Vanguard Reports Expense Reductions On International Income-Oriented Funds

Total savings to investors now $41.7 million for year

VALLEY FORGE, PA (December 19, 2019)—In annual reports being published today, three Vanguard international income-oriented funds reported lower expense ratios: the $1.6 billion Vanguard International Dividend Appreciation Index Fund, the $1.5 billion Vanguard International High Dividend Yield Index Fund, and the $1.9 billion Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond Index Fund. Vanguard also reported lower expense ratios on four externally managed active equity funds.

Note: The expense ratios listed above reflect figures published in each fund's annual report. These figures will not be reflected in the funds’ online profiles until each fund files its prospectus.

In addition to expense ratio changes previously reported this year by Vanguard in fund annual reports, aggregate savings to clients now totals $41.7 million1 across 50 fund and ETF shares.

A driving force for low costs

For more than 40 years, Vanguard has been driving down the cost of investing. Vanguard’s asset-weighted average expense ratio in the U.S. is 0.10%, by far the lowest in the industry.2 Vanguard urges investors to consider the all-in costs of their relationship with an investment provider, including the explicit costs of investing, trading commissions, and advice.

Aligning client and advisor interests

In the case of Vanguard Windsor Fund and Vanguard Selected Value Fund3, the expense ratio reductions were a result of incentive/penalty arrangements. Vanguard aligns the interests of its external investment advisory firms with those of shareholders by adjusting an external advisor’s base fee up or down to reflect the fund’s investment performance relative to the total return of an appropriate benchmark over a 36- or 60-month period. Vanguard is one of a few firms in the investment management industry to employ incentive/penalty arrangements.

###

About Vanguard

Vanguard is one of the world’s largest investment management companies. As of November 30, 2019, Vanguard managed $6 trillion in global assets. The firm, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, offers 423 funds to its more than 30 million investors worldwide. For more information, visit vanguard.com.

Asset figures are as of November 30, 2019 unless otherwise noted.

1 Cumulative figure for all share classes from fiscal year ending August 2019 through October 2019 for the identified funds. Estimated savings is the difference between prior and current expense ratios multiplied by average AUM. Average AUM is based on daily average assets during a month, which are then averaged over the 12-months of the fiscal year.

2 Source: Morningstar 2018 Fund Fee Study

3 Vanguard Selected Value Fund recently underwent a restructuring of its investment advisory team, which may impact the Fund’s expense ratio.

For more information about Vanguard funds or Vanguard ETFs, visit vanguard.com or call 800-662-7447 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.

All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. Bond funds are subject to the risk that an issuer will fail to make payments on time, and that bond prices will decline because of rising interest rates or negative perceptions of an issuer's ability to make payments. While U.S. Treasury or government agency securities provide substantial protection against credit risk, they do not protect investors against price changes due to changing interest rates. Unlike stocks and bonds, U.S. Treasury bills are guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest. Investments in stocks or bonds issued by non-U.S. companies are subject to risks including country/regional risk and currency risk. These risks are especially high in emerging markets. Prices of mid- and small-cap stocks often fluctuate more than those of large-company stocks. Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.

Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor of the Vanguard Funds.