485BPOS

ETF Summaries
Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF	1
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF	7
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF	13
Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF	19
Investing in Vanguard ETF® Shares	25
Investing in Index Funds	27
More on the Funds and ETF Shares	28

The Funds and Vanguard	42
Investment Advisor	42
Dividends, Capital Gains, and Taxes	43
Share Price and Market Price	46
Additional Information	48
Financial Highlights	49
Glossary of Investment Terms	54

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to track the performance of a broad, market-weighted bond index.

Fees and Expenses

The following tables describe the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell ETF Shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and example below.

Shareholder Fees
(Fees paid directly from your investment)


Transaction Fee on Purchases and Sales	None*
Transaction Fee on Reinvested Dividends	None*

None through Vanguard (Broker fees vary)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)


Management Fees	0.02 %
12b-1 Distribution Fee	None
Other Expenses	0.01 %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.03 %

Example

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund’s ETF Shares with the cost of investing in other funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you were to invest $10,000 in the Fund’s shares. This example assumes that the shares provide a return of 5% each year and that total annual fund operating expenses remain as stated in the preceding table. You would incur these hypothetical expenses whether or not you were to sell your shares at the end of the given period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$3	$10	$17	$39

This example does not include the brokerage commissions that you may pay to buy and sell ETF Shares of the Fund.

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in more taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the previous expense example, reduce the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 36% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index (the Index). This Index measures the performance of a wide spectrum of public, investment-grade, taxable, fixed income securities in the United States—including government, corporate, and international dollar-denominated bonds, as well as mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities—all with maturities of more than 1 year.

The Fund invests by sampling the Index, meaning that it holds a broadly diversified collection of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full Index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. All of the Fund’s investments will be selected through the sampling process, and at least 80% of the Fund’s assets will be invested in bonds held in the Index. The Fund seeks to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity consistent with that of the Index. As of December 31, 2023, the dollar-weighted average maturity of the Index was 9 years. The Fund also seeks to maintain an average duration consistent with that of the Index. As of December 31, 2023, the average duration of the Index was 6 years.

Principal Risks

An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or long periods of time. You should expect the Fund’s share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range. The Fund is subject to the following risks, which could affect the Fund’s performance, and the level of risk may vary based on market conditions:

• Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests primarily in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose

prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds.

• Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund’s income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds and moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund’s monthly income to fluctuate accordingly.

• Prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, homeowners will refinance their mortgages before their maturity dates, resulting in prepayment of mortgage-backed securities held by the Fund. The Fund would then lose any price appreciation above the mortgage’s principal and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income. Such prepayments and subsequent reinvestments would also increase the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate. Prepayment risk should be moderate for the Fund.

• Extension risk, which is the chance that during periods of rising interest rates, certain debt securities will be paid off substantially more slowly than originally anticipated, and the value of those securities may fall. This will lengthen the duration or average life of those securities and delay a fund’s ability to reinvest proceeds at higher interest rates, making a fund more sensitive to changes in interest rates. For funds that invest in mortgage-backed securities, there is a chance that during periods of rising interest rates, homeowners will repay their mortgages at slower rates. Extension risk should be moderate for the Fund.

• Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (redeem) securities with higher coupon rates or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose any price appreciation above the bond’s call price and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income. Such redemptions and subsequent reinvestments would also increase the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate. Call risk should be low for the Fund because it invests only a small portion of its assets in callable bonds.

• Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest or principal in a timely manner or that negative perceptions of the issuer’s ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Credit risk should be low for the Fund because it purchases only bonds that are of investment-grade quality.

• Index sampling risk, which is the chance that the securities selected for the Fund, in the aggregate, will not provide investment performance matching that of the Fund’s target index. Index sampling risk for the Fund is expected to be low.

• Liquidity risk, which is the chance that the Fund may not be able to sell a security in a timely manner at a desired price.

Because ETF Shares are traded on an exchange, they are subject to additional risks:

• The Fund’s ETF Shares are listed for trading on Nasdaq and are bought and sold on the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of an ETF Share typically will approximate its net asset value (NAV), there may be times when the market price and the NAV differ significantly. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy ETF Shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares.

• Although the Fund’s ETF Shares are listed for trading on Nasdaq, it is possible that an active trading market may not be maintained.

• Trading of the Fund’s ETF Shares may be halted by the activation of individual or marketwide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). Trading of the Fund’s ETF Shares may also be halted if (1) the shares are delisted from Nasdaq without first being listed on another exchange or (2) Nasdaq officials determine that such action is appropriate in the interest of a fair and orderly market or for the protection of investors.

An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Annual Total Returns

The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund’s ETF Shares (based on NAV) has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the ETF Shares compare with those of the Fund’s target index, which has investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Keep in mind that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance or by calling Vanguard toll-free at 800-662-7447.

Annual Total Returns — Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund ETF Shares

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest and lowest returns for a calendar quarter were:

	Total Return	Quarter
Highest	6.67 %	December 31, 2023
Lowest	-5.94 %	March 31, 2022

Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2023

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund ETF Shares
Based on NAV
Return Before Taxes	5.70 %	1.12 %	1.79 %
Return After Taxes on Distributions	4.35	0.08	0.70
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	3.35	0.44	0.91
Based on Market Price
Return Before Taxes	5.70	1.10	1.77
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	5.60 %	1.17 %	1.83 %

Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares may be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder.

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)

Portfolio Manager

Joshua C. Barrickman, CFA, Principal of Vanguard and co-head of Vanguard’s Fixed Income Indexing Americas. He has managed the Fund since 2013.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

ETF Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a brokerage firm. The price you pay or receive for ETF Shares will be the prevailing market price, which may be more (premium) or less (discount) than the NAV of the shares. The brokerage firm may charge you a commission to execute the transaction. Unless imposed by your brokerage firm, there is no minimum dollar amount you must invest and no minimum number of shares you must buy. ETF Shares of the Fund cannot be directly purchased from or redeemed with the Fund, except by certain authorized broker-dealers. These broker-dealers may purchase and redeem ETF Shares only in large blocks (Creation Units), typically in exchange for baskets of securities.

An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase ETF Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for ETF Shares (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (bid-ask spread). Recent information, including information on the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available online at vanguard.com.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gain. If you are investing through a tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement or savings plan, special tax rules apply.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.

Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to track the performance of a market-weighted bond index with a short-term dollar-weighted average maturity.

Fees and Expenses

Shareholder Fees
(Fees paid directly from your investment)


Transaction Fee on Purchases and Sales	None*
Transaction Fee on Reinvested Dividends	None*

None through Vanguard (Broker fees vary)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)


Management Fees	0.03 %
12b-1 Distribution Fee	None
Other Expenses	0.01 %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.04 %

Example

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$4	$13	$23	$51

This example does not include the brokerage commissions that you may pay to buy and sell ETF Shares of the Fund.

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Bloomberg U.S. 1–5 Year Government/Credit Float Adjusted Index (the Index). This Index includes all medium and larger issues of U.S. government, investment-grade corporate, and investment-grade international dollar-denominated bonds that have maturities between 1 and 5 years and are publicly issued.

The Fund invests by sampling the Index, meaning that it holds a range of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full Index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. All of the Fund’s investments will be selected through the sampling process, and at least 80% of the Fund’s assets will be invested in bonds held in the Index. The Fund seeks to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity consistent with that of the Index. As of December 31, 2023, the dollar-weighted average maturity of the Index was 3 years. The Fund also seeks to maintain an average duration consistent with that of the Index. As of December 31, 2023, the average duration of the Index was 3 years.

Principal Risks

The Fund is designed for investors with a low tolerance for risk, but you could still lose money by investing in it. The Fund is subject to the following risks, which could affect the Fund’s performance, and the level of risk may vary based on market conditions:

• Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund’s income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally high for short-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund’s monthly income to fluctuate accordingly.

• Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for the Fund

because it invests primarily in short-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of longer-term bonds.

• Liquidity risk, which is the chance that the Fund may not be able to sell a security in a timely manner at a desired price.

Because ETF Shares are traded on an exchange, they are subject to additional risks:

• The Fund’s ETF Shares are listed for trading on NYSE Arca and are bought and sold on the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of an ETF Share typically will approximate its net asset value (NAV), there may be times when the market price and the NAV differ significantly. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy ETF Shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares.

• Although the Fund’s ETF Shares are listed for trading on NYSE Arca, it is possible that an active trading market may not be maintained.

• Trading of the Fund’s ETF Shares may be halted by the activation of individual or marketwide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). Trading of the Fund’s ETF Shares may also be halted if (1) the shares are delisted from NYSE Arca without first being listed on another exchange or (2) NYSE Arca officials determine that such action is appropriate in the interest of a fair and orderly market or for the protection of investors.

An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Annual Total Returns

The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund’s ETF Shares (based on NAV) has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the ETF Shares compare with those of the Fund’s target index and another comparative index, which have investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Keep in mind that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance or by calling Vanguard toll-free at 800-662-7447.

Annual Total Returns — Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest and lowest returns for a calendar quarter were:

	Total Return	Quarter
Highest	3.41 %	December 31, 2023
Lowest	-3.42 %	March 31, 2022

Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2023

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares
Based on NAV
Return Before Taxes	4.91 %	1.50 %	1.37 %
Return After Taxes on Distributions	3.85	0.73	0.65
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	2.89	0.83	0.74
Based on Market Price
Return Before Taxes	4.91	1.51	1.37
Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Gov/Credit Float Adjusted Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	4.89 %	1.54 %	1.43 %
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	5.60	1.17	1.83

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)

Portfolio Manager

Joshua C. Barrickman, CFA, Principal of Vanguard and co-head of Vanguard’s Fixed Income Indexing Americas. He has managed the Fund since 2013.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Fund, except by certain authorized broker-dealers. These broker-dealers may purchase and redeem ETF Shares only in large blocks (Creation Units), typically in exchange for baskets of securities.

Tax Information

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to track the performance of a market-weighted bond index with an intermediate-term dollar-weighted average maturity.

Fees and Expenses

Shareholder Fees
(Fees paid directly from your investment)


Transaction Fee on Purchases and Sales	None*
Transaction Fee on Reinvested Dividends	None*

None through Vanguard (Broker fees vary)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)


Management Fees	0.03 %
12b-1 Distribution Fee	None
Other Expenses	0.01 %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.04 %

Example

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$4	$13	$23	$51

This example does not include the brokerage commissions that you may pay to buy and sell ETF Shares of the Fund.

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Bloomberg U.S. 5–10 Year Government/Credit Float Adjusted Index (the Index). This Index includes all medium and larger issues of U.S. government, investment-grade corporate, and investment-grade international dollar-denominated bonds that have maturities between 5 and 10 years and are publicly issued.

The Fund invests by sampling the Index, meaning that it holds a range of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full Index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. All of the Fund’s investments will be selected through the sampling process, and at least 80% of the Fund’s assets will be invested in bonds held in the Index. The Fund seeks to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity consistent with that of the Index. As of December 31, 2023, the dollar-weighted average maturity of the Index was 7 years. The Fund also seeks to maintain an average duration consistent with that of the Index. As of December 31, 2023, the average duration of the Index was 6 years.

Principal Risks

• Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund’s income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk is generally moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, so investors should expect the Fund’s monthly income to fluctuate accordingly.

• Liquidity risk, which is the chance that the Fund may not be able to sell a security in a timely manner at a desired price.

Because ETF Shares are traded on an exchange, they are subject to additional risks:

• Although the Fund’s ETF Shares are listed for trading on NYSE Arca, it is possible that an active trading market may not be maintained.

• Trading of the Fund’s ETF Shares may be halted by the activation of individual or marketwide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). Trading of the Fund’s ETF Shares may also be halted if (1) the shares are delisted from NYSE Arca without first being listed on another exchange or (2) NYSE Arca officials determine that such action is appropriate in the interest of a fair and orderly market or for the protection of investors.

An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Annual Total Returns

The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund’s ETF Shares (based on NAV) has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the ETF Shares compare with those of the Fund’s target index and another comparative index, which have investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Keep in mind that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance or by calling Vanguard toll-free at 800-662-7447.

