Investment objective & strategy
As of Jan. 28, 2026 · prospectusObjective. Vanguard Institutional Short-Term Bond Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide a high level of current income consistent with the maintenance of principal and liquidity.
Strategy. The Fund employs an active management approach, investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of short-term bonds. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in bonds. For purposes of the 80% policy, bonds include fixed income securities such as corporate bonds; U.S. Treasury obligations and other U.S. government and agency securities; obligations issued or guaranteed by a foreign government or their agencies, instrumentalities, or political subdivisions; and asset-backed, mortgage-backed, and mortgage-related securities. The Fund primarily purchases high-quality bonds, which are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moodys or another independent rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by … The Fund employs an active management approach, investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of short-term bonds. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in bonds. For purposes of the 80% policy, bonds include fixed income securities such as corporate bonds; U.S. Treasury obligations and other U.S. government and agency securities; obligations issued or guaranteed by a foreign government or their agencies, instrumentalities, or political subdivisions; and asset-backed, mortgage-backed, and mortgage-related securities. The Fund primarily purchases high-quality bonds, which are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moodys or another independent rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Funds advisor. The Fund expects to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 1 to 4 years. The Fund may invest in To Be Announced (TBA) mortgage-backed securities or in derivatives such as fixed income futures contracts, fixed income options (including options on swaps), currency swaps, interest rate swaps, total return swaps, credit default swaps, or other derivatives. The Fund also may take short positions in TBA mortgage-backed securities.
Top holdings
As of March 31, 2026 · N-PORT| Security | Ticker | Value | % of fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Treasury Bills | — | $258.18M | 3.87% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $114.26M | 1.71% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $85.59M | 1.28% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $79.92M | 1.20% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $76.92M | 1.15% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $72.79M | 1.09% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $65.24M | 0.98% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $61.61M | 0.92% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $60.92M | 0.91% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $57.64M | 0.86% |
Portfolio moves
Dec 31, 2025 → Mar 31, 2026How many positions this fund opened, exited, grew, trimmed, or left unchanged between its two most recent N-PORT snapshots — net changes between point-in-time reports, not a trade log.
Similar funds
Funds whose portfolios most overlap this one, by weight| Fund | Overlap | Net exp. |
|---|---|---|
| VANGUARD INSTITUTIONAL INTERMEDIATE-TERM BOND FUND · VIITX | 26% | 0.02% |
| VANGUARD ULTRA-SHORT BOND ETF · VUSB | 19% | 0.10% |
| VANGUARD SHORT DURATION BOND ETF · VSDB | 17% | 0.15% |
Advisers
| Firm | Role |
|---|---|
| The Vanguard Group, Inc. | Adviser |
Footnotes
- Expense ratio as of January 28, 2026, from the fund's prospectus.
- Net assets and holdings count as of March 31, 2026, from the fund's N-PORT filing.
- Total return for calendar year 2025, before tax and after fund expenses. As reported in the fund's prospectus performance bar chart.
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