Vanguard Core Bond Fund Investor Shares

This actively managed, low-cost mutual fund primarily aims to offer extensive exposure to the high-quality U.S. fixed income market. Its portfolio is composed of a diverse array of U.S. Treasury, mortgage-backed, and corporate debt instruments, encompassing a wide range of yield characteristics and durations, from short- to long-term. Employing a disciplined and risk-controlled investment approach, the fund endeavors to exceed the performance of the broader investment-grade market. This objective is pursued through careful selection of individual securities, strategic allocation across various market sectors, and, to a lesser degree, decisions related to portfolio duration. As is common with investments focused on bonds, the fund faces interest rate risk; an increase in interest rates can cause the value of the bonds it holds to decline, thereby reducing the fund's net asset value (NAV). Given its comprehensive investment across all major segments and maturities within the investment-grade fixed income universe, this fund is often considered a suitable core bond component for an investor's portfolio. It is important to distinguish this Vanguard Core Bond Fund from the Vanguard Core Bond ETF (VCRB). Variations in their operational scale, specific investment processes, and underlying holdings are anticipated to result in different investment returns for the two products.