and return potential.

Municipal Bonds. Municipal bonds are debt obligations issued by states, municipalities, U.S. jurisdictions or territories, and other political subdivisions and by agencies, authorities, and instrumentalities of states and multistate agencies or authorities (collectively, municipalities). Typically, the interest payable on municipal bonds is, in the opinion of bond counsel to the issuer at the time of issuance, exempt from federal income tax.

Municipal bonds include securities from a variety of sectors, each of which has unique risks, and can be divided into governmental bonds (i.e., bonds issued to provide funding for governmental projects, such as public roads or schools) and conduit bonds (i.e., bonds issued to provide funding for a third-party permitted to use municipal bond proceeds, such as airports or hospitals). Except for the money market funds (see Fundamental Policies), the Funds will not concentrate in any one industry; tax-exempt securities issued by states, municipalities, and their political subdivisions are not considered to be part of an industry. However, if a municipal bond's income is derived from a specific project, the securities will be considered to be from the industry of that project. 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.

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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 fund will generally invest only in securities deemed tax-exempt by a nationally recognized bond counsel, but there is no guarantee that 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 a "put option," which is the right to sell the security back to the issuer at par (face value) prior to maturity, 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 quality of an insured bond reflects the higher of the credit quality of the insurer, based on its claims- paying ability, or the credit quality of the underlying bond issuer or obligor. 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 are assessed as high credit quality. 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 security, such as municipal bonds or preferred shares issued by a tax-exempt bond fund, 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 risk of the underlying security. 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 toward 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).

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Although most municipal bonds are exempt from federal income tax, some are not. Taxable municipal bonds include Build America Bonds (BABs). The borrowing costs of BABs are subsidized by the federal government, but BABs are subject to state and federal income tax. BABs were created pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to offer an alternative form of financing to state and local governments whose primary means for accessing the capital markets had been through the issuance of tax-exempt municipal bonds. BABs also include Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds, which are subsidized more heavily by the federal government than other BABs and are designed to finance certain types of projects in distressed geographic areas.

Under ARRA, an issuer of a BAB is entitled to receive payments from the U.S. Treasury over the life of the BAB equal to 35% of the interest paid (or 45% of the interest paid in the case of a Recovery Zone Economic Development Bond). For example, if a state or local government were to issue a BAB at a taxable interest rate of 10% of the par value of the bond, the U.S. Treasury would make a payment directly to the issuing government of 35% of that interest (3.5% of the par value of the bond) or 45% of the interest (4.5% of the par value of the bond) in the case of a Recovery Zone Economic Development Bond. Thus, the state or local government's net borrowing cost would be 6.5% or 5.5%, respectively, on BABs that pay 10% interest. In other cases, holders of a BAB receive a 35% or 45% tax credit, respectively. The BAB program expired on December 31, 2010. BABs outstanding prior to the expiration of the program continue to be eligible for the federal interest rate subsidy or tax credit, which continues for the life of the BABs; however, the federal interest rate subsidy or tax credit has been reduced by the government sequester. Additionally, bonds issued following expiration of the program are not eligible for federal payment or tax credit. In addition to BABs, a fund may invest in other municipal bonds that pay taxable interest.

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 to the same issuer or payment obligor or a related entity. Certain issuers are not eligible to file for bankruptcy.

Municipal Bonds—Risks. Municipal bonds are subject to credit risk. The yields of municipal bonds depend on, among other things, general money market conditions, conditions in the municipal bond market, size of a particular offering, maturity of the obligation, and credit quality of the issue. Consequently, municipal bonds with the same maturity, coupon, and credit quality may have different yields, while municipal bonds of the same maturity and coupon, but with different credit quality, may have the same yield. It is the responsibility of a fund's investment management advisor to appraise independently the fundamental quality of bonds held by the fund. 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 generally subject to the provisions of bankruptcy, insolvency, and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors.

Congress, state legislatures, or other governing authorities 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 reevaluate 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

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assessed at a credit quality below the minimum investment level permitted by the investment policies of such fund, the fund's investment advisor, pursuant to oversight from the trustees, 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, which is the chance that bond prices 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, the 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, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (redeem) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. A 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. Call risk is generally high for long-term bonds. Conversely, municipal bonds are also subject to 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. Extension 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) the 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.

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 to deliver the underlying security upon payment of the exercise price (in the case of a call option) or 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 over-the-counter (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 credit risk to the counterparty, whereas for exchange-traded, centrally cleared options, credit risk is mutualized through the involvement of the applicable clearing house.

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, which is the predetermined price at which the option may be exercised. 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

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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, by a fund, of a "senior security," as that term is defined in Section 18(g) 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."

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, which 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.

OTC Swap Agreements. An over-the-counter (OTC) swap agreement, which is a type of derivative, 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 OTC swap agreements include, but are not limited to, interest rate swaps, credit default swaps, equity swaps, commodity swaps, foreign currency swaps, index swaps, excess return swaps, and total return swaps. Most OTC 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 an OTC 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. OTC swap agreements allow for a wide variety of transactions. For 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 OTC option on an OTC 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 OTC 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. OTC 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 an OTC 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.

OTC swap agreements may be subject to liquidity risk, which exists when a particular swap is difficult to purchase or sell. If an OTC 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, OTC swap transactions may be subject to a fund's limitation on investments in illiquid securities.

OTC swap agreements may be subject to pricing risk, which exists when a particular swap becomes extraordinarily expensive or inexpensive relative to historical prices or the prices of corresponding cash market instruments. Under

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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 OTC swap agreement.

Because certain OTC 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 OTC swaps have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. A leveraged OTC swap transaction will not be considered to constitute the issuance, by a fund, of a "senior security," as that term is defined in Section 18(g) 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."

Like most other investments, OTC 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 OTC swap positions for the fund. If the advisor attempts to use an OTC swap as a hedge against, or as a substitute for, a portfolio investment, the fund will be exposed to the risk that the OTC 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 OTC 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 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 an OTC 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.

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 may invest up to 10% of its assets in shares of investment companies gernerally 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, for example, funds that invest in other funds within the same group of investment companies. 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 they also may indirectly bear the similar expenses of the underlying investment companies. Certain investment companies, such as business development companies (BDCs), are more akin to operating companies and, as such, their expenses are not direct expenses paid by fund shareholders and are not used to calculate the fund's net asset value. SEC rules nevertheless require that any expenses incurred by a BDC be included in a fund's expense ratio as "Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses." The expense ratio of a fund that holds a BDC will thus overstate what the fund actually spends on portfolio management, administrative services, and other shareholder services by an amount equal to these Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are not included in a fund's financial statements, which provide a clearer picture of a fund's actual operating expenses. Because preferred shares of closed-end investment companies are not allocated any operating or advisory expenses, the Vanguard funds will not bear any expenses from investments in certain variable-rate demand-preferred securities issued by closed-end municipal bond funds. Shareholders would also be exposed to the risks associated not only with the investments of the fund but also with 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.

A fund may be limited to purchasing a particular share class of other investment companies (underlying funds). In certain cases, an investor may be able to purchase lower-cost shares of such underlying funds separately, and therefore be able to construct, and maintain over time, a similar portfolio of investments while incurring lower overall expenses.

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Restricted and Illiquid Securities. For Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund, illiquid securities are securities that cannot be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven calendar days at approximately the value ascribed to it by the fund. For Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund, Vanguard Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund, Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund, Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund, Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund, and Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund, illiquid securities are investments that a fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. The SEC generally limits aggregate holdings of illiquid securities by a mutual fund to 15% of its net assets (5% for money market funds). 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)certain loan interests and other direct debt instruments, (5) certain municipal lease obligations, (6) private equity investments, (7) commercial paper issued pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the 1933 Act, and (8) securities whose disposition is restricted under the federal securities laws. Illiquid securities may 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 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, the board of trustees oversees 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.

Tax Matters—Federal Tax Discussion. Discussion herein of U.S. federal income tax matters summarizes some of the important, generally applicable U.S. federal tax considerations relevant to investment in a fund based on the IRC, U.S. Treasury regulations, and other applicable authorities. These authorities are subject to change by legislative, administrative, or judicial action, possibly with retroactive effect. Each Fund has not requested and will not request an advance ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as to the U.S. federal income tax matters discussed in this Statement of Additional Information. In some cases, a fund's tax position may be uncertain under current tax law and an adverse determination or future guidance by the IRS with respect to such a position could adversely affect the fund and its shareholders, including the fund's ability to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company or to continue to pursue its current investment strategy. A shareholder should consult his or her tax professional for information regarding the particular situation and the possible application of U.S. federal, state, local, foreign, and other taxes.

Tax Matters—Federal Tax Treatment of Derivatives, Hedging, and Related Transactions. A fund's transactions in derivative instruments (including, but not limited to, options, futures, forward contracts, and swap agreements), as well as any of the fund's hedging, short sale, securities loan, or similar transactions, may be subject to one or more special tax rules that accelerate income to the fund, defer losses to the fund, cause adjustments in the holding periods of the fund's securities, convert long-term capital gains into short-term capital gains, or convert short-term capital losses into long-term capital losses. These rules could therefore affect the amount, timing, and character of distributions to shareholders.

Because these and other tax rules applicable to these types of transactions are in some cases uncertain under current law, an adverse determination or future guidance by the IRS with respect to these rules (which determination or guidance could be retroactive) may affect whether a fund has made sufficient distributions, and otherwise satisfied the relevant requirements, to maintain its qualification as a regulated investment company and avoid a fund-level tax.

Tax Matters—Federal Tax Treatment of Exempt-Interest Dividends. If, at the end of each quarter of a fund's taxable year, at least 50% of the fund's total asset value consists of securities generating interest that is exempt from federal tax under IRC section 103(a), the fund may pay dividends that pass through to shareholders the tax-exempt character of exempt interest earned by the fund. These dividends generally are not taxable to fund shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes, but they may result in liability for the federal alternative minimum tax.

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Tax Matters—Federal Tax Treatment of Futures Contracts. For federal income tax purposes, a fund generally must recognize, as of the end of each taxable year, any net unrealized gains and losses on certain futures contracts, as well as any gains and losses 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 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.

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—Market Discount or Premium. The price of a bond purchased after its original issuance may reflect market discount or premium. Depending on the particular circumstances, market discount 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. Premium is generally amortizable over the remaining term of the bond. Depending on the type of bond, premium may affect the amount of income required to be recognized by a fund holding the bond and the fund's basis in the bond.

Tax Matters—Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits. If a fund invests directly or indirectly, including through a REIT or other pass-through entity, in residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs) or equity interests in taxable mortgage pools (TMPs), a portion of the fund's income that is attributable to a residual interest in a REMIC or an equity interest in a TMP (such portion referred to in the IRC as an "excess inclusion") will be subject to U.S. federal income tax in all eventsincluding potentially at the fund levelunder a notice issued by the IRS in October 2006 and U.S. Treasury regulations that have yet to be issued but may apply retroactively. This notice also provides, and the regulations are expected to provide, that excess inclusion income of a registered investment company will be allocated to shareholders of the registered investment company in proportion to the dividends received by such shareholders, with the same consequences as if the shareholders held the related interest directly. In general, excess inclusion income allocated to shareholders (1) cannot be offset by net operating losses (subject to a limited exception for certain thrift institutions); (2) will constitute unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) to entities (including a qualified pension plan, an individual retirement account, a 401(k) plan, a Keogh plan, or other tax-exempt entity) subject to tax on UBTI, thereby potentially requiring such an entity, which otherwise might not be required, to file a tax return and pay tax on such income; and (3) in the case of a non-U.S. investor, will not qualify for any reduction in U.S. federal withholding tax. A shareholder will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on such inclusions notwithstanding any exemption from such income tax otherwise available under the IRC. As a result, a fund investing in such interests may not be suitable for charitable remainder trusts. See "Tax Matters—Tax-Exempt Investors."

Tax Matters—Sale or Exchange of Money Market Fund Shares by Investors. Following the October 14, 2016, final compliance date of the money market fund reforms adopted by the SEC, Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund continues to seek to maintain a stable NAV of $1 per share; however, there can be no guarantee that the Fund will do so. Accordingly, in general, shareholders are not expected to incur taxable gains or losses on the sale or exchange of their shares. However, in the event the Fund's NAV goes above or below $1, and a shareholder sells or exchanges shares at that price, the shareholder may recognize a gain or loss on the sale or exchange of shares. Also, if the Fund determines to impose a liquidity fee on redemptions of its shares, a shareholder will generally recognize a loss on the sale or exchange of shares equal to the amount of that fee. Assuming a shareholder holds the shares as a capital asset, any gain or loss recognized on a sale or exchange of shares will be treated as capital in nature.

Unless a shareholder chooses to adopt the simplified "NAV method" of accounting (described below), any capital gain or loss generally will be treated as short-term if the shareholder held Fund shares for one year or less or long-term if the shareholder held Fund shares for longer. Any loss realized on the sale or exchange of Fund shares that a shareholder held for six months or less may be disallowed to the extent of any distributions treated as " exempt-interest dividends" with respect to those shares. Further, if a shareholder sells or exchanges shares at a loss, the loss will generally be disallowed under the "wash sale" rule of the IRC where other substantially identical shares are purchased (including by dividend reinvestment) within 30 days before or after the sale or exchange.

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If the shareholder elects to adopt the NAV method of accounting, rather than compute any gain or loss on every taxable sale or exchange of Fund shares, the shareholder would determine the gain or loss based on the change in the aggregate value of the Fund shares during a computation period (e.g., the shareholder's taxable year or certain shorter periods), reduced by the net investment (purchases minus taxable sales or exchanges) in those Fund shares during the period. Under the NAV method, if a shareholder holds the shares as a capital asset, any resulting net gain or loss (including any loss arising from the shareholder's payment of a liquidity fee on redemption of the shares) would be treated as short- term capital gain or loss. If a shareholder uses the NAV method, the wash sale rules will generally not apply to disallow a loss incurred for a computation period.