Annual Total Returns — Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest and lowest returns for a calendar quarter were:

	Total Return	Quarter
Highest	6.87 %	December 31, 2023
Lowest	-6.31 %	March 31, 2022

Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2023

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares
Based on NAV
Return Before Taxes	6.16 %	1.69 %	2.31 %
Return After Taxes on Distributions	4.80	0.56	1.12
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	3.62	0.88	1.30
Based on Market Price
Return Before Taxes	6.11	1.69	2.30
Bloomberg U.S. 5-10 Year Gov/Credit Float Adjusted Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	5.99 %	1.73 %	2.36 %
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	5.60	1.17	1.83

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)

Portfolio Manager

Joshua C. Barrickman, CFA, Principal of Vanguard and co-head of Vanguard’s Fixed Income Indexing Americas. He has managed the Fund since 2008.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

dollar amount you must invest and no minimum number of shares you must buy. ETF Shares of the Fund cannot be directly purchased from or redeemed with the Fund, except by certain authorized broker-dealers. These broker-dealers may purchase and redeem ETF Shares only in large blocks (Creation Units), typically in exchange for baskets of securities.

Tax Information

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.

Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to track the performance of a market-weighted bond index with a long-term dollar-weighted average maturity.

Fees and Expenses

Shareholder Fees
(Fees paid directly from your investment)


Transaction Fee on Purchases and Sales	None*
Transaction Fee on Reinvested Dividends	None*

None through Vanguard (Broker fees vary)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)


Management Fees	0.03 %
12b-1 Distribution Fee	None
Other Expenses	0.01 %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.04 %

Example

1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$4	$13	$23	$51

This example does not include the brokerage commissions that you may pay to buy and sell ETF Shares of the Fund.

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Bloomberg U.S. Long Government/Credit Float Adjusted Index (the Index). This Index includes all medium and larger issues of U.S. government, investment-grade corporate, and investment-grade international dollar-denominated bonds that have maturities of greater than 10 years and are publicly issued.

The Fund invests by sampling the Index, meaning that it holds a range of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full Index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. All of the Fund’s investments will be selected through the sampling process, and at least 80% of the Fund’s assets will be invested in bonds held in the Index. The Fund seeks to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity consistent with that of the Index. As of December 31, 2023, the dollar-weighted average maturity of the Index was 23 years. The Fund also seeks to maintain an average duration consistent with that of the Index. As of December 31, 2023, the average duration of the Index was 14 years.

Principal Risks

• Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be high for the Fund because it invests primarily in long-term bonds, whose prices are more sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of shorter-term bonds.

• Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund’s income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk should be low for the Fund because it invests primarily in long-term bonds.

• Liquidity risk, which is the chance that the Fund may not be able to sell a security in a timely manner at a desired price.

Because ETF Shares are traded on an exchange, they are subject to additional risks:

• Although the Fund’s ETF Shares are listed for trading on NYSE Arca, it is possible that an active trading market may not be maintained.

• Trading of the Fund’s ETF Shares may be halted by the activation of individual or marketwide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). Trading of the Fund’s ETF Shares may also be halted if (1) the shares are delisted from NYSE Arca without first being listed on another exchange or (2) NYSE Arca officials determine that such action is appropriate in the interest of a fair and orderly market or for the protection of investors.

An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Annual Total Returns

The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund’s ETF Shares (based on NAV) has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the ETF Shares compare with those of the Fund’s target index and another comparative index, which have investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Keep in mind that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance or by calling Vanguard toll-free at 800-662-7447.

Annual Total Returns — Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest and lowest returns for a calendar quarter were:

	Total Return	Quarter
Highest	13.11 %	December 31, 2023
Lowest	-12.25 %	June 30, 2022

Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2023

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares
Based on NAV
Return Before Taxes	7.53 %	1.08 %	3.26 %
Return After Taxes on Distributions	5.71	-0.52	1.57
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	4.41	0.31	1.87
Based on Market Price
Return Before Taxes	7.39	0.97	3.22
Bloomberg U.S. Long Gov/Credit Float Adjusted Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	7.13 %	1.12 %	3.22 %
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	5.60	1.17	1.83

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)

Portfolio Manager

Joshua C. Barrickman, CFA, Principal of Vanguard and co-head of Vanguard’s Fixed Income Indexing Americas. He has managed the Fund since 2013.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Fund, except by certain authorized broker-dealers. These broker-dealers may purchase and redeem ETF Shares only in large blocks (Creation Units), typically in exchange for baskets of securities.

Tax Information

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.

Investing in Vanguard ETF® Shares

What Are Vanguard ETF Shares?

Vanguard ETF Shares are an exchange-traded class of shares issued by certain Vanguard funds. ETF Shares represent an interest in the portfolio of stocks or bonds held by the issuing fund. The following ETF Shares are offered through this prospectus:

Vanguard Fund	Vanguard ETF Shares	Seeks to Track
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund	Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF	The overall taxable U.S. bond market
Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund	Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF	Short-term U.S. bonds
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index Fund	Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF	Intermediate-term U.S. bonds
Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index Fund	Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF	Long-term U.S. bonds

In addition to ETF Shares, each Fund offers three or more conventional (not exchange-traded) classes of shares. This prospectus, however, relates only to ETF Shares.

How Are Vanguard ETF Shares Different From Conventional Mutual Fund Shares?

Conventional mutual fund shares can be directly purchased from and redeemed with the issuing fund for cash at the net asset value (NAV), typically calculated once a day. ETF Shares, by contrast, cannot be purchased directly from or redeemed directly with the issuing fund by an individual investor. Rather, ETF Shares can only be purchased or redeemed directly from the issuing fund by certain authorized broker-dealers. These broker-dealers may purchase and redeem ETF Shares only in large blocks (Creation Units), usually in exchange for baskets of securities and not for cash (although some funds issue and redeem Creation Units in exchange for cash or a combination of cash and securities).

An organized secondary trading market is expected to exist for ETF Shares, unlike conventional mutual fund shares, because ETF Shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange. Individual investors can purchase and sell ETF Shares on the secondary market through a broker. Secondary-market transactions occur not at NAV, but at market prices that are subject to change throughout the day based on the supply of and demand for ETF Shares, changes in the prices of the fund’s portfolio holdings, and other factors.

The market price of ETF Shares typically will differ somewhat from the NAV of those shares. The difference between market price and NAV is expected to be small most of the time, but in times of market disruption or extreme market volatility, the difference may become significant.

