VPLS
VANGUARD CORE-PLUS BOND ETF
VANGUARD MALVERN FUNDS
ETF
Expense ratio1
0.20%
Net assets2
$1.35B
Holdings2
2574
Category
Allocation
2025 return3
8.10%

Investment objective & strategy

As of Jan. 28, 2026 · prospectus

Objective. Vanguard Core-Plus Bond ETF (the Fund) seeks to provide total return while generating a moderate to high level of current income.

Strategy. The Fund employs an active management approach, investing in bonds of various maturities, yields, and qualities. 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. In general, the Fund purchases bonds with maturities of 90 days or more at the time of their issuance. The Funds dollar-weighted average maturity will normally range between 4 and 12 years but may … The Fund employs an active management approach, investing in bonds of various maturities, yields, and qualities. 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. In general, the Fund purchases bonds with maturities of 90 days or more at the time of their issuance. The Funds dollar-weighted average maturity will normally range between 4 and 12 years but may be longer or shorter under certain market conditions. These conditions could include periods of market stress, periods when the structure of the market has changed significantly, or periods when prepayment of certain securities held by the Fund (such as asset-backed, mortgage-backed, or mortgage-related securities) varies from what is expected under normal market conditions. The Fund may purchase bonds of any quality, including high- and medium-quality bonds, which are considered to be investment-grade by Moodys or another independent rating agency (or, if unrated, are considered to be of comparable quality by the Funds advisor). The Fund may also invest up to 35% of its assets in bonds rated below investment-grade, also referred to as high-yield securities or junk bonds. The Fund may invest in bonds of non-U.S. issuers, including emerging market countries. Although the Fund seeks to have a majority of its assets denominated in or hedged back to the U.S. dollar, it also may invest in foreign currency bonds on an unhedged basis. In an effort to manage the currency risk associated with investing in bonds denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, the Fund may seek to hedge some or all of its foreign currency exposure. To the extent that the Fund hedges its foreign currency exposure, it does so primarily through the use of foreign currency exchange forward contracts, which are a type of derivative. In addition to foreign currency exchange forward contracts, the Fund may invest 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 enter into To Be Announced (TBA) transactions or take short positions in certain derivatives or in TBA mortgage-backed securities.

Top holdings

As of March 31, 2026 · N-PORT
SecurityTickerValue% of fund
FNCL 5.5 4/26 $25.71M 1.90%
G2SF 5 4/26 $22.76M 1.68%
US TREASURY N/B $20.24M 1.50%
FNCL 6.5 4/26 $19.55M 1.45%
FNCL 6 4/26 $18.24M 1.35%
FNCL 2.5 4/26 $12.61M 0.93%
FNCL 3.5 4/26 $12.32M 0.91%
US TREASURY N/B $9.37M 0.69%
FNCL 2 4/26 $9.24M 0.68%
G2SF 4.5 4/26 $9.07M 0.67%
View all holdings →

Allocation by sector

As of March 31, 2026 · N-PORT
View portfolio breakdown →

Portfolio moves

Dec 31, 2025 → Mar 31, 2026
Opened
621
Exited
277
Increased
267
Decreased
501
Unchanged
1187

How 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.

View portfolio moves →

Similar funds

Funds whose portfolios most overlap this one, by weight
FundOverlapNet exp.
VANGUARD CORE BOND ETF · VCRB 66% 0.10%
VANGUARD CORE-PLUS BOND FUND · VCPAX, VCPIX 63% 0.20%
VANGUARD CORE BOND FUND · VCOBX, VCORX 56% 0.10%
View all similar funds →

Advisers

As of September 30, 2025 · N-CEN
FirmRole
The Vanguard Group, Inc. Adviser

Footnotes

  1. Expense ratio as of January 28, 2026, from the fund's prospectus.
  2. Net assets and holdings count as of March 31, 2026, from the fund's N-PORT filing.
  3. 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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