Hear Vanguard CEO Salim Ramji and President and CIO Greg Davis talk about our commitment to clients
Why investment costs matter
In investing, realize that you get what you don’t pay for. Whatever future returns the markets are generous enough to deliver, few investors will succeed in capturing 100% of those returns, simply because of the high costs of investing—all those commissions, management fees, investment expenses, yes, even taxes—so pare them to the bone.²
John C. Bogle
Lower-cost portfolios tend to outperform higher-cost ones
Largest Vanguard share classes with reduced fees*
Bond and short-term reserves funds
|
Ticker
|
Share class
|
Prior expense ratio
|
New expense ratio
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Bond Market Index Fund |
VBTIX | Institutional Shares | 0.04% | 0.03% |
Total Bond Market Index Fund |
VBMPX | Institutional Plus Shares | 0.03 | 0.02 |
Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund |
VTSPX | Institutional Shares | 0.04 | 0.03 |
Total Bond Market Index Fund |
VBTLX | Admiral Shares | 0.05 | 0.04 |
Treasury Money Market Fund |
VUSXX | Investor Shares | 0.09 | 0.07 |
Stock funds
|
Ticker
|
Share class
|
Prior expense ratio
|
New expense ratio
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
PRIMECAP Fund |
VPMAX | Admiral Shares | 0.31% | 0.29% |
Total International Stock Index Fund |
VTSNX | Institutional Shares | 0.09 | 0.06 |
Windsor II Fund |
VWNAX | Admiral Shares | 0.26 | 0.23 |
International Growth Fund |
VWILX | Admiral Shares | 0.26 | 0.25 |
Total International Stock Index Fund |
VTPSX | Institutional Plus Shares | 0.08 | 0.05 |
Fund fees and Vanguard fee cuts, explained
Our lower fees are the estimated annual operating costs of the affected fund share classes, expressed as percentages of their average net assets. Also known as their expense ratios, the fees are detailed in the funds’ prospectuses. The prospectuses of all affected funds were updated today in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You can find the amended prospectuses here.
Operating costs generally are deducted from the income that mutual funds and exchange-traded funds earn on their holdings. Expense ratios may cover investment advisory fees, marketing and distribution expenses, brokerage fees, and custodial, transfer agency, legal, and accounting fees.
Sources:
1 Savings due to the reduction in expense ratios were calculated on a share class basis for each fund for which there is a Vanguard-initiated reduction. AUM as of November 30, 2024, for each relevant share class was multiplied by 2024 expense ratios. The same AUM data was then multiplied by 2025 reduced expense ratios. The difference was added across funds to determine the total estimated savings to Vanguard investors holding those funds in both 2024 and 2025.
2 Speech delivered at The World Money Show, Orlando, Florida, February 2, 2005.
3 See, for example, Principles for Investing Success, Vanguard, 2023.
4 Source: LSEG Lipper. Numbers of Vanguard funds that outperformed their Lipper peer-group averages for the 10-year period ended December 31, 2024: 265 of all 317 funds, indexed and actively managed, and among active fixed income funds, 6 of 6 money market funds and 40 of 44 bond funds. Results will vary for other time periods. Only funds with a minimum 10-year history were included in the comparison.
5 Source: Vanguard calculations, based on data as of November 30, 2024, from Morningstar Direct. Peer groups are defined as products with the same Morningstar category, investment type, and management style.
Note that the competitive performance data shown represent past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results, and that all investments are subject to risks. For the most recent performance, visit vanguard.com/performance.
- All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.
- For more information about Vanguard funds and ETFs, visit vanguard.com to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before investing.
- Vanguard ETF Shares are not redeemable with the issuing fund other than in very large aggregations worth millions of dollars. Instead, investors must buy and sell Vanguard ETF Shares in the secondary market and hold those shares in a brokerage account. In doing so, the investor may incur brokerage commissions and may pay more than net asset value when buying and receive less than net asset value when selling.
- Vanguard is reducing expense ratios for certain share classes of some funds. There is no guarantee that any individual investor will save money due to the reductions in fund expense ratios. Not all fund share classes will have a reduced expense ratio and therefore not all investors will experience the estimated savings. Investors that purchase the relevant funds after the expense ratios have been reduced will not experience savings. Savings means future money not spent on expense ratios, and does not entail a rebate or deposit of any sort. Savings figures are estimates and should not be relied upon. Savings is based on data as of November 30, 2024; if other data is used, savings may differ. Estimated savings accrue to existing investors holding relevant share classes for 2024 and 2025. For illustrative purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
- Vanguard is owned by its funds, which are owned by Vanguard's fund shareholder clients.
- Vanguard Treasury Money Market Fund: 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. An investment in the fund is not a bank account and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The fund’s sponsor is not required to reimburse the fund for losses, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the fund at any time, including during periods of market stress.