How Do I Buy and Sell Vanguard ETF Shares?

ETF Shares of the Funds are listed for trading on Nasdaq or NYSE Arca. You can buy and sell ETF Shares on the secondary market in the same way you buy and sell any other exchange-traded security—through a broker. Your broker may charge a commission to execute a transaction. You will also incur the cost of the “bid-ask spread,” which is the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase ETF Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for ETF Shares (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market. Because secondary-market transactions occur at market prices, you may pay more (premium) or less (discount) than NAV when you buy ETF Shares and receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares. In times of severe market disruption, the bid-ask spread and premiums/discounts can increase significantly. Unless imposed by your broker, there is no minimum dollar amount you must invest and no minimum number of ETF Shares you must buy.

Your ownership of ETF Shares will be shown on the records of the broker through which you hold the shares. Vanguard will not have any record of your ownership. Your account information will be maintained by your broker, which will provide you with account statements, confirmations of your purchases and sales of ETF Shares, and tax information. Your broker also will be responsible for ensuring that you receive income and capital gains distributions, as well as shareholder reports and other communications from the fund whose ETF Shares you own. You will receive other services (e.g., dividend reinvestment and average cost information) only if your broker offers these services.

Investing in Index Funds

What Is Indexing?

Indexing is an investment strategy for tracking the performance of a specified market benchmark, or “index.” An index is a group of securities whose overall performance is used as a standard to measure the investment performance of a particular market. There are many types of indexes. Some represent entire markets—such as the U.S. stock market or the U.S. bond market. Other indexes cover market segments—such as small-capitalization stocks or short-term bonds. One cannot invest directly in an index.

The index provider determines the securities to include in the index and the weighting of each security in the index. Under normal circumstances, the index provider will rebalance an index on a regular schedule. An index provider may carry out additional ad hoc index rebalances or delay or cancel a scheduled rebalance. Generally, the index provider does not provide any warranty, or accept any liability, with respect to the quality, accuracy, or completeness of either the target index or its related data. Errors made by the index provider may occur from time to time and may not be identified by the index provider for a period of time or at all. Vanguard does not provide any warranty or guarantee against such errors. Therefore, the gains, losses, or costs associated with the index provider’s errors will generally be borne by the index fund and its shareholders.

An index fund seeks to hold all, or a representative sample, of the securities that make up its target index. Index funds attempt to mirror the performance of the target index, for better or worse. However, an index fund generally does not perform exactly like its target index. For example, index funds have operating expenses and transaction costs. Market indexes do not, and therefore they will usually have a slight performance advantage over funds that track them. The ability of an index fund to match its performance to that of its target index can also be impacted by, among other things, the timing and size of cash flows, asset valuation differences, and the size of the fund. Market disruptions could also have an adverse effect on a fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the index. The risk that a fund may not track the performance of its target index may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions.

Index funds typically have the following characteristics:

• Variety of investments. Depending on a fund’s benchmark index, the fund may invest in the securities of a variety of companies, industries, and/or governments or government agencies.

• Relative performance consistency. Because they seek to track market benchmarks, index funds usually do not perform dramatically better or worse than their benchmarks.

• Low cost. Index funds are generally inexpensive to run compared with actively managed funds. They have low or no research costs and typically keep trading activity—and thus dealer markups and other transaction costs—to a minimum compared with actively managed funds.

More on the Funds and ETF Shares

This prospectus describes the principal risks you would face as a Fund shareholder. It is important to keep in mind one of the main principles of investing: generally, the higher the risk of losing money, the higher the potential reward. The reverse, also, is generally true: the lower the risk, the lower the potential reward. As you consider an investment in any fund, you should take into account your personal tolerance for fluctuations in the securities markets. Look for this

symbol throughout the prospectus. It is used to mark detailed information about the more significant risks that you would confront as a Fund shareholder. To highlight terms and concepts important to fund investors, we have provided Plain Talk® explanations along the way. Reading the prospectus will help you decide whether a Fund is the right investment for you. We suggest that you keep this prospectus for future reference.

Share Class Overview

This prospectus offers the Funds’ ETF Shares, an exchange-traded class of shares. Separate prospectuses offer the Funds’ Admiral Shares, Institutional Shares, and Institutional Plus Shares, which are generally for investors who invest a minimum of $3,000, $5 million, and $100 million, respectively. Another prospectus offers Investor Shares for the Total Bond Market Index, Short-Term Bond Index, and Intermediate-Term Bond Index Funds, which are generally only available to Vanguard funds that operate as fund of funds and to certain retirement plan clients that receive recordkeeping services from Vanguard. In addition, the Total Bond Market Index Fund offers Institutional Select Shares, which are generally for investors who invest a minimum of $3 billion.

All share classes offered by a Fund have the same investment objective, strategies, and policies. However, because different share classes can have different expenses, their investment returns may differ.

A Note to Investors

Vanguard ETF Shares can be purchased directly from the issuing Fund only by certain authorized broker-dealers in exchange for a basket of securities (or, in some cases, for cash or a combination of cash and securities). Individual investors generally will not be able to purchase ETF Shares directly from a Fund. Instead, these investors will purchase ETF Shares on the secondary market through a broker.

Plain Talk About Costs of Investing

Costs are an important consideration in choosing an ETF. That is because

you, as a shareholder, pay a proportionate share of the costs of operating a

fund and any transaction costs incurred when the fund buys or sells

securities, including costs generated by shareholders of other share classes

offered by the fund. These costs can erode a substantial portion of the gross

income or the capital appreciation a fund achieves. Even seemingly small

differences in expenses can, over time, have a dramatic effect on a

fund’s performance.

The following sections explain the principal investment strategies and policies that each Fund uses in pursuit of its investment objective. The Funds’ board of trustees, which oversees each Fund’s management, may change investment strategies or policies in the interest of shareholders without a shareholder vote, unless those strategies or policies are designated as fundamental. Each Fund’s policy of investing at least 80% of its assets in bonds that are part of its target index may be changed only upon 60 days’ notice to shareholders.

Market Exposure

Each Fund is subject to interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices will decline because of rising interest rates.