Shareholders are permitted to use different methods of accounting for shares of a single Fund that are held in different accounts or for shares of different money market funds held in the same account.

Please consult your tax advisor for more information concerning these rules.

Tax Matters—Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Investors. U.S. withholding and estate taxes and certain U.S. tax reporting requirements may apply to any investments made by non-U.S. investors in Vanguard funds.

Tax Matters—Tax-Exempt Investors. Income of a fund that would be UBTI if earned directly by a tax-exempt entity will not generally be attributed as UBTI to a tax-exempt shareholder of the fund. Notwithstanding this "blocking" effect, a tax-exempt shareholder could realize UBTI by virtue of its investment in a fund if shares in the fund constitute debt- financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholder within the meaning of IRC Section 514(b).

A tax-exempt shareholder may also recognize UBTI if a fund recognizes "excess inclusion income" derived from direct or indirect investments in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in TMPs. See "Tax Matters—Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits."

In addition, special tax consequences apply to charitable remainder trusts that invest in a fund that invests directly or indirectly in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in TMPs. Charitable remainder trusts and other tax-exempt investors are urged to consult their tax advisors concerning the consequences of investing in a fund.

Tender Option Bond Programs. Tender option bond programs are a type of municipal bond derivative structure, which is taxed as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. These programs provide for tax-exempt income at a variable rate. In such programs, underlying securities in the form of high-quality longer-term municipal bonds or preferred shares issued by a tax-exempt bond fund are held inside a trust and varying economic interests in the underlying securities are created and sold to investors. One class of investors earns interest at a rate based on current short-term tax-exempt interest rates and may tender its holdings at par to the program sponsor at agreed-upon intervals. This class is an eligible security for municipal money market fund investments. A second class of investors has a residual income interest (earning any net income produced by the underlying securities that exceeds the variable income paid to the other class of investors) and bears the risk that the underlying bonds or preferred shares of the tax-exempt bond fund will decline in value because of changes in market interest rates. These holdings will generally underperform the fixed-rate municipal securities market in a rising interest rate environment. The Funds do not invest in this second class of investors. Under the terms of such programs, both investor classes bear the risk of loss that would result from a payment default on the underlying bonds or preferred shares as well as from other potential, yet remote, credit or structural events. If a tender option bond program would fail to qualify as a partnership for federal income tax purposes or if the IRS were to disagree with the tax allocation mechanisms or treatment of the credit enhancement used in a program, a Fund invested in that program could realize more taxable ordinary income than it otherwise would have.

Time Deposits. Time deposits are subject to the same risks that pertain to domestic issuers of money market instruments, most notably credit risk (and, to a lesser extent, income risk, market risk, and liquidity risk). Additionally, time deposits of foreign branches of U.S. banks and foreign branches of foreign banks may be subject to certain sovereign risks. One such risk is the possibility that a sovereign country might prevent capital, in the form of U.S. dollars, from flowing across its borders. Other risks include adverse political and economic developments, the extent and quality of government regulation of financial markets and institutions, the imposition of foreign withholding taxes, and expropriation or nationalization of foreign issuers. However, time deposits of such issuers will undergo the same type of credit analysis as domestic issuers in which a Vanguard fund invests and will have at least the same financial strength as the domestic issuers approved for the fund.

Reliance on Service Providers, Data Providers, and Other Technology. Vanguard funds rely upon the performance of service providers to execute several key functions, which may include functions integral to a fund's operations. Failure by any service provider to carry out its obligations to a fund could disrupt the business of the fund and could have an

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adverse effect on the fund's performance. A fund's service providers' reliance on certain technology or information vendors (e.g., trading systems, investment analysis tools, benchmark analytics, and tax and accounting tools) could also adversely affect a fund and its shareholders. For example, a fund's investment advisor may use models and/or data to screen potential investments for the fund. When models or data prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance upon such models or data expose a fund to potential risks.

Variable-Rate Demand-Preferred Securities. The Funds may purchase certain variable-rate demand-preferred securities (VRDPs) issued by closed-end municipal bond funds, which, in turn, invest primarily in portfolios of tax-exempt municipal bonds. The Funds may invest in securities issued by single-state or national closed-end municipal bond funds. VRDPs are issued by closed-end funds to leverage returns for common shareholders. Under the 1940 Act, a closed-end fund that issues preferred shares must maintain an asset coverage ratio of at least 200% at all times in order to issue preferred shares. It is anticipated that the interest on the VRDPs will be exempt from federal income tax and, with respect to any such securities issued by single-state municipal bond funds, exempt from the applicable state's income tax. The VRDPs will pay a variable dividend rate, determined weekly, typically through a remarketing process, and include a demand feature that provides a fund with a contractual right to tender the securities to a liquidity provider. The Funds could lose money if the liquidity provider fails to honor its obligation, becomes insolvent, or files for bankruptcy. The Funds have no right to put the securities back to the closed-end municipal bond funds or demand payment or redemption directly from the closed-end municipal bond funds. Further, the VRDPs are not freely transferable, and therefore the Funds may only transfer the securities to another investor in compliance with certain exemptions under the 1933 Act, including Rule 144A.

A fund's purchase of VRDPs issued by closed-end municipal bond funds is subject to the restrictions set forth under the heading "Other Investment Companies."

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, by a fund, of a "senior security," as that term is defined in Section 18(g) of the 1940 Act, and therefore 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."

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 as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), generally 4 p.m., Eastern time, on each day that the NYSE is open for business (a business day). In the rare event the NYSE experiences unanticipated disruptions and is unavailable at the close of the trading day, each Fund reserves the right to treat such day as a business day and calculate NAVs as of the close of regular trading on the Nasdaq (or another alternate exchange if the Nasdaq is unavailable, as determined at Vanguard's discretion), generally 4 p.m., Eastern time. NAV per share for Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt, Limited-Term Tax-Exempt, Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt, Long-Term Tax-Exempt, High-Yield Tax-Exempt, and Tax-Exempt Bond Index Funds is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, allocated to the share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. NAV per share for Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, of the Fund by the number of Fund shares outstanding. On U.S. holidays or other days when the NYSE is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Funds do not sell or redeem shares.

The NYSE 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

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Day. Although the Funds expect the same holidays to be observed in the future, the NYSE may modify its holiday schedule or hours of operation at any time.

It is the policy of each Vanguard retail and government money market fund to attempt to maintain an NAV of $1 per share for sales and redemptions. The instruments held by a retail or government money market fund generally are valued on the basis of amortized cost, which does not take into account unrealized capital gains or losses. This involves valuing an instrument at its cost and thereafter assuming a constant amortization to maturity of any discount or premium, regardless of the impact of fluctuating interest rates on the market value of the instrument. While this method provides certainty in valuation, it may result in periods during which value, as determined by amortized cost, is higher or lower than the price that the fund would receive if it sold the instrument. The fund's holdings will be reviewed by the trustees, at such intervals as they may deem appropriate, to determine whether the fund's NAV calculated by using available market quotations deviates from $1 per share based on amortized cost. The extent of any deviation will be examined by the trustees. If such deviation exceeds 1/2 of 1%, the trustees will promptly consider what action, if any, will be initiated. In the event the trustees determine that a deviation exists that may result in material dilution or other unfair results to investors or existing shareholders, they have agreed to take such corrective action as they regard as necessary and appropriate, including selling fund instruments prior to maturity to realize capital gains or losses or to shorten average fund maturity, withholding dividends, making a special capital distribution, redeeming shares in kind, or establishing an NAV per share by using available market quotations.

The use of amortized cost and the maintenance of a retail or government money market fund's NAV at $1 per share is based on its election to operate under Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act. As a condition of operating under that rule, each fund must maintain a dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity of 60 days or less; maintain a dollar-weighted average life of 120 days or less; purchase only instruments having remaining maturities of 397 days or less; meet applicable daily, weekly, and general liquidity requirements; and invest only in securities that are determined by methods approved by the trustees to present minimal credit risks and that are of high quality.

Although the stable share price is not guaranteed, the NAV of Vanguard retail and government money market funds is expected to remain at $1 per share. Instruments are purchased and managed with that goal in mind.

PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF SHARES

Purchase of Shares (other than ETF 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.

Exchange of Securities for Shares of a Fund. Shares of a Fund may be purchased "in kind" (i.e., in exchange for securities, rather than for cash) at the discretion of the Fund's portfolio manager. Such securities must not be restricted as to transfer and must have a value that is readily ascertainable. Securities accepted by the Fund will be valued, as set forth in the Fund's prospectus, as of the time of the next determination of NAV after such acceptance. All dividend, subscription, or other rights that are reflected in the market price of accepted securities at the time of valuation become the property of the Fund and must be delivered to the Fund by the investor upon receipt from the issuer. A gain or loss for federal income tax purposes, depending upon the cost of the securities tendered, would be realized by the investor upon the exchange. Investors interested in purchasing fund shares in kind should contact Vanguard.

Redemption of Shares (other than ETF Shares)

The redemption price of shares of each Fund is the NAV per share next determined after the redemption request is received in good order, as defined in the Fund's prospectus.

Each Fund can postpone payment of redemption proceeds for up to seven calendar days. In addition, each Fund can suspend redemptions and/or postpone payments of redemption proceeds beyond seven calendar days (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; or (3) for such other periods as the SEC may permit, including in connection with a determination by the board of a money market fund under Rule 22e-3 under the 1940 Act to suspend redemptions and postpone payment of redemption proceeds in order to facilitate an

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orderly liquidation of a money market fund. In addition, in accordance with Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act, the board of trustees of a retail or institutional money market fund may implement liquidity fees and redemption gates if a retail or institutional money market fund's weekly liquid assets fall below established thresholds.

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 and in accordance with procedures adopted by the Fund's board of trustees. Investors may incur brokerage charges on the sale of such securities received in payment of redemptions.

The Funds do not charge redemption fees other than the potential liquidity fees that may be imposed in accordance with the rules discussed above. 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.

Vanguard processes purchase and redemption requests through a pooled account. Pending investment direction or distribution of redemption proceeds, the assets in the pooled account are invested and any earnings (the "float") are allocated proportionately among the Vanguard funds in order to offset fund expenses. Other than the float, Vanguard treats assets held in the pooled account as the assets of each shareholder making such purchase or redemption request.

Right to Change Policies

Vanguard reserves the right, without notice, to (1) alter, add, or discontinue any conditions of purchase (including eligibility requirements), redemption, exchange, conversion, service, or privilege at any time and (2) alter, impose, discontinue, or waive any purchase fee, redemption fee, account service fee, or other fee charged to a shareholder or a group of shareholders. Changes may affect any or all investors. These actions will be taken when, at the sole discretion of Vanguard management, Vanguard believes they are in the best interest of a fund.

Account Restrictions

Vanguard reserves the right to: (1) redeem all or a portion of a fund/account to meet a legal obligation, including tax withholding, tax lien, garnishment order, or other obligation imposed on your account by a court or government agency;

(2)redeem shares, close an account, or suspend account privileges, features, or options in the case of threatening conduct or activity; (3) redeem shares, close an account, or suspend account privileges, features, or options if Vanguard believes or suspects that not doing so could result in a suspicious, fraudulent, or illegal transaction; (4) place restrictions on the ability to redeem any or all shares in an account if it is required to do so by a court or government agency, (5) place restrictions on the ability to redeem any or all shares in an account if Vanguard believes that doing so will prevent fraud, financial exploitation or abuse, or to protect vulnerable investors; (6) 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; and (7) freeze any account and/or suspend account services upon initial notification to Vanguard of the death of an account owner.

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). The 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 NAV per share next determined after the order is received by the Authorized Agent.

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MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS

Vanguard

Each Fund is part of the Vanguard group of investment companies, which consists of over 200 funds. Each fund is a series of a Delaware statutory trust. The funds obtain virtually all of their corporate management, administrative, and distribution services through the trusts' jointly owned subsidiary, Vanguard. Vanguard may contract with certain third- party service providers to assist Vanguard in providing certain administrative and/or accounting services with respect to the funds, subject to Vanguard's oversight. Vanguard also provides investment advisory services to certain Vanguard funds. All of these services are provided at Vanguard's total cost of operations pursuant to the Fifth Amended and Restated Funds' Service Agreement (the Agreement).

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 (other than a fund of funds) 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 custodial fees.

The funds' officers are also employees of Vanguard.

Vanguard, Vanguard Marketing Corporation (VMC), the funds, and the funds' advisors 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 of ethics 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 of ethics 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.

Vanguard was established and operates under the Agreement. The Agreement provides that each Vanguard fund may be called upon to invest up to 0.40% of its net assets in Vanguard. 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 October 31, 2019, each Fund had contributed capital to Vanguard as follows:

 

Capital

Percentage of

Percent of

Vanguard Fund

Contribution

Fund's Average

Vanguard

to Vanguard

Net Assets

Funds' Contribution

 

 

 

 

Municipal Money Market Fund

$841,000

Less than 0.01%

0.34%

 

 

 

 

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

788,000

Less than 0.01

0.32

 

 

 

 

Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

1,356,000

Less than 0.01

0.54

 

 

 

 

Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

3,316,000

Less than 0.01

1.33

 

 

 

 

Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

645,000

Less than 0.01

0.26

 

 

 

 

High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund

746,000

Less than 0.01

0.30

 

 

 

 

Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund

290,000

Less than 0.01

0.12

 

 

 

 

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, 100 Vanguard Boulevard, Malvern, PA 19355, 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 offers shares of each fund for sale on a continuous basis and will use all reasonable efforts in connection with the distribution of shares of the funds. VMC performs marketing and distribution activities 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

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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 are 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 its average month-end net assets. 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 of an administrative nature 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® who maintain qualifying investments in the funds.

