About VSTBX
Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund Institutional Shares is an index-tracking mutual fund focused on U.S. dollar–denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds with maturities between one and five years. Its primary objective is to closely replicate the performance of the Bloomberg U.S. 1–5 Year Corporate Bond Index through a low-cost, passively managed approach. The portfolio spans issuers across the industrial, financial, and utility sectors, providing diversified exposure to high-quality corporate credit while maintaining limited interest-rate sensitivity typical of short-duration strategies. The share class is designed for institutional investors and emphasizes cost efficiency, reflected in a modest expense ratio and scale from substantial assets under management. By concentrating on short-term, fixed-rate bonds, the fund seeks to deliver core bond market characteristics—income, credit diversification, and reduced duration risk relative to intermediate- and long-term benchmarks—within a clearly defined, rules-based framework. It serves as a building-block holding in institutional fixed income allocations, complementing broader core bond strategies and cash management mandates where stability and consistent index-linked exposure are priorities.
Fund Family Vanguard
Category Short-Term Bond
Performance Rating Above Average
Risk Rating Above Average
Stock Exchange Nasdaq
Ticker Symbol VSTBX
Share Class Institutional Shares
Index Bloomberg US 1-5 Yr Corporate Bond TR
VSTBX had a total return of 1.18% in the past year, including dividends. Since the fund's
inception, the average annual return has been 3.04%.