Although fixed income securities (commonly referred to as bonds) are often thought to be less risky than stocks, there have been periods when bond prices have fallen significantly because of rising interest rates. For instance, prices of long-term bonds fell by almost 48% between December 1976 and September 1981.

To illustrate the relationship between bond prices and interest rates, the following table shows the effect of a 1% and a 2% change (both up and down) in interest rates on the values of three noncallable bonds (i.e., bonds that cannot be redeemed by the issuer) of different maturities, each with a face value of $1,000.

How Interest Rate Changes Affect the Value of a $1,000 Bond1

Type of Bond (Maturity)	After a 1% Increase	After a 1% Decrease	After a 2% Increase	After a 2% Decrease
Short-Term (2.5 years)	$977	$1,024	$954	$1,049
Intermediate-Term (10 years)	922	1,086	851	1,180
Long-Term (20 years)	874	1,150	769	1,328

1 Assuming a 4% coupon rate.

These figures are for illustration only; you should not regard them as an indication of future performance of the bond market as a whole or the Funds in particular.

Plain Talk About Bonds and Interest Rates

As a rule, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall. The opposite is also true:

bond prices go up when interest rates fall. Why do bond prices and interest

rates move in opposite directions? Let’s assume that you hold a bond

offering a 4% yield. A year later, interest rates are on the rise and bonds of

comparable quality and maturity are offered with a 5% yield. With

higher-yielding bonds available, you would have trouble selling your 4% bond

for the price you paid—you would probably have to lower your asking price.

On the other hand, if interest rates were falling and 3% bonds were being

offered, you should be able to sell your 4% bond for more than you paid.

How mortgage-backed securities are different: In general, declining interest

rates will not lift the prices of mortgage-backed securities—such as those

guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association—as much as

the prices of comparable bonds. Why? Because when interest rates fall, the

bond market tends to discount the prices of mortgage-backed securities for

prepayment risk—the possibility that homeowners will refinance their

mortgages at lower rates and cause the bonds to be paid off prior to maturity.

In part to compensate for this prepayment possibility, mortgage-backed

securities tend to offer higher yields than other bonds of comparable credit

quality and maturity. In contrast, when interest rates rise, prepayments tend

to slow down, subjecting mortgage-backed securities to extension risk—the

possibility that homeowners will repay their mortgages at slower rates. This

will lengthen the duration or average life of mortgage-backed securities held

by a fund and delay the fund’s ability to reinvest proceeds at higher interest

rates, making the fund more sensitive to changes in interest rates.

Changes in interest rates can affect bond income as well as bond prices.

Each Fund is subject to income risk, which is the chance that the Fund’s income will decline because of falling interest rates. A fund’s income declines when interest rates fall because the fund then must invest new cash flow and cash from maturing bonds in lower-yielding bonds. Income risk is generally higher for short-term bond funds and lower for long-term bond funds.

Plain Talk About Bond Maturities

A bond is issued with a specific maturity date—the date when the issuer must

pay back the bond’s principal (face value). Bond maturities range from less

than 1 year to more than 30 years. Typically, the longer a bond’s maturity, the

more price risk you, as a bond investor, will face as interest rates rise—but

also the higher the potential yield you could receive. Longer-term bonds are

generally more suitable for investors willing to take a greater risk of price

fluctuations to get higher and more stable interest income. Shorter-term bond

investors should be willing to accept lower yields and greater income

variability in return for less fluctuation in the value of their investment. The

stated maturity of a bond may differ from the effective maturity of a bond,

which takes into consideration that an action such as a call or refunding may

cause bonds to be repaid before their stated maturity dates.

Although falling interest rates tend to strengthen bond prices, they can cause other problems for bond fund investors—bond calls and prepayments.

Each Fund is subject to call risk, which is the chance that during periods of low or falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (redeem) securities with higher coupon rates or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose any price appreciation above the bond’s call price and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income. Such redemptions and subsequent reinvestments would also increase the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate.

Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund is subject to extension risk, which is the chance that during periods of rising interest rates, certain debt securities will be paid off substantially more slowly than originally anticipated, and the value of those securities may fall. This will lengthen the duration or average life of those securities held by the Fund and delay the Fund’s ability to reinvest proceeds at higher interest rates, making the Fund more sensitive to changes in interest rates. For funds that invest in mortgage-backed securities, there is a chance that during periods of rising interest rates, homeowners will repay their mortgages at slower rates. Extension risk should be moderate for the Fund.

Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund is subject to prepayment risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, homeowners will refinance their mortgages before their maturity dates, resulting in prepayment of mortgage-backed securities held by the Fund. The Fund would then lose any price appreciation above the mortgage’s principal and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income. Such prepayments and subsequent reinvestments would also increase the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate. Prepayment risk should be moderate for the Fund.

Each Fund is subject to credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest or principal in a timely manner or that negative perceptions of the issuer’s ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline.

Plain Talk About Credit Quality

A bond’s credit quality rating is an assessment of the issuer’s ability to pay

interest on the bond and, ultimately, to repay the principal. The lower the

credit quality, the greater the perceived chance that the bond issuer will

default, or fail to meet its payment obligations. All things being equal, the

lower a bond’s credit quality, the higher its yield should be to compensate

investors for assuming additional risk.

The credit quality of each Fund is expected to be very high, and thus credit risk is expected to be low.

To a limited extent, the Funds are subject to event risk, which is the chance that corporate fixed income securities held by a Fund may suffer a substantial decline in credit quality and market value because of a restructuring of the companies that issued the securities or because of other factors negatively affecting the issuers.

Each Fund is subject to liquidity risk, which is the chance that the Fund may not be able to sell a security in a timely manner at a desired price.

Corporate bonds are traded among dealers and brokers that connect buyers with sellers. Liquidity in the corporate bond market may be challenged depending on overall economic conditions and credit tightening. There may be little trading in the secondary market for particular bonds and other debt securities, which may make them more difficult to value or sell.

Market disruptions can adversely affect local and global markets as well as normal market conditions and operations. Any such disruptions could have an adverse impact on the value of a Fund’s investments and Fund performance.