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, 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 does make fixed dollar payments to financial service providers when 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 also makes fixed dollar payments to financial service providers for data regarding funds, such as statistical information regarding sales of fund shares. In addition, VMC makes one-time fixed dollar payments for setup expenses associated with financial service providers' use of Vanguard's model portfolios comprised of funds.

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

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sales target; and (4) reasonable travel and lodging accommodations to facilitate participation in marketing and distribution activities.

VMC policy 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 and fixed dollar payments as described above, may influence applicable 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, relationships, or payments may influence a financial service provider's (or its representatives') 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 incurred by the Funds. 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 Vanguard 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 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 October 31, 2017, 2018, and 2019, and are presented as a percentage of each Fund's average month-end net assets.

Annual Shared Fund Operating Expenses

(Shared Expenses Deducted From Fund Assets)

Vanguard Fund

2017

2018

2019

Municipal Money Market Fund

 

 

 

Management and Administrative Expenses

0.13%

0.13%

0.09%

Marketing and Distribution Expenses

0.02

0.02

0.01

 

 

 

 

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

 

 

 

Management and Administrative Expenses

0.08%

0.09%

0.09%

Marketing and Distribution Expenses

0.01

0.01

0.01

 

 

 

 

Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

 

 

 

Management and Administrative Expenses

0.08%

0.08%

0.09%

Marketing and Distribution Expenses

0.01

0.01

0.01

 

 

 

 

Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

 

 

 

Management and Administrative Expenses

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

Marketing and Distribution Expenses

0.01

0.01

0.01

 

 

 

 

Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

 

 

 

Management and Administrative Expenses

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

Marketing and Distribution Expenses

0.01

0.01

0.01

 

 

 

 

High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund

 

 

 

Management and Administrative Expenses

0.09%

0.09%

0.09%

Marketing and Distribution Expenses

0.01

0.01

 

 

 

 

 

Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund

 

 

 

Management and Administrative Expenses

0.07%

0.07%

0.07%

Marketing and Distribution Expenses

0.01

0.01

0.01

 

 

 

 

B-26

Officers and Trustees

Each Vanguard fund is governed by the board of trustees of its trust and a single set of officers. Consistent with the board's corporate governance principles, the trustees believe that their primary responsibility is oversight of the management of each fund for the benefit of its shareholders, not day-to-day management. The trustees set broad policies for the funds; select investment advisors; monitor fund operations, regulatory compliance, performance, and costs; nominate and select new trustees; and elect fund officers. Vanguard manages the day-to-day operations of the funds under the direction of the board of trustees.

The trustees play an active role, as a full board and at the committee level, in overseeing risk management for the funds. The trustees delegate the day-to-day risk management of the funds to various groups, including portfolio review, investment management, risk management, compliance, legal, fund accounting, and fund financial services. These groups provide the trustees with regular reports regarding investment, valuation, liquidity, and compliance, as well as the risks associated with each. The trustees also oversee risk management for the funds through regular interactions with the funds' internal and external auditors.

The full board participates in the funds' risk oversight, in part, through the Vanguard funds' compliance program, which covers the following broad areas of compliance: investment and other operations; recordkeeping; valuation and pricing; communications and disclosure; reporting and accounting; oversight of service providers; fund governance; and codes of ethics, insider trading controls, and protection of nonpublic information. The program seeks to identify and assess risk through various methods, including through regular interdisciplinary communications between compliance professionals and business personnel who participate on a daily basis in risk management on behalf of the funds. The funds' chief compliance officer regularly provides reports to the board in writing and in person.

The audit committee of the board, which is composed of F. Joseph Loughrey, Mark Loughridge, Sarah Bloom Raskin, and Peter F. Volanakis, each of whom is an independent trustee, oversees management of financial risks and controls. The audit committee serves as the channel of communication between the independent auditors of the funds and the board with respect to financial statements and financial reporting processes, systems of internal control, and the audit process. Vanguard's head of internal audit reports directly to the audit committee and provides reports to the committee in writing and in person on a regular basis. Although the audit committee is responsible for overseeing the management of financial risks, the entire board is regularly informed of these risks through committee reports.

All of the trustees bring to each fund's board a wealth of executive leadership experience derived from their service as executives (in many cases chief executive officers), board members, and leaders of diverse public operating companies, academic institutions, and other organizations. In determining whether an individual is qualified to serve as a trustee of the funds, the board considers a wide variety of information about the trustee, and multiple factors contribute to the board's decision. Each trustee is determined to have the experience, skills, and attributes necessary to serve the funds and their shareholders because each trustee demonstrates an exceptional ability to consider complex business and financial matters, evaluate the relative importance and priority of issues, make decisions, and contribute effectively to the deliberations of the board. The board also considers the individual experience of each trustee and determines that the trustee's professional experience, education, and background contribute to the diversity of perspectives on the board. The business acumen, experience, and objective thinking of the trustees are considered invaluable assets for Vanguard management and, ultimately, the Vanguard funds' shareholders. The specific roles and experience of each board member that factor into this determination are presented on the following pages. The mailing address of the trustees and officers is P.O. Box 876, Valley Forge, PA 19482.

B-27

 

 

 

Principal Occupation(s)

Number of

 

 

Vanguard

During the Past Five Years,

Vanguard Funds

 

Position(s)

Funds' Trustee/

Outside Directorships,

Overseen by

Name, Year of Birth

Held With Funds

Officer Since

and Other Experience

Trustee/Officer

 

 

 

 

 

Interested Trustee1

 

 

 

 

Mortimer J. Buckley

Chairman of the

January 2018

Chairman of the board (2019–present) of Vanguard and

213

(1969)

Board, Chief

 

of each of the investment companies served by

 

 

Executive Officer,

 

Vanguard; chief executive officer (2018–present) of

 

 

and President

 

Vanguard; chief executive officer, president, and

 

 

 

 

trustee (2018–present) of each of the investment

 

 

 

 

companies served by Vanguard; president and director

 

 

 

 

(2017–present) of Vanguard; and president (2018–

 

 

 

 

present) of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Chief

 

 

 

 

investment officer (2013–2017), managing director

 

 

 

 

(2002–2017), head of the Retail Investor Group (2006–

 

 

 

 

2012), and chief information officer (2001–2006) of

 

 

 

 

Vanguard. Chairman of the board (2011–2017) and

 

 

 

 

trustee (2009–2017) of the Children's Hospital of

 

 

 

 

Philadelphia; and trustee (2018–present) and vice chair

 

 

 

 

(2019–present) of The Shipley School.

 

1 Mr. Buckley is considered an "interested person" as defined in the 1940 Act because he is an officer of the Trust.

Independent Trustees

 

 

 

 

Emerson U. Fullwood

Trustee

January 2008

Executive chief staff and marketing officer for North

213

(1948)

 

 

America and corporate vice president (retired 2008) of

 

 

 

 

Xerox Corporation (document management products

 

 

 

 

and services). Former president of the Worldwide

 

 

 

 

Channels Group, Latin America, and Worldwide

 

 

 

 

Customer Service and executive chief staff officer of

 

 

 

 

Developing Markets of Xerox. Executive in residence

 

 

 

 

and (2009–2010) Distinguished Minett Professor at the

 

 

 

 

Rochester Institute of Technology. Director of SPX

 

 

 

 

FLOW, Inc. (multi-industry manufacturing). Director of

 

 

 

 

the University of Rochester Medical Center, the

 

 

 

 

Monroe Community College Foundation, the United

 

 

 

 

Way of Rochester, North Carolina A&T University, and

 

 

 

 

Roberts Wesleyan College. Trustee of the University of

 

 

 

 

Rochester.

 

Amy Gutmann

Trustee

June 2006

President (2004–present) of the University of

213

(1949)

 

 

Pennsylvania. Christopher H. Browne Distinguished

 

 

 

 

Professor of Political Science, School of Arts and

 

 

 

 

Sciences, and professor of communication,

 

 

 

 

Annenberg School for Communication, with secondary

 

 

 

 

faculty appointments in the Department of Philosophy,

 

 

 

 

School of Arts and Sciences, and at the Graduate

 

 

 

 

School of Education, University of Pennsylvania.

 

F. Joseph Loughrey

Trustee

October 2009

President and chief operating officer (retired 2009) and

213

(1949)

 

 

vice chairman of the board (2008–2009) of Cummins

 

Inc. (industrial machinery). Chairman of the board of Hillenbrand, Inc. (specialized consumer services) and the Lumina Foundation. Director of the V Foundation. Member of the advisory council for the College of Arts and Letters and chair of the advisory board to the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, both at the University of Notre Dame.

B-28

 

 

 

Principal Occupation(s)

Number of

 

 

Vanguard

During the Past Five Years,

Vanguard Funds

 

Position(s)

Funds' Trustee/

Outside Directorships,

Overseen by

Name, Year of Birth

Held With Funds

Officer Since

and Other Experience

Trustee/Officer

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Loughridge

Lead Independent

March 2012

Senior vice president and chief financial officer (retired

213

(1953)

Trustee

 

2013) of IBM (information technology services).

 

 

 

 

Fiduciary member of IBM's Retirement Plan

 

 

 

 

Committee (2004–2013), senior vice president and

 

 

 

 

general manager (2002–2004) of IBM Global

 

 

 

 

Financing, vice president and controller (1998–2002) of

 

 

 

 

IBM, and a variety of other prior management roles at

 

 

 

 

IBM. Member of the Council on Chicago Booth.

 

Scott C. Malpass

Trustee

March 2012

Chief investment officer (1989–present) and vice

213

(1962)

 

 

president (1996–present) of the University of Notre

 

 

 

 

Dame. Assistant professor of finance at the Mendoza

 

 

 

 

College of Business, University of Notre Dame, and

 

 

 

 

member of the Notre Dame 403(b) Investment

 

 

 

 

Committee. Member of the board of TIFF Advisory

 

 

 

 

Services, Inc. Member of the board of Catholic

 

 

 

 

Investment Services, Inc. (investment advisors), and

 

 

 

 

the board of superintendence of the Institute for the

 

 

 

 

Works of Religion.

 

Deanna Mulligan

Trustee

January 2018

Chief executive officer (2011–present) of The Guardian

213

(1963)

 

 

Life Insurance Company of America. President (2010–

 

 

 

 

2019), chief operating officer (2010–2011), and

 

 

 

 

executive vice president (2008–2010) of Individual Life

 

 

 

 

and Disability of The Guardian Life Insurance Company

 

 

 

 

of America. Member of the board of The Guardian Life

 

 

 

 

Insurance Company of America, the American Council

 

 

 

 

of Life Insurers,and the Economic Club of New York.

 

 

 

 

Trustee of the Partnership for New York City (business

 

 

 

 

leadership), the Chief Executives for Corporate

 

 

 

 

Purpose, the NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital Catalyst,

 

 

 

 

and the Bruce Museum (arts and science). Member of

 

 

 

 

the Advisory Council for the Stanford Graduate School

 

 

 

 

of Business.

 

André F. Perold

Trustee

December 2004

George Gund Professor of Finance and Banking,

213

(1952)

 

 

Emeritus at the Harvard Business School (retired

 

 

 

 

2011). Chief investment officer and co-managing

 

 

 

 

partner of HighVista Strategies LLC (private

 

 

 

 

investment firm). Board of Advisors and investment

 

 

 

 

committee member of the Museum of Fine Arts

 

 

 

 

Boston. Board member (2018–present) of RIT Capital

 

 

 

 

Partners (investment firm); investment committee

 

 

 

 

member of Partners Health Care System.

 

Sarah Bloom Raskin

Trustee

January 2018

Deputy secretary (2014–2017) of the United States

213

(1961)

 

 

Department of the Treasury. Governor (2010–2014) of

 

 

 

 

the Federal Reserve Board. Commissioner (2007–

 

2010) of financial regulation for the State of Maryland. Member of the board of directors (2012–2014) of Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. Director (2017–present) of i(x) Investments, LLC; director (2017–present) of Reserve Trust. Rubenstien Fellow

(2017–present) of Duke University; trustee

(2017–present) of Amherst College; and trustee (2019–present) of Folger Shakespeare Library.

B-29

 

 

 

Principal Occupation(s)

Number of

 

 

Vanguard

During the Past Five Years,

Vanguard Funds

 

Position(s)

Funds' Trustee/

Outside Directorships,

Overseen by

Name, Year of Birth

Held With Funds

Officer Since

and Other Experience

Trustee/Officer

 

 

 

 

 

Peter F. Volanakis

Trustee

July 2009

President and chief operating officer (retired 2010) of

213

(1955)

 

 

Corning Incorporated (communications equipment)

 

 

 

 

and director of Corning Incorporated (2000–2010) and

 

 

 

 

Dow Corning (2001–2010). Director (2012) of SPX

 

 

 

 

Corporation (multi-industry manufacturing). Overseer

 

 

 

 

of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration,

 

 

 

 

Dartmouth College (2001–2013). Chairman of the

 

 

 

 

board of trustees of Colby-Sawyer College. Member of

 

 

 

 

the Board of Hypertherm Inc. (industrial cutting

 

 

 

 

systems, software, and consumables).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Officers

 

 

 

 

John Bendl

Chief Financial

October 2019

Principal of Vanguard. Chief financial officer

213

(1970)

Officer

 

(2019–present) of each of the investment companies

 

 

 

 

served by Vanguard. Chief accounting officer,

 

 

 

 

treasurer, and controller of Vanguard (2017–present).

 

 

 

 

Partner (2003–2016) at KPMG (audit, tax, and advisory

 

 

 

 

services).

 

Glenn Booraem

Investment

February 2001

Principal of Vanguard. Investment stewardship officer

213

(1967)

Stewardship

 

(2017–present), treasurer (2015–2017), controller

 

 

Officer

 

(2010–2015), and assistant controller (2001–2010) of

 

 

 

 

each of the investment companies served by

 

 

 

 

Vanguard.

