Investment objective & strategy
As of Feb. 27, 2026 · prospectusObjective. Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide a high and sustainable level of current income that is exempt from federal personal income taxes.
Strategy. The Fund employs an active management approach, investing mainly in state and local municipal bonds. The Fund invests in municipal bonds that the advisor believes will generate a high and sustainable level of current income. The Fund primarily purchases municipal bonds rated investment-grade as determined by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (e.g., Baa or higher by Moodys) or (if unrated) determined to be of comparable quality by the advisor, but may invest up to 20% of its assets in municipal bonds rated below investment-grade. As a matter of fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in securities whose income is exempt from … The Fund employs an active management approach, investing mainly in state and local municipal bonds. The Fund invests in municipal bonds that the advisor believes will generate a high and sustainable level of current income. The Fund primarily purchases municipal bonds rated investment-grade as determined by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (e.g., Baa or higher by Moodys) or (if unrated) determined to be of comparable quality by the advisor, but may invest up to 20% of its assets in municipal bonds rated below investment-grade. As a matter of fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in securities whose income is exempt from federal income tax. The Fund expects to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 10 to 25 years, but has no limitations on the maturities of individual securities.
Top holdings
As of Jan. 31, 2026 · N-PORT| Security | Ticker | Value | % of fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Municipal Cash Management Fund | — | $1.24B | 7.31% |
| RESTRUCTURED-SER A-2 | PRCGEN | $111.63M | 0.66% |
| WI PUBTRN 6.5 12/31/2065 | PUBTRN | $87.00M | 0.51% |
| WI PUBTRN 6.5 06/30/2060 | PUBTRN | $63.48M | 0.37% |
| OH BUCGEN 5 06/01/2055 | BUCGEN | $58.82M | 0.35% |
| NY NYTTRN 5.5 06/30/2060 | NYTTRN | $55.68M | 0.33% |
| Jefferson (County of), AL, Series 2024, Ref. Revenue Wts. | JEFUTL | $53.65M | 0.32% |
| CHICAGO IL BRD OF EDU REGD B/E 6.25000000 | CHIEDU | $51.68M | 0.30% |
| California (State of) Community Choice Financing Authority (Clean Energy) (Green Bonds), Series 2024, RB | CCEDEV | $51.04M | 0.30% |
| LOWER AL GAS DT-A-REF | LWRUTL | $49.80M | 0.29% |
Portfolio moves
Oct 31, 2025 → Jan 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 LONG-TERM TAX-EXEMPT FUND · VWLTX, VWLUX | 38% | 0.09% |
| AB Municipal Income Shares · MISHX | 17% | 0.15% |
| VANGUARD INTERMEDIATE-TERM TAX-EXEMPT FUND · VWITX, VWIUX | 17% | 0.09% |
Advisers
| Firm | Role |
|---|---|
| The Vanguard Group, Inc. | Adviser |
Footnotes
- Expense ratio as of February 27, 2026, from the fund's prospectus.
- Net assets and holdings count as of January 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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