Security Selection

Index sampling strategy. Because it would be very expensive and inefficient to buy and sell all securities held in its target index—which is an indexing strategy called “full replication”—each Fund uses index “sampling” techniques to select securities. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, each Fund’s advisor generally selects a representative sample of securities that approximates the full target index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. These factors include duration, cash flow, quality, and callability of the underlying bonds. In addition, each Fund keeps industry sector and subsector exposure within tight boundaries relative to its target index. Because each Fund does not hold all of the securities included in its target index, some of the securities (and issuers) that are held will likely be overweighted (or underweighted) compared with the target index. The maximum overweight (or underweight) is constrained at the issuer level with the goal of producing well-diversified exposure in the portfolio.

Each Fund is subject to index sampling risk, which is the chance that the securities selected for a Fund, in the aggregate, will not provide investment performance matching that of the Fund’s target index. Index sampling risk for each Fund is expected to be low.

The following table shows the number of bonds held by each Fund, as well as the number of bonds in each Fund’s target index, as of December 31, 2023.

Vanguard Fund	Number of Bonds Held	Number of Bonds in Target Index
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund	10,719	13,334
Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund	2,666	3,550
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index Fund	2,154	2,336
Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index Fund	3,028	3,385

Types of bonds. Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF tracks the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index; Vanguard Short-Term, Vanguard Intermediate-Term, and Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETFs track subsets of that Index. The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index measures the performance of a wide spectrum of public, investment-grade, taxable, fixed income securities in the United States—including government, corporate, and international dollar-denominated bonds, as well as mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities—all with maturities of more than 1 year.

As of December 31, 2023, each Fund was composed of the following types of bonds:

Vanguard Fund	U.S. Government/ Agency	Corporate	Asset-Backed/ Commercial Mortgage- Backed	International Dollar- Denominated	Other	Total
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund	66.29%	27.02%	2.41%	3.53%	0.75%	100%
Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund	67.16	27.15	0.00	5.45	0.24	100
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index Fund	55.58	39.58	0.00	4.34	0.50	100
Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index Fund	47.46	46.19	0.00	3.04	3.31	100

Due to rounding, the total percentage may not equal to 100%

An explanation of each type of bond follows:

• U.S. government and agency bonds represent loans by investors to the U.S. Treasury or a wide variety of government agencies and instrumentalities. Securities issued by most U.S. government entities are neither guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury nor backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. These entities include, among others, the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs), the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC). Securities issued by the U.S. Treasury and a small number of U.S. government agencies, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The market values of U.S. government and agency securities and U.S. Treasury securities are subject to fluctuation.

• Corporate bonds are IOUs issued by businesses that want to borrow money for some purpose—often to develop a new product or service, to expand into a new market, or to buy another company. As with other types of bonds, the issuer promises to repay the principal on a specific date and to make interest payments in the meantime. The amount of interest offered depends both on market conditions and on the financial health of the corporation issuing the bonds; a company whose credit rating is not strong will have to offer a higher interest rate to obtain buyers for its bonds. For purposes of the preceding table, corporate bonds include securities that are backed by a pool of underlying assets (asset-backed securities) or commercial mortgages (commercial mortgage-backed bonds). Each Fund expects to purchase only investment-grade corporate bonds.

• Mortgage-backed securities represent interests in underlying pools of mortgages. Unlike ordinary bonds, which generally pay a fixed rate of interest at regular intervals and then repay principal upon maturity, mortgage-backed securities pass through both interest and principal from underlying mortgages as part of their regular payments. Because the mortgages underlying the securities can be prepaid at any time by homeowners or by corporate borrowers, mortgage-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk. These types of securities are issued by a number of government agencies, including the GNMA, the FHLMC, and the FNMA. Mortgage-backed securities issued by the GNMA are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government as to the timely payment of principal and interest; those issued by other government agencies or private corporations are not.

Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund may also invest in conventional mortgage-backed securities—which are packaged by private corporations and are not guaranteed by the U.S. government—and enter into mortgage-dollar-roll transactions. In a mortgage-dollar-roll transaction, a fund sells mortgage-backed securities to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to purchase similar securities in the future at a predetermined price. These transactions simulate an investment in mortgage-backed securities and have the potential to enhance a fund’s returns and reduce its administrative burdens, compared with holding mortgage-backed securities directly. These transactions may increase a fund’s portfolio turnover rate. Mortgage dollar rolls will be used only to the extent that they are consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and risk profile.

• Asset-backed securities are bonds that represent partial ownership in pools of consumer or commercial loans --most often credit card, automobile, or trade receivables. Asset-backed securities, which can be types of corporate fixed income obligations, are issued by entities formed solely for that purpose, but their value ultimately depends on repayments by underlying borrowers. A primary risk

of asset-backed securities is that their maturity is difficult to predict, being driven by borrowers’ prepayments.

• International dollar-denominated bonds are bonds denominated in U.S. dollars and issued by foreign governments and companies. To the extent that a Fund owns foreign bonds, it is subject to country risk, which is the chance that world events—such as political upheaval, financial troubles, or natural disasters—will adversely affect the value and/or liquidity of securities issued by companies in foreign countries. In addition, the prices of foreign bonds and the prices of U.S. bonds have, at times, moved in opposite directions. Because the bond’s value is designated in dollars rather than in the currency of the issuer’s country, the investor is not exposed to currency risk; rather, the issuer assumes that risk, usually to attract U.S. investors. Although currency movements do not affect the value of international dollar-denominated bonds directly, they could affect the value indirectly by adversely affecting the issuer’s ability (or the market’s perception of the issuer’s ability) to pay interest or repay principal.

Plain Talk About U.S. Government-Sponsored Enterprises

A variety of U.S. government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), such as the

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), the Federal National

Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs),

issue debt and mortgage-backed securities. Although GSEs may be chartered

or sponsored by acts of Congress, they are not funded by congressional

appropriations. In September of 2008, the U.S. Treasury placed FNMA and

FHLMC under conservatorship and appointed the Federal Housing Finance

Agency (FHFA) to manage their daily operations. In addition, the U.S. Treasury

entered into purchase agreements with FNMA and FHLMC to provide them

with capital in exchange for senior preferred stock. Generally, a GSE’s

securities are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and are not

backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. In most cases, these

securities are supported only by the credit of the GSE, standing alone. In some

cases, a GSE’s securities may be supported by the ability of the GSE to

borrow from the U.S. Treasury or may be supported by the U.S. government in

some other way. Securities issued by the Government National Mortgage

Association (GNMA), however, are backed by the full faith and credit of the

U.S. government.