 

Christine M. Buchanan

Treasurer

November 2017

Principal of Vanguard. Treasurer (2017–present) of each

213

(1970)

 

 

of the investment companies served by Vanguard.

 

 

 

 

Partner (2005–2017) at KPMG (audit, tax, and advisory

 

 

 

 

services).

 

David Cermak

Finance Director

October 2019

Principal of Vanguard. Finance director (2019–present)

213

(1960)

 

 

of each of the investment companies served by

 

 

 

 

Vanguard. Managing director and head (2017–present)

 

 

 

 

of Vanguard Investments Singapore. Managing

 

 

 

 

director and head (2017–2019) of Vanguard

 

 

 

 

Investments Hong Kong. Representative director and

 

 

 

 

head (2014–-2017) of Vanguard Investments Japan.

 

Thomas J. Higgins

Finance Director

July 1998

Principal of Vanguard. Finance director (2019–present),

213

(1957)

 

 

chief financial officer (2008–2019), and treasurer

 

 

 

 

(1998–2008) of each of the investment companies

 

 

 

 

served by Vanguard.

 

Peter Mahoney

Controller

May 2015

(1974)

 

 

Anne E. Robinson

Secretary

September 2016

(1970)

 

 

Principal of Vanguard. Controller (2015–present) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard. Head of International Fund Services (2008– 2014) at Vanguard.

General counsel (2016–present) of Vanguard. Secretary (2016–present) of Vanguard and of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard. Managing director (2016–present) of Vanguard. Managing director and general counsel of Global Cards and Consumer Services (2014–2016) at Citigroup. Counsel (2003–2014) at American Express.

213

213

B-30

 

 

 

Principal Occupation(s)

Number of

 

 

Vanguard

During the Past Five Years,

Vanguard Funds

 

Position(s)

Funds' Trustee/

Outside Directorships,

Overseen by

Name, Year of Birth

Held With Funds

Officer Since

and Other Experience

Trustee/Officer

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Rollings

Finance Director

February 2017

Finance director (2017–present) and treasurer (2017) of

213

(1963)

 

 

each of the investment companies served by

 

 

 

 

Vanguard. Managing director (2016–present) of

 

 

 

 

Vanguard. Chief financial officer (2016–present) of

 

 

 

 

Vanguard. Director (2016–present) of Vanguard

 

 

 

 

Marketing Corporation. Executive vice president and

 

 

 

 

chief financial officer (2006–2016) of MassMutual

 

 

 

 

Financial Group.

 

John E. Schadl

Chief Compliance

March 2019

Principal of Vanguard. Chief compliance officer

213

(1972)

Officer

 

(2019–present) of Vanguard and of each of the

 

 

 

 

investment companies served by Vanguard. Assistant

 

 

 

 

vice president (2019–present) of Vanguard Marketing

 

 

 

 

Corporation.

 

All but one of the trustees are independent. The independent trustees designate a lead independent trustee. The lead independent trustee is a spokesperson and principal point of contact for the independent trustees and is responsible for coordinating the activities of the independent trustees, including calling regular executive sessions of the independent trustees; developing the agenda of each meeting together with the chairman; and chairing the meetings of the independent trustees. The lead independent trustee also chairs the meetings of the audit, compensation, and nominating committees. The board also has two investment committees, which consist of independent trustees and the sole interested trustee.

The independent trustees appoint the chairman of the board. The roles of chairman of the board and chief executive officer currently are held by the same person; as a result, the chairman of the board is an "interested" trustee. The independent trustees generally believe that the Vanguard funds' chief executive officer is best qualified to serve as chairman and that fund shareholders benefit from this leadership structure through accountability and strong day-to-day leadership.

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. The following independent trustees serve as members of the committee: Mr. Loughrey, Mr. Loughridge, Ms. Raskin, and Mr. Volanakis. The committee held six meetings during the Trust's fiscal year ended October 31, 2019.

Compensation Committee: This committee oversees the compensation programs established by each fund for the benefit of its trustees. All independent trustees serve as members of the committee. The committee did not hold any meetings during the Trust's fiscal year ended October 31, 2019.

Investment Committees: These committees assist the board in its oversight of investment advisors to the funds and in the review and evaluation of materials relating to the board's consideration of investment advisory agreements with the funds. Each trustee serves on one of two investment committees. Each investment committee held four meetings during the Trust's fiscal year ended October 31, 2019.

Nominating Committee: This committee nominates candidates for election to the board of trustees of each fund. The committee also has the authority to recommend the removal of any trustee. All independent trustees serve as members of the committee. The committee held two meetings during the Trust's fiscal year ended October 31, 2019.

The Nominating Committee will consider shareholder recommendations for trustee nominees. Shareholders may send recommendations to Mr. Loughridge, 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. Vanguard funds also employ their officers on a shared basis; however, officers are compensated by Vanguard, not the funds.

B-31

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. Buckley serves as trustee, but is not paid in this capacity. He is, however, paid in his role as an officer of Vanguard.

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 MUNICIPAL BOND FUNDS

TRUSTEES' COMPENSATION TABLE

 

 

Pension or Retirement

 

 

 

Aggregate

Benefits Accrued as

Accrued Annual

Total Compensation

Trustee

Compensation

Part of the

Retirement Benefit at

From All Vanguard

From the Funds1

Funds' Expenses1

January 1, 20202

Funds Paid to Trustees3

F. William McNabb III4

Mortimer J. Buckley

Emerson U. Fullwood

$6,299

$287,500

Amy Gutmann

6,299

287,500

JoAnn Heffernan Heisen4

1,123

$162

$93,289

F. Joseph Loughrey

6,737

307,500

Mark Loughridge

7,834

357,500

Scott C. Malpass

6,299

287,500

Deanna Mulligan

6,299

287,500

André F. Perold

6,299

287,500

Sarah Bloom Raskin

6,737

307,500

Peter F. Volanakis

$6,737

307,500

 

 

 

 

 

1 The amounts shown in this column are based on the Trust's fiscal year ended October 31, 2019. 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 213 Vanguard funds for the 2019 calendar year.

4 Mr. McNabb and Ms. Heisen retired from service effective December 31, 2018.

Ownership of Fund Shares

All current 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, 2019.

B-32

 

 

Dollar Range

Aggregate Dollar Range of

 

 

of Fund Shares

Vanguard Fund Shares

Vanguard Fund

Trustee

Owned by Trustee

Owned by Trustee

 

 

 

 

Municipal Money Market Fund

Mortimer J. Buckley

Over $100,000

 

Emerson U. Fullwood

Over $100,000

 

Amy Gutmann

Over $100,000

 

F. Joseph Loughrey

Over $100,000

 

Mark Loughridge

Over $100,000

 

Scott C. Malpass

Over $100,000

 

Deanna Mulligan

Over $100,000

 

André F. Perold

Over $100,000

 

Sarah Bloom Raskin

Over $100,000

 

Peter F. Volanakis

Over $100,000

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

Mortimer J. Buckley

Over $100,000

 

Emerson U. Fullwood

Over $100,000

 

Amy Gutmann

Over $100,000

 

F. Joseph Loughrey

$50,001–$100,000

Over $100,000

 

Mark Loughridge

Over $100,000

 

Scott C. Malpass

Over $100,000

 

Deanna Mulligan

Over $100,000

 

André F. Perold

Over $100,000

 

Sarah Bloom Raskin

Over $100,000

 

Peter F. Volanakis

Over $100,000

Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

Mortimer J. Buckley

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

 

Emerson U. Fullwood

Over $100,000

 

Amy Gutmann

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

 

F. Joseph Loughrey

Over $100,000

 

Mark Loughridge

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

 

Scott C. Malpass

Over $100,000

 

Deanna Mulligan

Over $100,000

 

André F. Perold

Over $100,000

 

Sarah Bloom Raskin

Over $100,000

 

Peter F. Volanakis

Over $100,000

B-33

 

 

Dollar Range

Aggregate Dollar Range of

 

 

of Fund Shares

Vanguard Fund Shares

Vanguard Fund

Trustee

Owned by Trustee

Owned by Trustee

 

 

 

 

Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

Mortimer J. Buckley

Over $100,000

 

Emerson U. Fullwood

Over $100,000

 

Amy Gutmann

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

 

F. Joseph Loughrey

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

 

Mark Loughridge

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

 

Scott C. Malpass

Over $100,000

 

Deanna Mulligan

Over $100,000

 

André F. Perold

Over $100,000

 

Sarah Bloom Raskin

$10,001–$50,000

Over $100,000

 

Peter F. Volanakis

Over $100,000

Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

Mortimer J. Buckley

Over $100,000

 

Emerson U. Fullwood

Over $100,000

 

Amy Gutmann

Over $100,000

 

F. Joseph Loughrey

Over $100,000

 

Mark Loughridge

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

 

Scott C. Malpass

Over $100,000

 

Deanna Mulligan

Over $100,000

 

André F. Perold

Over $100,000

 

Sarah Bloom Raskin

Over $100,000

 

Peter F. Volanakis

Over $100,000

High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund

Mortimer J. Buckley

Over $100,000

 

Emerson U. Fullwood

Over $100,000

 

Amy Gutmann

Over $100,000

 

F. Joseph Loughrey

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

 

Mark Loughridge

Over $100,000

 

Scott C. Malpass

Over $100,000

 

Deanna Mulligan

Over $100,000

 

André F. Perold

Over $100,000

 

Sarah Bloom Raskin

$1-$10,000

Over $100,000

 

Peter F. Volanakis

Over $100,000

Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund

Mortimer J. Buckley

Over $100,000

 

Emerson U. Fullwood

Over $100,000

 

Amy Gutmann

Over $100,000

 

F. Joseph Loughrey

Over $100,000

 

Mark Loughridge

Over $100,000

 

Scott C. Malpass

Over $100,000

 

Deanna Mulligan

Over $100,000

 

André F. Perold

Over $100,000

 

Sarah Bloom Raskin

Over $100,000

 

Peter F. Volanakis

Over $100,000

As of January 31, 2020, the trustees and officers of the funds owned, in the aggregate, less than 1% of each class of each fund's outstanding shares.

B-34

As of January 31, 2020, the following owned of record 5% or more of the outstanding shares of each class (other than ETF Shares):

Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund—Investor Shares: Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., San Francisco, CA (27.81%), National Financial Services LLC, Jersey City, NJ (22.89%); Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund—Admiral Shares: Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., San Francisco, CA (20.28%), National Financial Services LLC, Jersey City, NJ (16.73%); Vanguard Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund—Investor Shares: Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., San Francisco, CA (28.74%), National Financial Services LLC, Jersey City, NJ (22.95%); Vanguard Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund—Admiral Shares: National Financial Services LLC, Jersey City, NJ 18.93%), Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., San Francisco, CA (17.46%); Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund—Investor Shares: Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., San Francisco, CA (28.70%), National Financial Services LLC, Jersey City, NJ (19.51%); Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund— Admiral Shares: Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., San Francisco, CA (18.62%), National Financial Services LLC, Jersey City, NJ (9.97%), JP Morgan Securities LLC, Brooklyn, NY (7.28%); Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund—Investor Shares: National Financial Services LLC, Jersey City, NJ (18.61%), Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., San Francisco, CA (16.82%); Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund—Admiral Shares: National Financial Services LLC, Jersey City, NJ (9.87%); Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund— Investor Shares: National Financial Services LLC, Jersey City, NJ (25.03%), Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., San Francisco, CA (20.07%); Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund—Admiral Shares: Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., San Francisco, CA (10.29%), National Financial Services LLC, Jersey City, NJ (6.04%); Vanguard Tax- Exempt Bond Index Fund—Admiral Shares: Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., San Francisco, CA (13.5%).

Although the Funds do not have information concerning the beneficial ownership of shares held in the names of Depository Trust Company (DTC) participants, as of January 31, 2020, the name and percentage ownership of each DTC participant that owned of record 5% or more of the outstanding ETF Shares of a Fund were as follows:

Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund—ETF Shares: Charles Scwab & Co., Inc. (23.49%), RBC Capital Markets Corporation (16.24%), National Financial Services LLC (7.96%), Pershing LLC (6.84%), Vanguard Marketing Corporation (6.58%), Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (6.21%).

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.

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Online Disclosure of Ten Largest Stock Holdings

Each actively managed Vanguard fund generally will seek to disclose the fund's ten largest stock portfolio holdings and the percentage of the fund's total assets that each of these holdings represents as of the end of the most recent calendar quarter (quarter-end ten largest stock holdings with weightings) online at vanguard.com, in the "Portfolio" section of the fund's Portfolio & Management page, 15 calendar days after the end of the calendar quarter. Each Vanguard index fund generally will seek to disclose the fund's ten largest stock portfolio holdings and the percentage of the fund's total assets that each of these holdings represents as of the end of the most recent month (month-end ten largest stock holdings with weightings) online at vanguard.com, in the "Portfolio" section of the fund's Portfolio & Management page, 15 calendar days after the end of the month. In addition, Vanguard funds generally will seek to disclose the fund's ten largest stock portfolio holdings and the aggregate percentage of the fund's total assets (and, for balanced funds, the aggregate percentage of the fund's equity securities) that these holdings represent as of the end of the most recent month (month- end ten largest stock holdings) online at vanguard.com, in the "Portfolio" section of the fund's Portfolio & Management page, 10 business days after the end of the month. Together, the quarter-end and month-end ten largest stock holdings are referred to as the ten largest stock holdings. 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 actively managed Vanguard fund, unless otherwise stated, generally will seek to disclose the fund's complete portfolio holdings as of the end of the most recent calendar quarter online at vanguard.com, in the "Portfolio" section of the fund's Portfolio & Management page, 30 calendar days after the end of the calendar quarter. Each Vanguard fund relying on exemptive relief from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permitting the operation of actively- managed ETFs generally will seek to disclose complete portfolio holdings, including other investment positions, at the beginning of each business day. These portfolio holdings, including other investment positions, will be disclosed online at vanguard.com in the "Portfolio" section of the fund's Portfolio & Management page. In accordance with Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act, each of the Vanguard money market funds will disclose the fund's complete portfolio holdings as of the last business day of the prior month online at vanguard.com, in the "Portfolio" section of the fund's Portfolio & Management page, no later than the fifth business day of the current month. The complete portfolio holdings information for money market funds will remain available online for at least six months after the initial posting. Vanguard Market Neutral Fund and Vanguard Alternative Strategies Fund generally will seek to disclose the Fund's complete portfolio holdings as of the end of the most recent calendar quarter online at vanguard.com, in the "Portfolio" section of the Fund's Portfolio & Management page, 60 calendar days after the end of the calendar quarter. Each Vanguard index fund generally will seek to disclose the fund's complete portfolio holdings as of the end of the most recent month online at vanguard.com, in the "Portfolio" section of the fund's Portfolio & Management page, 15 calendar days after the end of the month. 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 will review complete portfolio holdings before disclosure is made and, except with respect to the complete portfolio holdings of the Vanguard money market funds, may withhold any portion of the fund's complete portfolio holdings from disclosure when deemed to be in the best interests of the fund after consultation with a Vanguard fund's investment advisor.

