Vanguard Municipal Bond Funds

19/11/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 19/11/2024 15:02

Summary Prospectus by Investment Company - Form 497K

SP V039 Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF 497K
 
Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
Summary Prospectus
 November 19, 2024
Exchange-traded fund shares that are not individually redeemable and are listed on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.
Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF Shares (VSDM)
 The Fund's statutory Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated November 19, 2024, as may be amended or supplemented, are incorporated into and made part of this Summary Prospectus by reference.
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's Prospectus and other information about the Fund online at www.vanguard.com/prospectus and https://personal.vanguard.com/us/literature/reports/ETFs. You can also obtain this information at no cost by calling 866-499-8473 or by sending an email request to [email protected].
 
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide current income that is exempt from federal personal income taxes, with limited price volatility.
Fees and Expenses
The following tables describe the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and example below.
Shareholder Fees
(Fees paid directly from your investment) 
Transaction Fee on Purchases and Sales
None*
Transaction Fee on Reinvested Dividends
None*
*
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
0.10
%
12b-1 Distribution Fee
None
Other Expenses
0.02
%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses1
0.12
%
1
The expense information shown in the table reflects estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
Example
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund 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 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 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
$12
$39
1
This example does not include the brokerage commissions that you may pay to buy and sell shares of the Fund.
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in more taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the previous expense example, reduce the Fund's performance. The Fund has no operating history and therefore has no portfolio turnover information.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in municipal bonds denominated in U.S. dollars from a variety of issuers that are primarily U.S. states or local governments or agencies whose interest is exempt from federal income taxes and the federal alternative minimum tax (AMT). The Fund has no limitations on the maturity of individual securities. The Fund is expected to maintain, under normal market conditions, a dollar-weighted average maturity of 2 to 7 years and an average portfolio duration of 1.5 to 5 years.
 
Although the Fund may invest in municipal bonds of any quality, the Fund's advisor intends to invest a majority of the Fund's assets in investment-grade municipal bonds. High-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody's), or another independent rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. Medium-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody's or another independent rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. Both high-quality and medium-quality fixed income securities are considered to be "investment-grade." Lower-range credit quality ratings - commonly known as "junk bonds" - are those rated the equivalent of Ba1 or lower by Moody's or another independent rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. No more than 20% of the Fund's assets may be invested in non-investment-grade fixed income securities, or junk bonds.
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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, and the level of risk may vary based on market conditions:
• Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates.
• Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund's income will decline because of falling interest rates.
• 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.
• Prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, homeowners will refinance their mortgages before their maturity dates, resulting in prepayment of mortgage-backed securities held by the Fund. The Fund would then lose any price appreciation above the mortgage's principal and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income. Such prepayments and subsequent reinvestments would also increase the Fund's portfolio turnover rate.
• Extension risk, which is the chance that during periods of rising interest rates, certain debt securities will be paid off substantially more slowly than originally anticipated, and the value of those securities may fall.
• 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
3
interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service or state or local tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a bond issuer.
• Regional risk, which is the chance that economic, political, or regulatory occurrences within a certain state may adversely affect the value of securities offered by issuers located within that state. Because the Fund may invest a large portion of its assets in securities located in any one state, the Fund's performance may be hurt disproportionately by the poor performance of its investments in that area.
• Nondiversification risk, which is the chance that the Fund's performance may be hurt disproportionately by the poor performance of bonds issued by just a few issuers or even a single issuer. The Fund is considered nondiversified, which means that it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in bonds issued by a small number of issuers as compared with diversified funds.
Because the Fund is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) and the Fund's shares are traded on an exchange, the Fund is subject to additional risks:
• The Fund's ETF Shares are listed for trading on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. and are bought and sold on the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of an ETF Share typically will approximate its net asset value (NAV), there may be times when the market price and the NAV differ significantly. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy ETF Shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares.
• Although the Fund's ETF Shares are listed for trading on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., it is possible that an active trading market may not be maintained.
• Trading of the Fund's ETF Shares may be halted by the activation of individual or marketwide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). Trading of the Fund's ETF Shares may also be halted if (1) the shares are delisted from Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. without first being listed on another exchange or (2) Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. officials determine that such action is appropriate in the interest of a fair and orderly market or for the protection of investors.
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
This is the Fund's initial prospectus, so it does not contain performance data.
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Investment Advisor
The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)
Portfolio Managers
James M. D'Arcy, CFA, Portfolio Manager at Vanguard. He has co-managed the Fund since its inception in November 2024.
 
Adam M. Ferguson, CFA, Portfolio Manager at Vanguard. He has co-managed the Fund since its inception in November 2024.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
ETF Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a brokerage firm. The price you pay or receive for ETF Shares will be the prevailing market price, which may be more (premium) or less (discount) than the NAV of the shares. The brokerage firm may charge you a commission to execute the transaction. Unless imposed by your brokerage firm, there is no minimum dollar amount you must invest and no minimum number of shares you must buy. ETF Shares of the Fund cannot be directly purchased from or redeemed with the Fund, except by certain authorized broker-dealers. These broker-dealers may purchase and redeem ETF Shares only in large blocks (Creation Units), typically in exchange for baskets of securities.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase ETF Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for ETF Shares (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (bid-ask spread). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available online at vanguard.com.
Tax Information
The Fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital 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. You should consult your own tax advisor with respect to any particular U.S. or non-U.S. tax consequences of your investment in the Fund.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.
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CFA® is a registered trademark owned by CFA Institute.
The S&P Broad AMT-Free Municipal Bond 0-7 Year Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices ("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. Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, or any of their respective affiliates (collectively, "S&P Dow Jones Indices"). S&P Dow Jones Indices makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF particularly or the ability of the S&P Broad AMT-Free Municipal Bond 0-7 Year Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices' only relationship to Vanguard with respect to the S&P Broad AMT-Free Municipal Bond 0-7 Year 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 Broad AMT-Free Municipal Bond 0-7 Year Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to Vanguard or Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation to take the needs of Vanguard or the owners of Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the S&P Broad AMT-Free Municipal Bond 0-7 Year Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF or the timing of the issuance or sale of Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Vanguard Short Duration 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 Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF. There is no assurance that investment products based on the S&P Broad AMT-Free Municipal Bond 0-7 Year 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 S&P BROAD AMT-FREE MUNICIPAL BOND 0-7 YEAR 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 MAKES 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 VANGUARD SHORT DURATION TAX-EXEMPT BOND ETF, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE S&P BROAD AMT-FREE MUNICIPAL BOND 0-7 YEAR 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.
  Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF Shares-Fund Number V039
To request additional information about the Fund, please visit vanguard.com or contact us at 866-499-8473.
© 2024 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor.
SP V039 112024