Other Investment Policies and Risks

Each Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in bonds held in its target index. Up to 20% of each Fund’s assets may be used to purchase nonpublic, investment-grade securities, generally referred to as 144A securities not included

in the index, as well as smaller public issues or medium-term notes not included in the index because of the small size of the issue. The Funds’ advisor expects that the vast majority of these securities will have characteristics similar to those in the target index. Subject to the same 20% limit, a Fund may also purchase other investments that are outside of its target index or may hold bonds that, when acquired, were included in the index but subsequently were removed. The Funds may also invest in relatively conservative classes of collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs), which offer a high degree of cash-flow predictability and a low level of vulnerability to mortgage prepayment risk. To reduce credit risk, these less-risky classes of CMOs are purchased only if they are issued by agencies of the U.S. government or issued by private companies that carry high-quality investment-grade ratings.

Each Fund reserves the right to substitute a different index for the index it currently tracks if the current index is discontinued, if the Fund’s agreement with the provider of its target index is terminated, or for any other reason determined in good faith by the Fund’s board of trustees. In any such instance, the substitute index would represent the same market segment as the current index.

Each Fund may invest in derivatives. In general, investments in derivatives may involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of investments directly in the underlying securities or assets.

Generally speaking, a derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a stock, a bond, or a currency), a physical asset (such as gold, oil, or wheat), a market index, or a reference rate. The Fund may invest in derivatives only if the expected risks and rewards of the derivatives are consistent with the investment objective, policies, strategies, and risks of the Fund as disclosed in this prospectus. In particular, derivatives will be used only when they may help the advisor to accomplish one or more of the following:

• Invest in eligible asset classes with greater efficiency and lower cost than is
possible through direct investment.

• Add value when these instruments are attractively priced.

• Adjust sensitivity to changes in interest rates.

Plain Talk About Derivatives

Derivatives can take many forms. Some forms of derivatives—such as

exchange-traded futures and options on securities, commodities, or

indexes—have been trading on regulated exchanges for decades. These

types of derivatives are standardized contracts that can easily be bought and

sold and whose market values are determined and published daily. On the

other hand, non-exchange-traded derivatives—such as certain swap

agreementsand foreign currency exchange forward contracts—tend to be

more specialized or complex and may be more difficult to accurately value.

Each Fund may invest a small portion of its assets in fixed income futures, which are a type of derivative, and/or shares of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These fixed income futures and ETFs typically provide returns similar to those of the bonds listed in the index, or in a subset of the index, the Fund seeks to track. A Fund may purchase futures or ETFs when doing so will reduce the Fund’s transaction costs, facilitate cash management, mitigate risk, or have the potential to add value because the instruments are favorably priced. Vanguard receives no additional revenue from Fund assets invested in ETF Shares of other Vanguard funds. Fund assets invested in ETF Shares of other Vanguard funds are excluded when allocating to the Fund its share of the costs of Vanguard operations.

Cash Management

Each Fund’s daily cash balance may be invested in Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund and/or Vanguard Municipal Cash Management Fund (each, a CMT Fund), which are low-cost money market funds. When investing in a CMT Fund, each Fund bears its proportionate share of the expenses of the CMT Fund in which it invests. Vanguard receives no additional revenue from Fund assets invested in a CMT Fund.

Redemption Requests

Methods used to meet redemption requests. Redemptions of ETF Shares are typically met through a combination of cash and securities held by each Fund; see “How Are Vanguard ETF Shares Different From Conventional Mutual Fund Shares?” If cash is used to meet redemptions, the Fund typically obtains such cash through positive cash flows or the sale of Fund holdings consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and strategy. Please consult the Funds' Statement of Additional Information for further information on redemptions of ETF Shares.

Under certain circumstances, a Fund may borrow money (subject to certain regulatory conditions and if available under board-approved procedures) through an interfund lending facility; through a bank line-of-credit, including a joint committed credit facility; or through an uncommitted line-of-credit from Vanguard in order to meet redemption requests.

Potential redemption activity impacts. At times, a Fund may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders, or multiple shareholders comprising significant ownership of the Fund or a share class of the Fund, redeem large amounts of shares of the Fund. Large redemptions may cause a Fund to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so. This may result in a Fund distributing capital gains or other taxable income to non-redeeming shareholders. Large redemptions may also increase a Fund’s transaction costs. Redemption activity can occur for many reasons, including shareholder reactions to market movements or other events unrelated to Vanguard’s actions, or when Vanguard makes product changes that, for example, may result in a shareholder redeeming shares of a Fund to purchase shares of another similar fund or investment vehicle.

Temporary Investment Measures

Each Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies when the advisor believes that doing so is in the Fund’s best interest, so long as the strategy or policy employed is consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. For instance, a Fund may invest beyond its normal limits in derivatives or exchange-traded funds that are consistent with the Fund’s investment objective when those instruments are more favorably priced or provide needed liquidity, as might be the case when the Fund receives large cash flows that it cannot prudently invest immediately.

Special Risks of Exchange-Traded Shares

ETF Shares are not individually redeemable. They can be redeemed with the issuing Fund at NAV only by certain authorized broker-dealers and only in large blocks known as Creation Units. Consequently, if you want to liquidate some or all of your ETF Shares, you must sell them on the secondary market at prevailing market prices.

The market price of ETF Shares may differ from NAV. Although it is expected that the market price of an ETF Share typically will approximate its NAV, there may be times when the market price and the NAV differ significantly. Thus, you may pay more (premium) or less (discount) than NAV when you buy ETF Shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares. These discounts and premiums are likely to be greatest during times of market disruption or extreme market volatility.

Vanguard’s website at vanguard.com shows the previous day’s closing NAV and closing market price for each Fund’s ETF Shares. The website also discloses, in the Premium/Discount Analysis section of the ETF Shares’ Price & Performance page, how frequently each Fund’s ETF Shares traded at a premium or discount to NAV (based on closing NAVs and market prices) and the magnitudes of such premiums and discounts.