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; issuers of guaranteed investment contracts for stable value portfolios; 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

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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 Department or Legal and Compliance Division. 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 discloses complete portfolio holdings 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.; Brilliant Graphics, Inc.; Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.; Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.; Canon Business Process Services; Charles River Systems, Inc.; FactSet Research Systems Inc.; Innovation Printing & Communications; Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc.; Intelligencer Printing Company; Investment Technology Group, Inc.; Lipper, Inc.; Markit WSO Corporation; McMunn Associates Inc.; Reuters America Inc.; R.R. Donnelley, Inc.; State Street Bank and Trust Company; and Trade Informatics LLC.

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 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 discloses complete portfolio holdings 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.

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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 Nonmaterial 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 end of the most recent calendar quarter (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, VMC, 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 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, 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.

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings, Including Other Investment Positions, in Accordance with SEC Exemptive Orders

Vanguard's Fund Financial Services unit may disclose to the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC), Authorized Participants, and other market makers the daily portfolio composition files (PCFs) that identify a basket of specified securities that may overlap with the actual or expected portfolio holdings of the Vanguard funds that offer a class of shares known as Vanguard ETF Shares (ETF Funds). Each Vanguard fund relying on exemptive relief from the SEC permitting the operation of actively-managed ETFs generally will seek to disclose complete portfolio holdings, including other investment positions, at the beginning of each business day. These portfolio holdings, including other investment positions, will be disclosed online at vanguard.com in the "Portfolio" section of the fund's Portfolio & Management page. The disclosure of PCFs and portfolio holdings, including other investment positions, will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of related exemptive orders (Vanguard ETF Exemptive Orders) issued by the SEC, as described in this section.

Unlike the conventional classes of shares issued by ETF Funds, the ETF Shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange. Each ETF Fund issues and redeems ETF Shares in large blocks, known as "Creation Units." To purchase or redeem a Creation Unit, an investor must be an "Authorized Participant" or the investor must purchase or redeem through a broker-dealer that is an Authorized Participant. An Authorized Participant is a participant in the Depository Trust Company (DTC) that has executed a "Participant Agreement" with VMC. Each ETF Fund issues Creation Units in exchange for a "portfolio deposit" consisting of a basket of specified securities (Deposit Securities) and a cash payment (Balancing Amount). Each ETF Fund also redeems Creation Units in kind; an investor who tenders a Creation Unit will receive, as redemption proceeds, a basket of specified securities together with a Balancing Amount.

In connection with the creation and redemption process, and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Vanguard ETF Exemptive Orders, Vanguard makes available to the NSCC (a clearing agency registered with the SEC and affiliated with the DTC), for dissemination to NSCC participants on each business day prior to the opening of trading on the listing exchange, a PCF containing a list of the names and the required number of shares of each Deposit Security for

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each ETF Fund. In addition, the listing exchange disseminates (1) continuously throughout the trading day, through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association, the market value of an ETF Share; and (2) every 15 seconds throughout the trading day, a calculation of the estimated NAV of an ETF Share (expected to be accurate to within a few basis points). Comparing these two figures allows an investor to determine whether, and to what extent, ETF Shares are selling at a premium or at a discount to NAV. ETF Shares are listed on the exchange and traded on the secondary market in the same manner as other equity securities. The price of ETF Shares trading on the secondary market is based on a current bid/offer market.

In addition to making PCFs available to the NSCC, as previously described, Vanguard's Fund Financial Services

unit may disclose the PCF for any ETF Fund to any person, or online at vanguard.com to all categories of persons, if

(1)such disclosure serves a legitimate business purpose and (2) such disclosure does not constitute material nonpublic information. Vanguard's Fund Financial Services unit must make a good faith determination whether the PCF for any ETF Fund constitutes material nonpublic information, which involves an assessment of the particular facts and circumstances. Vanguard believes that in most cases the PCF for any ETF Fund would be immaterial and would not convey any advantage to the recipient in making an investment decision concerning the ETF Fund, if sufficient time has passed between the date of the PCF and the date on which the PCF is disclosed. Vanguard's Fund Financial Services unit may, at its sole discretion, determine whether to deny any request for the PCF for any ETF Fund made by any person, and may do so for any reason or for no reason. Disclosure of a PCF must be authorized by a Vanguard fund officer or a Principal in Vanguard's Fund Financial Services unit.

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 Vanguard's Fund Financial Services unit, 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 Department or Legal and Compliance Division.

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, VMC, 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.

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Prohibitions on Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

No person is authorized to disclose Vanguard fund portfolio holdings or other investment positions (whether online at 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 or entity 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.

INVESTMENT ADVISORY AND OTHER SERVICES

The Funds receive all investment advisory services from Vanguard through its Fixed Income Group. These services are provided by an experienced advisory staff employed directly by Vanguard. The compensation and other expenses of the advisory staff are allocated among the funds utilizing these services.

During the fiscal years ended October 31, 2017, 2018, and 2019, the Funds incurred the following approximate advisory expenses:

Vanguard Fund

2017

2018

2019

Municipal Money Market Fund

$4,473,000

$4,358,000

$5,068,000

 

 

 

 

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

1,932,000

1,918,000

2,366,000

 

 

 

 

Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

3,133,000

3,124,000

3,890,000

 

 

 

 

Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

6,943,000

7,085,000

9,220,000

 

 

 

 

Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

1,355,000

1,418,000

1,809,000

 

 

 

 

High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund

1,485,000

1,573,000

2,025,000

 

 

 

 

Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund

166,000

373,000

718,000

 

 

 

 

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1. Other Accounts Managed

The following table provides information relating to the other accounts managed by the portfolio managers of the Funds as of the fiscal year ended October 31, 2019 (unless otherwise noted):

 

 

 

 

 

Total assets in

 

 

 

 

No. of accounts with

accounts with

 

 

No. of

 

performance-based

performance-based

Portfolio Manager

 

accounts

Total assets

fees

fees

 

 

 

 

 

 

James M. D'Arcy

Registered investment

5

$87B

0

0

companies1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other pooled investment

0

$0

0

0

 

vehicles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other accounts

0

$0

0

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adam M. Ferguson

Registered investment

5

$59B

0

0

 

companies2

 

 

 

 

 

Other pooled investment

0

$0

0

0

 

vehicles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other accounts

0

$0

0

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mathew M. Kiselak

Registered investment

3

$32B

0

0

 

companies3

 

 

 

 

 

Other pooled investment

0

$0

0

0

 

vehicles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other accounts

0

$0

0

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen M. McFee

Registered investment

3

$11.5B

0

0

companies4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other pooled investment

0

$0

0

0

 

vehicles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other accounts

0

$0

0

0

 

 

 

 

 

 

Justin A. Schwartz

Registered investment

2

$35B

0

0

companies5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other pooled investment

0

$0

0

0

 

vehicles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other accounts

0

$0

0

0

1 Includes Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund which held assets of $63 billion as of October 31, 2019.

2 Includes Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index and Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund which held assets of $35 billion as of October 31, 2019.

3 Includes Vanguard Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund and High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund which held assets of $30 billion as of October 31, 2019. 4 Includes Vanguard Tax-Exempt Fund which held assets of $7.7 billion as of January 31, 2020.

5 Includes Vanguard Municipal Money and Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund which held assets of $35 billion as of October 31, 2019.

2. Material Conflicts of Interest

At Vanguard, individual portfolio managers may manage multiple accounts for multiple clients. In addition to mutual funds, these accounts may include separate accounts, collective trusts, and offshore funds. Managing multiple funds or 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 accounts through allocation policies and procedures, internal review processes, and oversight by trustees 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.

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3. Description of Compensation

All Vanguard portfolio managers are Vanguard employees. This section describes the compensation of the Vanguard employees who manage Vanguard mutual funds. As of October 31, 2019, 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 1980s to restore dollar-for-dollar the benefits of management employees that had been 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 Vanguard's 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 in response to a market adjustment of the position.

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 the fund's investment objective, policies, strategies, and limitations, and the market environment during the measurement period. This performance factor is not based on the amount of assets held in any individual fund's portfolio. For each Fund (other than Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund and Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund), the performance factor depends on how successfully the portfolio manager outperforms these expectations and maintains the risk parameters of the Fund generally over a three-year period. For the Municipal Money Market Fund, the performance factor depends on how successfully the portfolio manager maintains the credit quality of the Fund and, consequently, how the Fund performs relative to the expectations described above over a one-year period. For the Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund, the performance factor depends on how closely the portfolio manager tracks the Fund's benchmark index over a one-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 previously described. 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

As of October 31, 2019, Mr. D'Arcy owned shares of Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund in the $100,001–$500,000 range and Mr. Schwartz owned shares of Municipal Money Market Fund in the $100,001–$500,000 range. None of the other named portfolio managers owned any shares of the Funds they managed.

Duration and Termination of Investment Advisory Agreement

Vanguard provides investment advisory services to the Funds pursuant to the terms of the Fifth Amended and Restated Funds' Service Agreement. This agreement will continue in full force and effect until terminated or amended by mutual agreement of the Vanguard funds and Vanguard.

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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 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 in 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 markup (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 securities that the Funds purchase 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 that 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 October 31, 2017, 2018, and 2019, the Funds (other than Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund) paid the following approximate amounts in brokerage commissions:

Vanguard Fund

2017

2018

2019

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund1

$127,000

$158,000

$196,000

Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund

344,000

318,000

369,000

 

 

 

 

Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund1

605,000

719,000

849,000

Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund1

113,000

139,000

171,000

High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund

129,000

161,000

160,000

 

 

 

 

Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund

1 The increase in brokerage commissions from 2017 to 2019 was due to both an increase in cash flow to the Funds and increases in secondary market trading.

During the fiscal years ended October 31, 2017, 2018, and 2019, Vanguard Municipal Money Market Fund did not pay any brokerage commissions.

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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 may be aggregated by the advisor, and the purchased securities or sale proceeds may 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.

The ability of Vanguard and external advisors to purchase or dispose of certain fund investments or to exercise rights on behalf of a Fund, may be restricted or impaired because of limitations imposed by law, regulation, or by certain regulators or issuers. As a result, Vanguard and external advisors on behalf of a Fund may be required to limit purchases, sell existing investments, or otherwise limit the exercise of shareholder rights by the Fund, including voting rights. These ownership restrictions and limitations can impact a Fund's performance. For index funds, this impact generally takes the form of tracking error, which can arise when a fund is not able to acquire its desired amount of a security. For actively managed funds, this impact can result, for example, in missed investment opportunities otherwise desired by a fund's investment advisor. If a Fund is required to limit its investment in a particular issuer, then the Fund may seek to obtain regulatory or corporate consents or ownership waivers. Other options a Fund may pursue include seeking to obtain economic exposure to that issuer through alternative means, such as through a derivative, which may be more costly than owning securities of the issuer directly, or through investment in a wholly-owned subsidiary.

As of October 31, 2019, each Fund held no securities of its "regular brokers or dealers," as that term is defined in Rule 10b-1 of the 1940 Act.

PROXY VOTING

I. Proxy Voting Policies

Each Vanguard fund advised by Vanguard retains the authority to vote proxies received with respect to the shares of equity securities held in a portfolio advised by Vanguard. The Board of Trustees of the Vanguard-advised funds (the Board) has adopted proxy voting procedures and guidelines to govern proxy voting for each portfolio retaining proxy voting authority, which are summarized in Appendix A.

Vanguard has entered into agreements with various state, federal, and non-U.S. regulators and with certain issuers that limit the amount of shares that the funds may vote at their discretion for particular securities. For these securities, the funds are able to vote a limited portion of the shares at their discretion. Any additional shares generally are voted in the same proportion as votes cast by the issuer's entire shareholder base (i.e., mirror voted), or the fund is not permitted to vote such shares. Further, the Board has adopted policies that will result in certain funds mirror voting a higher proportion of the shares they own in a regulated issuer in order to permit certain other funds (generally advised by managers not affiliated with Vanguard) to mirror vote none, or a lower proportion of, their shares in such regulated issuer.

II. Securities Lending

There may be occasions when Vanguard needs to restrict lending of and/or recall securities that are out on loan in order to vote the full position at a shareholder meeting. For the funds managed by Vanguard, Vanguard has processes to monitor securities on loan and to evaluate any circumstances that may require it to restrict and/or attempt to recall the security based on the criteria set forth in Appendix A.

To 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, log on to vanguard.com or visit the SEC's website at www.sec.gov..

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE ETF SHARE CLASS

Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund (the ETF Fund) offers and issues an exchange-traded class of shares called ETF Shares. The ETF Fund issues and redeems ETF Shares in large blocks, known as "Creation Units."

To purchase or redeem a Creation Unit, you must be an Authorized Participant or you must transact through a broker that is an Authorized Participant. An Authorized Participant is a participant in the Depository Trust Company (DTC) that has executed a Participant Agreement with Vanguard Marketing Corporation, the Fund's Distributor (the Distributor). For a current list of Authorized Participants, contact the Distributor.

Investors that are not Authorized Participants must hold ETF Shares in a brokerage account. As with any stock traded on an exchange through a broker, purchases and sales of ETF Shares will be subject to usual and customary brokerage commissions.

The ETF Fund issues Creation Units in kind in exchange for a basket of securities that are part of—or soon to be part of— its target index (Deposit Securities). The ETF Fund also redeems Creation Units in kind; an investor who tenders a Creation Unit will receive, as redemption proceeds, a basket of securities that are part of the Fund's portfolio holdings (Redemption Securities). As part of any creation or redemption transaction, the investor will either pay or receive some cash in addition to the securities, as described more fully on the following pages. The ETF Fund reserves the right to issue Creation Units for cash, rather than in kind.

Exchange Listing and Trading

The ETF Shares have been approved for listing on a national securities exchange and will trade on the exchange at market prices that may differ from net asset value (NAV). There can be no assurance that, in the future, ETF Shares will continue to meet all of the exchange's listing requirements. The exchange will institute procedures to delist the Fund's ETF Shares if the Fund's ETF Shares do not continuously comply with the exchange's listing rules. The exchange will also delist the Fund's ETF Shares upon termination of the ETF share class.

The exchange disseminates, through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association, an updated "indicative optimized portfolio value" (IOPV) for the ETF Fund as calculated by an information provider. The ETF Fund is not involved with or responsible for the calculation or dissemination of the IOPVs, and it makes no warranty as to the accuracy of the IOPVs. An IOPV for the Fund's ETF Shares is disseminated every 15 seconds during regular exchange trading hours. An IOPV has a securities value component and a cash component. The securities values included in an IOPV are based on the real-time market prices of the Deposit Securities for the Fund's ETF Shares. The IOPV is designed as an estimate of the ETF Fund's NAV at a particular point in time, but it is only an estimate and should not be viewed as the actual NAV, which is calculated once each day.

Conversions and Exchanges

Owners of conventional shares (i.e., not exchange-traded shares) issued by the ETF Fund may convert those shares to ETF Shares of equivalent value of the ETF Fund. Please note that investors who own conventional shares through a 401(k) plan or other employer-sponsored retirement or benefit plan generally may not convert those shares to ETF Shares and should check with their plan sponsor or recordkeeper. ETF Shares, whether acquired through a conversion or purchased on the secondary market, cannot be converted to conventional shares by a shareholder. Also, ETF Shares of one fund cannot be exchanged for ETF Shares of another fund.

Investors that are not Authorized Participants must hold ETF Shares in a brokerage account. Thus, before converting conventional shares to ETF Shares, an investor must have an existing, or open a new, brokerage account. This account may be with Vanguard Brokerage Services or with any other brokerage firm. To initiate a conversion of conventional shares to ETF Shares, an investor must contact his or her broker.

Vanguard Brokerage Services does not impose a fee on conversions from Vanguard conventional shares to Vanguard ETF Shares. However, other brokerage firms may charge a fee to process a conversion. Vanguard reserves the right, in the future, to impose a transaction fee on conversions or to limit or terminate the conversion privilege.

Converting conventional shares to ETF Shares is generally accomplished as follows. First, after the broker notifies Vanguard of an investor's request to convert, Vanguard will transfer conventional shares from the investor's account with Vanguard to the broker's omnibus account with Vanguard (an account maintained by the broker on behalf of all its

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customers who hold conventional Vanguard fund shares through the broker). After the transfer, Vanguard's records will reflect the broker, not the investor, as the owner of the shares. Next, the broker will instruct Vanguard to convert the appropriate number or dollar amount of conventional shares in its omnibus account to ETF Shares of equivalent value, based on the respective NAVs of the two share classes. The ETF Fund's transfer agent will reflect ownership of all ETF Shares in the name of the DTC. The DTC will keep track of which ETF Shares belong to the broker, and the broker, in turn, will keep track of which ETF Shares belong to its customers.

Because the DTC is unable to handle fractional shares, only whole shares can be converted. For example, if the investor owned 300.25 conventional shares, and this was equivalent in value to 90.75 ETF Shares, the DTC account would receive 90 ETF Shares. Conventional shares with a value equal to 0.75 ETF Shares (in this example, that would be 2.481 conventional shares) would remain in the broker's omnibus account with Vanguard. The broker then could either (1) take certain internal actions necessary to credit the investor's account with 0.75 ETF Shares or (2) redeem the 2.481 conventional shares for cash at NAV and deliver that cash to the investor's account. If the broker chose to redeem the conventional shares, the investor would realize a gain or loss on the redemption that must be reported on his or her tax return (unless the shares are held in an IRA or other tax-deferred account). An investor should consult his or her broker for information on how the broker will handle the conversion process, including whether the broker will impose a fee to process a conversion.

The conversion process works differently for investors who opt to hold ETF Shares through an account at Vanguard Brokerage Services. Investors who convert their conventional shares to ETF Shares through Vanguard Brokerage Services will have all conventional shares for which they request conversion converted to the equivalent dollar value of ETF Shares. Because no fractional shares will have to be sold, the transaction will not be taxable.

Here are some important points to keep in mind when converting conventional shares of the ETF Fund to ETF Shares:

The conversion process can take anywhere from several days to several weeks, depending on the broker. Vanguard generally will process conversion requests either on the day they are received or on the next business day. Vanguard imposes conversion blackout windows around the dates when the ETF Fund declares dividends. This is necessary to prevent a shareholder from collecting a dividend from both the conventional share class currently held and also from the ETF share class to which the shares will be converted.

During the conversion process, an investor will remain fully invested in the Fund's conventional shares, and the investment will increase or decrease in value in tandem with the NAV of those shares.

The conversion transaction is nontaxable except, if applicable, to the very limited extent previously described.

During the conversion process, an investor will be able to liquidate all or part of an investment by instructing Vanguard or the broker (depending on whether the shares are held in the investor's account or the broker's omnibus account) to redeem the conventional shares. After the conversion process is complete, an investor will be able to liquidate all or part of an investment by instructing the broker to sell the ETF Shares.

Book Entry Only System

ETF Shares issued by the ETF Fund are registered in the name of the DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., and deposited with, or on behalf of, the DTC. The DTC is a limited-purpose trust company that was created to hold securities of its participants (DTC Participants) and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of transactions among them through electronic book-entry changes in their accounts, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations, and certain other organizations. The DTC is a subsidiary of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), which is owned by certain participants of the DTCC's subsidiaries, including the DTC. Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers, and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (Indirect Participants).

Beneficial ownership of ETF Shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants, and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in ETF Shares (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to herein as Beneficial Owners) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by the DTC (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from, or through, the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase of ETF Shares. The laws of

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some jurisdictions may require that certain purchasers of securities take physical delivery of such securities. Such laws may impair the ability of certain investors to acquire beneficial interests in ETF Shares.

The ETF Fund recognizes the DTC or its nominee as the record owner of all ETF Shares for all purposes. Beneficial Owners of ETF Shares are not entitled to have ETF Shares registered in their names and will not receive or be entitled to physical delivery of share certificates. Each Beneficial Owner must rely on the procedures of the DTC and any DTC Participant and/or Indirect Participant through which such Beneficial Owner holds its interests to exercise any rights of a holder of ETF Shares.

Conveyance of all notices, statements, and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. The DTC will make available to the ETF Fund, upon request and for a fee, a listing of the ETF Shares of the Fund held by each DTC Participant. The ETF Fund shall obtain from each DTC Participant the number of Beneficial Owners holding ETF Shares, directly or indirectly, through the DTC Participant. The ETF Fund shall provide each DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement, or other communication, in form, in number, and at such place as the DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that these communications may be transmitted by the DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to the Beneficial Owners. In addition, the ETF Fund shall pay to each DTC Participant a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

Share distributions shall be made to the DTC or its nominee as the registered holder of all ETF Shares. The DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall immediately credit the DTC Participants' accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in ETF Shares of the ETF Fund as shown on the records of the DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of ETF Shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a "street name," and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.

The ETF Fund has no responsibility or liability for any aspects of the records relating to or notices to Beneficial Owners; for payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in such ETF Shares; for maintenance, supervision, or review of any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests; or for any other aspect of the relationship between the DTC and the DTC Participants or the relationship between such DTC Participants and the Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners owning through such DTC Participants.

The DTC may determine to discontinue providing its service with respect to ETF Shares at any time by giving reasonable notice to the ETF Fund and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the ETF Fund shall take action either to find a replacement for the DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost or, if such replacement is unavailable, to issue and deliver printed certificates representing ownership of ETF Shares, unless the ETF Fund makes other arrangements with respect thereto satisfactory to the exchange.

Purchase and Issuance of ETF Shares in Creation Units

Except for conversions to ETF Shares from conventional shares, the ETF Fund issues and sells ETF Shares only in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load, at its NAV next determined after receipt of an order in proper form on any business day. The ETF Fund does not issue fractional Creation Units.

A business day is any day on which the NYSE is open for business. As of the date of this Statement of Additional Information, the NYSE observes the following U.S. holidays: New Year's Day; Martin Luther King, Jr., Day; Presidents' Day (Washington's Birthday); Good Friday; Memorial Day (observed); Independence Day; Labor Day; Thanksgiving Day; and Christmas Day.

Fund Deposit. The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit from the ETF Fund generally consists of the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities (Deposit Securities) and an amount of cash (Cash Component) consisting of a purchase balancing amount and a transaction fee (both described in the following paragraphs). Together, the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component constitute the fund deposit.

The purchase balancing amount is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of a Creation Unit and the market value of the Deposit Securities (Deposit Amount). It ensures that the NAV of a fund deposit (not including the transaction fee) is identical to the NAV of the Creation Unit it is used to purchase. If the purchase balancing amount is a positive

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number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit exceeds the market value of the Deposit Securities), then that amount will be paid by the purchaser to the ETF Fund in cash. If the purchase balancing amount is a negative number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit is less than the market value of the Deposit Securities), then that amount will be paid by the ETF Fund to the purchaser in cash (except as offset by the transaction fee).

Vanguard, through the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC), makes available after the close of each business day a list of the names and the number of shares of each Deposit Security to be included in the next business day's fund deposit for the ETF Fund (subject to possible amendment or correction). The ETF Fund reserves the right to accept a nonconforming fund deposit.

The identity and number of shares of the Deposit Securities required for a fund deposit may change from one day to another to reflect rebalancing adjustments, corporate actions, and interest payments on underlying bonds or to respond to adjustments to the weighting or composition of the component securities of the relevant target index.

In addition, the ETF Fund reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of an amount of cash—referred to as "cash-in-lieu"—to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. This might occur, for example, if a Deposit Security is not available in sufficient quantity for delivery, is not eligible for transfer through the applicable clearance and settlement system, or is not eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant or the investor for which an Authorized Participant is acting. Trading costs incurred by the ETF Fund in connection with the purchase of Deposit Securities with cash-in lieu amounts will be an expense of the ETF Fund. However, Vanguard may adjust the transaction fee to protect existing shareholders from this expense.

All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the Deposit Securities and the validity, form, eligibility, and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the ETF Fund, and the ETF Fund's determination shall be final and binding.

Procedures for Purchasing Creation Units. To initiate a purchase order for a Creation Unit, an Authorized Participant must submit an order in proper form to the Distributor and such order must be received by the Distributor prior to the closing time of regular trading of the NYSE (Closing Time) (ordinarily 4 p.m. Eastern time) to receive that day's NAV. Authorized Participants must transmit orders using a transmission method acceptable to the Distributor pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement.

Neither the Trust, the ETF Fund, the Distributor, nor any affiliated party will be liable to an investor who is unable to submit a purchase order by Closing Time, even if the problem is the responsibility of one of those parties (e.g., the Distributor's phone or email systems were not operating properly).

If you are not an Authorized Participant, you must place your purchase order in an acceptable form with an Authorized Participant. The Authorized Participant may request that you make certain representations or enter into agreements with respect to the order (e.g., to provide for payments of cash when required).

Placement of Purchase Orders. An Authorized Participant must deliver the cash and government securities portion of a fund deposit through the Federal Reserve's Fedwire System and the corporate securities portion of a fund deposit through the DTC. If a fund deposit is incomplete on the second business day after the trade date (the trade date is the date on which the trade actually takes place or "T"; two business days after the trade is known as "T+2") because of the failed delivery of one or more of the Deposit Securities, the ETF Fund shall be entitled to cancel the purchase order.

The ETF Fund may issue Creation Units in reliance on the Authorized Participant's undertaking to deliver the missing Deposit Securities at a later date. Such undertaking shall be secured by the delivery and maintenance of cash collateral in an amount determined by the ETF Fund in accordance with the terms of the Participant Agreement.

Rejection of Purchase Orders. The ETF Fund reserves the absolute right to reject a purchase order. By way of example, and not limitation, the ETF Fund will reject a purchase order if:

The order is not in proper form.

The Deposit Securities delivered are not the same (in name or amount) as the published basket.

Acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to the ETF Fund.

Acceptance of the fund deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful.

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Acceptance of the fund deposit would otherwise, at the discretion of the ETF Fund or Vanguard, have an adverse effect on the Fund or any of its shareholders.

Circumstances outside the control of the ETF Fund, the Trust, the transfer agent, the custodian, the Distributor, and Vanguard make it for all practical purposes impossible to process the order. Examples include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, public service disruptions, or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions, and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy, and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the aforementioned parties as well as the DTC, the NSCC, the Federal Reserve, or any other participant in the purchase process; and similar extraordinary events.

If a purchase order is rejected, the Distributor shall notify the Authorized Participant that submitted the order. The ETF Fund, the Trust, the transfer agent, the custodian, the Distributor, and Vanguard are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of a fund deposit, nor shall any of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.

Transaction Fee on Purchases of Creation Units. The ETF Fund may impose a transaction fee (payable to the Fund) to compensate the Fund for costs associated with the issuance of Creation Units. The amount of the fee, which may be changed by the ETF Fund from time to time at its sole discretion, is made available daily to Authorized Participants, market makers, and other interested parties through Vanguard's proprietary portal system. When the ETF Fund permits (or requires) a purchaser to substitute cash in lieu of depositing one or more Deposit Securities, the purchaser may be assessed an additional charge on the cash-in-lieu portion of its investment. The amount of this charge will be disclosed to investors before they place their orders. The amount will be determined by the ETF Fund at its sole discretion. The maximum transaction fee on purchases of Creation Units, including any additional charges as described, shall be 2% of the value of the Creation Units.

The ETF Fund reserves the right to not impose a transaction fee or to vary the amount of the transaction fee imposed, up to the maximum amount listed above. To the extent a creation transaction fee is not charged or does not cover the costs associated with the issuance of the Creation Units, certain costs may be borne by the Fund.

Redemption of ETF Shares in Creation Units

To be eligible to place a redemption order, you must be an Authorized Participant. Investors that are not Authorized Participants must make appropriate arrangements with an Authorized Participant in order to redeem a Creation Unit.

ETF Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units. Investors should expect to incur transaction costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of ETF Shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Redemption requests received on a business day in good order will receive the NAV next determined after the request is made.

Unless cash redemptions are available or specified for the ETF Fund, an investor tendering a Creation Unit generally will receive redemption proceeds consisting of (1) a basket of Redemption Securities; plus (2) a redemption balancing amount in cash equal to the difference between (x) the NAV of the Creation Unit being redeemed, as next determined after receipt of a request in proper form, and (y) the value of the Redemption Securities; less (3) a transaction fee. If the Redemption Securities have a value greater than the NAV of a Creation Unit, the redeeming investor will pay the redemption balancing amount in cash to the ETF Fund rather than receive such amount from the Fund.

Vanguard, through the NSCC, makes available after the close of each business day a list of the names and the number of shares of each Redemption Security to be included in the next business day's redemption basket for the ETF Fund (subject to possible amendment or correction). The basket of Redemption Securities provided to an investor redeeming a Creation Unit may not be identical to the basket of Deposit Securities required of an investor purchasing a Creation Unit. If the ETF Fund and a redeeming investor mutually agree, the Fund may provide the investor with a basket of Redemption Securities that differs from the composition of the redemption basket published through the NSCC.

The ETF Fund reserves the right to deliver cash in lieu of any Redemption Security for the same reason it might accept cash in lieu of a Deposit Security, as previously discussed, or if the ETF Fund could not lawfully deliver the security or could not do so without first registering such security under federal or state law.

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Neither the Trust, the ETF Fund, the Distributor, nor any affiliated party will be liable to an investor who is unable to submit a redemption order by Closing Time, even if the problem is the responsibility of one of those parties (e.g., the Distributor's phone or email systems were not operating properly).

Transaction Fee on Redemptions of Creation Units. The ETF Fund may impose a transaction fee (payable to the Fund) to compensate the Fund for costs associated with the redemption of Creation Units. The amount of the fee, which may be changed by Vanguard from time to time at its sole discretion, is made available daily to Authorized Participants, market makers, and other interested parties through Vanguard's proprietary portal system. For Creation Unit redemptions, unlike purchases, the ETF Fund does not impose an additional charge on investors who receive cash in lieu of one or more Redemption Securities. The maximum transaction fee on redemptions of Creation Units shall be 2% of the value of the Creation Units.

Each ETF Fund reserves the right to not impose a transaction fee or to vary the amount of the transaction fee imposed, up to the maximum amount listed above. To the extent a redemption transaction fee is not charged or does not cover the costs associated with the redemption of the Creation Units, certain costs may be borne by the Fund.

Placement of Redemption Orders. To initiate a redemption order for a Creation Unit, an Authorized Participant must submit such order in proper form to the Distributor before Closing Time in order to receive that day's NAV. Authorized Participants must transmit orders using a transmission method acceptable to the Distributor pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement.

If on the settlement date (typically T+2) an Authorized Participant has failed to deliver all of the Vanguard ETF Shares it is seeking to redeem, the ETF Fund shall be entitled to cancel the redemption order. Alternatively, the ETF Fund may deliver to the Authorized Participant the full complement of Redemption Securities and cash in reliance on the Authorized Participant's undertaking to deliver the missing ETF Shares at a later date. Such undertaking shall be secured by the Authorized Participant's delivery and maintenance of cash collateral in accordance with collateral procedures that are part of the Participant Agreement. In all cases the ETF Fund shall be entitled to charge the Authorized Participant for any costs (including investment losses, attorney's fees, and interest) incurred by the ETF Fund as a result of the late delivery or failure to deliver.

If an Authorized Participant, or a redeeming investor acting through an Authorized Participant, is subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular security included in the basket of Redemption Securities, such investor may be paid an equivalent amount of cash in lieu of the security. In addition, the ETF Fund reserves the right to redeem Creation Units partially for cash to the extent that the Fund could not lawfully deliver one or more Redemption Securities or could not do so without first registering such securities under federal or state law.

Suspension of Redemption Rights. The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed with respect to the ETF Fund (1) for any period during which the NYSE or listing exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings), (2) for any period during which trading on the NYSE or listing exchange is suspended or restricted, (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the Fund's portfolio securities or determination of its NAV is not reasonably practical, or (4) in such other circumstances as the SEC permits.

Precautionary Notes

A precautionary note to ETF investors: The DTC or its nominee will be the registered owner of all outstanding ETF Shares. Your ownership of ETF Shares will be shown on the records of the DTC and the DTC Participant broker through which you hold the shares. Vanguard will not have any record of your ownership. Your account information will be maintained by your broker, which will provide you with account statements, confirmations of your purchases and sales of ETF Shares, and tax information. Your broker also will be responsible for distributing income and capital gains distributions and for ensuring that you receive shareholder reports and other communications from the fund whose ETF Shares you own. You will receive other services (e.g., dividend reinvestment and average cost information) only if your broker offers these services.

You should also be aware that investments in ETF Shares may be subject to certain risks relating to having large shareholders. To the extent that a large number of the Fund's ETF Shares are held by a large shareholder (e.g., an institutional investor, an investment advisor or an affiliate of an investment advisor, an authorized participant, a lead market

B-50

maker, or another entity), a large redemption by such a shareholder could result in an increase in the ETF's expense ratio, cause the ETF to incur higher transaction costs, cause the ETF to fail to comply with applicable listing standards of the listing exchange upon which it is listed, lead to the realization of taxable capital gains, or cause the remaining shareholders to receive distributions representing a disproportionate share of the ETF's ordinary income and long-term capital gains. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on an exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the ETF Shares.

A precautionary note to purchasers of Creation Units: You should be aware of certain legal risks unique to investors purchasing Creation Units directly from the issuing fund.

Because new ETF Shares may be issued on an ongoing basis, a "distribution" of ETF Shares could be occurring at any time. Certain activities that you perform as a dealer could, depending on the circumstances, result in your being deemed a participant in the distribution in a manner that could render you a statutory underwriter and subject you to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 (the 1933 Act). For example, you could be deemed a statutory underwriter if you purchase Creation Units from the issuing fund, break them down into the constituent ETF Shares, and sell those shares directly to customers or if you choose to couple the creation of a supply of new ETF Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for ETF Shares. Whether a person is an underwriter depends upon all of the facts and circumstances pertaining to that person's activities, and the examples mentioned here should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could cause you to be deemed an underwriter.

Dealers who are not "underwriters" but are participating in a distribution (as opposed to engaging in ordinary secondary- market transactions), and thus dealing with ETF Shares as part of an "unsold allotment" within the meaning of Section 4(3)(C) of the 1933 Act, will be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the 1933 Act.

A precautionary note to shareholders redeeming Creation Units: An Authorized Participant that is not a "qualified institutional buyer" as defined in Rule 144A under the 1933 Act will not be able to receive, as part of the redemption basket, restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.

A precautionary note to investment companies: Vanguard ETF Shares are issued by registered investment companies, and therefore the acquisition of such shares by other investment companies is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Vanguard has obtained an SEC exemptive order that allows registered investment companies to invest in the issuing funds beyond the limits of Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions, including the requirement to enter into a participation agreement with Vanguard.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Each Fund's Financial Statements for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2019, appearing in the Funds' 2019 Annual Reports to Shareholders, and the reports thereon of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, also appearing therein, are incorporated by reference into 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 MUNICIPAL BOND RATINGS

Moody's Rating Symbols

The following describe characteristics of the global long-term (original maturity of 1 year or more) bond ratings provided by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's):

Aaa—Judged to be obligations of the highest quality, they are subject to the lowest level of credit risk.

Aa—Judged to be obligations of high quality, they are subject to very low credit risk. Together with the Aaa group, they make up what are generally known as high-grade bonds.

A—Judged to be upper-medium-grade obligations, they are subject to low credit risk.

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Baa—Judged to be medium-grade obligations, subject to moderate credit risk, they may possess certain speculative characteristics.

Ba—Judged to be speculative obligations, they are subject to substantial credit risk.

B—Considered to be speculative obligations, they are subject to high credit risk.

Caa—Judged to be speculative obligations of poor standing, they are subject to very high credit risk.

Ca—Viewed as highly speculative obligations, they are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.

C—Viewed as the lowest rated obligations, they are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal and interest.

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 describe characteristics of the global short-term (original maturity of 13 months or less) bond ratings provided by Moody's. This ratings scale also applies to U.S. municipal tax-exempt commercial paper.

Prime-1 (P-1)—Judged to have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

Prime-2 (P-2)—Judged to have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

Prime-3 (P-3)—Judged to have an acceptable ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

Not Prime (NP)—Cannot be judged to be in any of the prime rating categories.

The following describe characteristics of the U.S. municipal short-term bond ratings provided by Moody's:

Moody's ratings for state and municipal notes and other short-term (up to 3 years) obligations are designated Municipal Investment Grade (MIG).

MIG 1—Indicates superior quality, enjoying the excellent protection of established cash flows, liquidity support, and broad-based access to the market for refinancing.

MIG 2—Indicates strong credit quality with ample margins of protection, although not as large as in the preceding group.

MIG 3—Indicates acceptable credit quality, with narrow liquidity and cash-flow protection and less well-established market access for refinancing.

SG—Indicates speculative credit quality with questionable margins of protection.

Standard and Poor's Rating Symbols

The following describe characteristics of the long-term (original maturity of 1 year or more) bond ratings provided by Standard and Poor's:

AAA—These are the highest rated obligations. The capacity to pay interest and repay principal is extremely strong.

AA—These 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—These are regarded as upper-medium-grade obligations. 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—These are regarded as having an adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity in this regard. This group is the lowest that qualifies for commercial bank investment.

BB, B, CCC, CC, and C—These obligations range from speculative to significantly speculative with respect to the capacity to pay interest and repay principal. BB indicates the lowest degree of speculation and C the highest.

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D—These obligations are in default, and payment of principal and/or interest is likely in arrears.

The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (–) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.

The following describe characteristics of short-term (original maturity of 365 days or less) bond and commercial paper ratings designations provided by Standard and Poor's:

A-1—These are the highest rated obligations. The capacity of the obligor to pay interest and repay principal is strong. The addition of a plus sign (+) would indicate a very strong capacity.

A-2—These obligations are somewhat susceptible to changing economic conditions. The obligor has a satisfactory capacity to pay interest and repay principal.

A-3—These obligations are more susceptible to the adverse effects of changing economic conditions, which could lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal.

B—These obligations are vulnerable to nonpayment and are significantly speculative, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments.

C—These obligations are vulnerable to nonpayment, but the obligor must rely on favorable economic conditions to meet its financial commitment.

D—These obligations are in default, and payment of principal and/or interest is likely in arrears.

The following describe characteristics of U.S. municipal short-term (original maturity of 3 years or less) note ratings provided by Standard and Poor's:

SP-1—This designation indicates a strong capacity to pay principal and interest.

SP-2—This designation indicates a satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest.

SP-3—This designation indicates a speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.

APPENDIX A

Vanguard-Advised Funds Proxy Voting Policy

Each Vanguard fund advised by Vanguard retains authority to vote proxies received with respect to the shares of equity securities held in a portfolio advised by Vanguard. The Board of Trustees (the Board) for the Vanguard-advised funds has adopted proxy voting procedures and guidelines to govern proxy voting for each portfolio retaining proxy voting authority.

The Investment Stewardship Oversight Committee (the Committee), made up of primarily fund officers and subject to the procedures described below, oversees the Vanguard-advised funds' proxy voting. The Committee reports directly to the Board. Vanguard is subject to these procedures and the proxy voting guidelines to the extent that they call for Vanguard to administer the voting process and implement the resulting voting decisions, and for these purposes the guidelines have also been approved by the Board of Directors of Vanguard.

The voting principles and guidelines adopted by the Board provide a framework for assessing each proposal and seek to ensure that each vote is cast in the best interests of each fund. Under the guidelines, each proposal is evaluated on its merits, based on the particular facts and circumstances as presented. For more information on the funds' proxy voting guidelines, please visit about.vanguard.com/investment-stewardship.

I. Investment Stewardship Team

The Investment Stewardship Team administers the day-to-day operation of the funds' proxy voting process, overseen by the Committee. The Investment Stewardship Team performs the following functions: (1) managing and conducting due diligence of 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

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proxy; and (5) voting proxies. The Investment Stewardship Team also prepares periodic and special reports to the Board, and proposes amendments to the procedures and guidelines. In addition, at any time, the Board may elect to exercise its discretionary authority to vote proxies.

II. Investment Stewardship Oversight Committee

The Board, including a majority of the independent trustees, appoints the members of the Committee (which is comprised primarily of fund officers). The Committee works with the Investment Stewardship Team to provide reports and other guidance to the Board regarding proxy voting by the funds. The Committee has an obligation to exercise its decision-making authority in accordance with the Board's instructions as set forth in the Funds' Proxy Voting Procedures and guidelines and subject to the fiduciary standards of good faith, fairness, and Vanguard's Code of Ethics. The Committee may advise the Investment Stewardship Team on how to best apply the Boards' instructions as set forth in the Guidelines or refer the matter to the Board, which has ultimate decision-making authority for the funds. The Board reviews the procedures and guidelines annually and modifies them from time to time upon the recommendation of the Committee and in consultation with the Investment Stewardship Team.

III. Proxy Voting Principles

Vanguard's investment stewardship activities are grounded in four principles of good governance:

1)Board composition: We believe good governance begins with a great board of directors. Our primary interest is to ensure that the individuals who represent the interests of all shareholders are independent, committed, capable, and appropriately experienced.

2)Oversight of strategy and risk: We believe that boards are responsible for effective oversight of a company's long-term strategy and any relevant and material risks.

3)Executive compensation: We believe that performance-linked compensation (or remuneration) policies and practices are fundamental drivers of sustainable, long-term value.

4)Governance structures: We believe that companies should have in place governance structures to ensure that boards and management serve in the best interests of the shareholders they represent.

IV. Evaluation of Proxies

For ease of reference, the procedures and guidelines often refer to all funds. However, the 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 could result in the funds having a common interest in the matter and, accordingly, each fund casting votes in the same manner. In other cases, however, a fund may vote differently from other funds if doing so is in the best interest of the individual fund.

The guidelines do not permit the Board to delegate voting discretion 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 that should be considered in each voting decision. A fund may refrain from voting some or all of its shares or vote in a particular way if doing so 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, if exercising the vote would result in the imposition of trading or other restrictions, or if a fund (or all Vanguard funds in the aggregate) were to own more than the permissible maximum percentage of a company's stock (as determined by the company's governing documents or by applicable law, regulation, or regulatory agreement).

In evaluating proxy proposals, we consider information from many sources, which could include, but is not limited to, an investment advisor unaffiliated with Vanguard that has investment and proxy voting authority with respect to Vanguard funds that hold shares in the applicable company, the 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. The Investment Stewardship Team does not vote in lockstep with recommendations from proxy advisors when voting on behalf of the Vanguard funds. Data from proxy advisors serve as one of many inputs into our research process.

While serving as a framework, the 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

B-54

contested proxy), the Investment Stewardship Team, under the supervision of the Committee, will evaluate the matter and cast the fund's vote in a manner that is in the fund's best interest, subject to the individual circumstances of the fund.

V. Conflicts of Interest

Vanguard takes seriously its commitment to avoid potential conflicts of interest. Vanguard funds invest in thousands of publicly listed companies worldwide. Those companies may include clients, potential clients, vendors, or competitors. Some companies may employ Vanguard trustees, former Vanguard executives, or family members of Vanguard personnel who have direct involvement in Vanguard's Investment Stewardship program.

Vanguard's approach to mitigating conflicts of interest begins with the funds' proxy voting procedures. The procedures require that voting personnel act as fiduciaries, and must conduct their activities at all times in accordance with the following standards: (i) fund shareholders' interests come first; (ii) conflicts of interest must be avoided; (iii) and compromising situations must be avoided.

We maintain an important separation between Vanguard's Investment Stewardship Team and other groups within Vanguard that are responsible for sales, marketing, client service, and vendor/partner relationships. Proxy voting personnel are required to disclose potential conflicts of interest, and must recuse themselves from all voting decisions and engagement activities in such instances. In certain circumstances, Vanguard may refrain from voting shares of a company, or may engage an independent third-party fiduciary to vote proxies.

Each externally managed fund has adopted the proxy voting guidelines of its advisor(s) and votes in accordance with the external advisors' guidelines and procedures. Each advisor has its own procedures for managing conflicts of interest in the best interests of fund shareholders.

VI. Environmental and Social Proposals

Proposals in this category, initiated primarily by shareholders, typically request that a company enhance its disclosure or amend certain business practices. These resolutions are evaluated in the context of the general corporate governance principle that a company's board has ultimate responsibility for providing effective ongoing oversight of relevant sector- and company-specific risks, including those related to environmental and social matters. Each proposal is evaluated on its merits and supported when there is a logically demonstrable linkage between the specific proposal and long-term shareholder value of the company. Some of the factors considered when evaluating these proposals include the materiality of the issue, the quality of the current disclosures/business practices, and any progress by the company toward the adoption of best practices and/or industry norms.

VII. Voting in Markets Outside the United States

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 support improvements in governance and disclosure by each fund's portfolio companies. Matters presented by non-U.S. portfolio companies will be evaluated in the foregoing context, as well as in accordance with local market standards and best practices. Votes are cast for each fund in a manner philosophically consistent with the guidelines, taking into account differing practices by market.

In many other markets, voting proxies will result in a fund being prohibited from selling the shares for a period of time due to requirements known as "share-blocking" or reregistration. Generally, the value of voting is unlikely to outweigh the loss of liquidity imposed by these requirements on the funds. In such instances, the funds will generally abstain from voting.

The costs of voting (e.g., custodian fees, vote agency fees) in other markets may be substantially higher than for U.S. holdings. As such, the fund may limit its voting on foreign holdings in instances in which the issues presented are unlikely to have a material impact on shareholder value.

VIII. Voting Shares of a Company Subject to an Ownership Limitation

Certain companies have provisions in their governing documents or other agreements that restrict stock ownership in excess of a specified limit. Typically, these ownership restrictions are included in the governing documents of real estate investment trusts, but may be included in other companies' governing documents. A company's governing documents normally allow the company to grant a waiver of these ownership limits, which would allow a fund to exceed the stated

B-55

ownership limit. Sometimes a company will grant a waiver without restriction. From time to time, a company may grant a waiver only if a fund (or funds) agrees to not vote the company's shares in excess of the normal specified limit. In such a circumstance, a fund may refrain from voting shares if owning the shares beyond the company's specified limit is in the best interests of the fund and its shareholders.

In addition, applicable law may require prior regulatory approval to permit ownership of certain regulated issuer's voting securities above certain limits or may impose other restrictions on owners of more than a certain percentage of a regulated issuer's voting shares. The Board has authorized the funds to vote shares above these limits in the same proportion as votes cast by the issuer's entire shareholder base (i.e., mirror vote), or to refrain from voting excess shares. Further, the Board has adopted policies that will result in certain funds mirror voting a higher proportion of the shares they own in a regulated issuer in order to permit certain other funds (generally advised by managers not affiliated with Vanguard) to mirror vote none, or a lower proportion of, their shares in such regulated issuer.

IX. 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.

X. Securities Lending

There may be occasions when Vanguard needs to restrict lending of and/or recall securities that are out on loan in order to vote in a shareholder meeting. Vanguard has processes to monitor securities on loan and to evaluate any circumstances that may require us to restrict and/or recall the stock. In making this decision, we consider:

The subject of the vote and whether, based on our knowledge and experience, we believe the topic is potentially material to the corporate governance and/or long-term performance of the company;

The Vanguard funds' individual and/or aggregate equity investment in a company, and whether we estimate that voting Vanguard funds' shares would affect the shareholder meeting outcome; are

The long-term impact to our fund shareholders, evaluating whether we believe the benefits of voting a company's shares would outweigh the benefits of stock lending revenues in a particular instance.

SAI 045 022019

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PART C

VANGUARD MUNICIPAL BOND FUNDS

OTHER INFORMATION

Item 28. Exhibits

(a)Articles of Incorporation, Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, filed with Post-Effective Amendment No. 94 dated February 23, 2017, is hereby incorporated by reference. Amendment to the Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, to be filed by amendment.

(b)By-Laws, Amended and Restated By-Laws, filed with Post-Effective Amendment No. 98 dated February 26, 2018, is hereby incorporated by reference.

(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 Contract, The Vanguard Group, Inc., provides investment advisory services to the Funds pursuant to the Fifth 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 Registration Statement.

(g)Custodian Agreements, for State Street Bank and Trust Company, is filed herewith.

(h)Other Material Contracts, Fifth Amended and Restated Funds' Service Agreement, is filed herewith.

(i)Legal Opinion, not applicable.

(j)Other Opinions, Consent of 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 with Post-Effective Amendment No. 100 dated February 26, 2019, is hereby incorporated by reference.

Item 29. Persons Controlled by or under Common Control with Registrant

None.

Item 30. Indemnification

The Registrant's organizational documents contain provisions indemnifying Trustees and officers against liability incurred in their official capacities. 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.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 (the Securities Act) may be permitted for directors, officers, or persons controlling the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the Registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

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Item 31. Business and Other Connections of Investment Adviser

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard), is an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the Advisers Act). The list required by this Item 31 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 Form ADV filed by Vanguard pursuant to the Advisers Act (SEC File No. 801-11953).

Item 32. 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 over 200 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

Karin A. Risi

Chairman, Director, Principal, and Chief Executive Officer

None

 

Designee

 

Scott A. Conking

Director and Principal

None

Christopher D. McIsaac

Director and Principal

None

Thomas M. Rampulla

Director and Principal

None

Michael Rollings

Director and Principal

Finance Director

Caroline Cosby

Director, Principal, General Counsel and Assistant

None

 

Secretary

 

Mortimer J. Buckley

President

Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief

 

 

Executive Officer, and President

John E. Schadl

Assistant Vice President

Chief Compliance Officer

Beth Morales Singh

Secretary

None

Angela Gravinese

Chief Compliance Officer

None

John T. Marcante

Chief Information Officer

None

Alonzo Ellis

Chief Information Security Officer

None

Salvatore L. Pantalone

Financial and Operations Principal and Treasurer

None

Amy M. Laursen

Financial and Operations Principal

None

Danielle Corey

Annuity and Insurance Officer

None

Jeff Seglem

Annuity and Insurance Officer

None

Matthew Benchener

Principal

None

John Bendl

Principal

Chief Financial Officer

Saundra K. Cusumano

Principal

None

James M. Delaplane Jr.

Principal

None

Andrew Kadjeski

Principal

None

Martha G. King

Principal

None

Michael V. Lucci

Principal

None

C-2

Name

Positions and Office with Underwriter

Positions and Office with Funds

Brian P. McCarthy

Principal

None

James M. Norris

Principal

None

Douglas R. Mento

Principal

None

David Petty

Principal

None

Tammy M. Virnig

Principal

None

(c)Not applicable.

Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records

The books, accounts, and other documents required to be maintained by Section 31 (a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder will be maintained at the offices of the Registrant, 100 Vanguard Boulevard, Malvern, PA 19355; the Registrant's Transfer Agent, The Vanguard Group, Inc., 100 Vanguard Boulevard, Malvern, PA 19355; the Registrant's Custodian, State Street Bank and Trust Company, One Lincoln Street, Boston, MA 02111; and the Registrant's investment advisor at the location identified in this Registration Statement.

Item 34. 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 35. Undertakings

Not applicable.

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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 26th day of February, 2020.

VANGUARD MUNICIPAL BOND FUNDS

BY:___________/s/ Mortimer J. Buckley*_________

Mortimer J. Buckley

Chief Executive Officer, President, and Trustee

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/ Mortimer J. Buckley*

Chairman and Chief Executive

February 26, 2020

 

Officer

 

Mortimer J. Buckley

 

 

 

/s/ Emerson U. Fullwood*

Trustee

February 26, 2020

Emerson U. Fullwood

 

 

/s/ Amy Gutmann*

Trustee

February 26, 2020

Amy Gutmann

 

 

/s/ F. Joseph Loughrey*

Trustee

February 26, 2020

F. Joseph Loughrey

 

 

/s/ Mark Loughridge*

Trustee

February 26, 2020

Mark Loughridge

 

 

/s/ Scott C. Malpass*

Trustee

February 26, 2020

Scott C. Malpass

 

 

/s/ Deanna Mulligan*

Trustee

February 26, 2020

Deanna Mulligan

 

 

/s/ André F. Perold*

Trustee

February 26, 2020

André F. Perold

 

 

/s/ Sarah Bloom Raskin*

Trustee

February 26, 2020

Sarah Bloom Raskin

 

 

/s/ Peter F. Volanakis*

Trustee

February 26, 2020

Peter F. Volanakis

 

 

/s/ John Bendl*

Chief Financial Officer

February 26, 2020

John Bendl

 

 

*By: /s/ Anne E. Robinson

Anne E. Robinson, pursuant to a Power of Attorney filed on January 18, 2018 (see File Number 33-32216) and Power of Attorney filed on October 30, 2019, (see File Number 811-02554) Incorporated by Reference

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

Custodian Agreement, for State Street Bank and Trust Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ex.99.G

Other Material Contracts, Fifth Amended and Restated Funds' Service Agreement...................

Ex.99.H

Other Opinions, Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ex.99.J

Rule 18f-3 Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ex.99.N

1 Year Vanguard Tax Exempt Bond... Chart

1 Year Vanguard Tax Exempt Bond... Chart

1 Month Vanguard Tax Exempt Bond... Chart

1 Month Vanguard Tax Exempt Bond... Chart

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