An active trading market may not exist. Although Vanguard ETF Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, it is possible that an active trading market may not be maintained. Although this could happen at any time, it is more likely to occur during times of severe market disruption. If you attempt to sell your ETF Shares when an active trading market is not functioning, you may have to sell at a significant discount to NAV. In extreme cases, you may not be able to sell your shares at all.

Trading may be halted. Trading of Vanguard ETF Shares on an exchange may be halted by the activation of individual or marketwide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). Trading of ETF Shares may also be halted if (1) the shares are delisted from the listing exchange without first being listed on another exchange or (2) exchange officials determine that such action is appropriate in the interest of a fair and orderly market or for the protection of investors.

A precautionary note to investment companies: Each Fund’s ETF Shares are issued by a registered investment company, and therefore the acquisition of such shares by other investment companies and private funds is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act). SEC Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act permits registered investment companies to invest in other registered investment companies beyond the limits in Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain conditions, including that the funds with different investment advisors must enter into a fund of funds investment agreement.

Shareholder Rights

Each Fund’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust, as amended, requires a shareholder bringing a derivative action on behalf of Vanguard Bond Index Funds (the Trust) that is subject to a pre-suit demand to collectively hold at least 10% of the outstanding shares of the Trust or at least 10% of the outstanding shares of the series or class to which the demand relates and to undertake to reimburse the Trust for the expense of any counsel or advisors used when considering the merits of the demand in the event that the board of trustees determines not to bring such action. In each case, these requirements do not apply to claims arising under the federal securities laws to the extent that any such federal securities laws, rules, or regulations do not permit such application.

Frequent Trading and Market-Timing

Unlike frequent trading of a Vanguard fund’s conventional (i.e., not exchange-traded) classes of shares, frequent trading of ETF Shares does not disrupt portfolio management or otherwise harm fund shareholders. The vast majority of trading in ETF Shares occurs on the secondary market. Because these trades do not involve the issuing fund, they do not harm the fund or its shareholders. Certain broker-dealers are authorized to purchase and redeem ETF Shares directly with the issuing fund. Because these trades typically are effected in kind (i.e., for securities and not for cash), or are assessed a transaction fee when effected in cash, they do not cause any of the harmful effects to the issuing fund (as previously noted) that may result from frequent trading. For these reasons, the board of trustees of each fund that issues ETF Shares has determined that it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter frequent trading and market-timing of ETF Shares.

Portfolio Holdings

Please consult the Funds' Statement of Additional Information or our website for a description of the policies and procedures that govern disclosure of a Fund’s portfolio holdings.

Turnover Rate

Although the Funds generally seek to invest for the long term, each Fund may sell securities regardless of how long they have been held. Generally, an index fund sells securities in response to redemption requests from shareholders of conventional (not exchange-traded) shares or to changes in the composition of its target index or in an effort to manage the fund’s duration. The Financial Highlights section of this prospectus shows historical turnover rates for the Funds. A turnover rate of 100%, for example, would mean that a Fund had sold and replaced securities valued at 100% of its net assets within a one-year period. Shorter-term bonds will mature or be sold—and need to be replaced—more frequently than longer-term bonds. As a result, shorter-term bond funds tend to have higher turnover rates than longer-term bond funds. In general, the greater the turnover rate, the greater the impact transaction costs will have on a fund’s return. Also, funds with high turnover rates may be more likely to generate capital gains, including short-term capital gains, that must be distributed to shareholders and will be taxable to shareholders investing through a taxable account.

The Funds and Vanguard

Each Fund is a member of The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard), a family of over 200 funds. All of the funds that are members of Vanguard (other than funds of funds) share in the expenses associated with administrative services and business operations, such as personnel, office space, and equipment.

Vanguard Marketing Corporation provides marketing services to the funds. Although fund shareholders do not pay sales commissions or 12b-1 distribution fees, each fund (other than a fund of funds) or each share class of a fund (in the case of a fund with multiple share classes) pays its allocated share of the Vanguard funds’ marketing costs.

Plain Talk About Vanguard’s Unique Corporate Structure

Vanguard is owned jointly by the funds it oversees and thus indirectly by the

shareholders in those funds. Most other mutual funds are operated by

management companies that are owned by third parties—either public or

private stockholders—and not by the funds they serve.

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc., P.O. Box 2600, Valley Forge, PA 19482, which began operations in 1975, serves as advisor to the Funds through its Fixed Income Group. As of December 31, 2023, Vanguard served as advisor for approximately $7.2 trillion in assets. Vanguard provides investment advisory services to the Funds pursuant to the Funds’ Service Agreement and subject to the supervision and oversight of the trustees and officers of the Funds.

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the advisory expenses represented an effective annual rate of less than 0.01% of each Fund’s average net assets.

Under the terms of an SEC exemption, the Funds’ board of trustees may, without prior approval from shareholders, change the terms of an advisory agreement with a third-party investment advisor or hire a new third-party investment advisor—either as a replacement for an existing advisor or as an additional advisor. Any significant change in a Fund’s advisory arrangements will be communicated to shareholders in writing. As the Funds’ sponsor and overall manager, Vanguard may provide investment advisory services to a Fund at any time. Vanguard may also recommend to the board of trustees that an advisor be hired, terminated, or replaced or that the terms of an existing advisory agreement be revised. The Funds have filed an application seeking a similar SEC exemption with respect to investment advisors that are wholly owned subsidiaries of Vanguard. If the exemption is granted, the Funds may rely on the new SEC relief.

For a discussion of why the board of trustees approved each Fund’s investment advisory arrangement, see the most recent semiannual reports to shareholders covering the fiscal period ended June 30.

The manager primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds is:

Joshua C. Barrickman, CFA, Principal of Vanguard and co-head of Vanguard’s Fixed Income Indexing Americas. He has been with Vanguard since 1998; has worked in investment management since 1999; has managed investment portfolios since 2005; has managed Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index Fund since 2008; and has managed Vanguard Total Bond Market Index, Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index, and Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index Funds since 2013. Education: B.S., Ohio Northern University; M.B.A., Lehigh University.

The Funds' Statement of Additional Information provides information about the portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts under management, and ownership of shares of the Funds.

Dividends, Capital Gains, and Taxes

Fund Distributions

Each Fund distributes to shareholders virtually all of its net income (interest less expenses) as well as any net short-term or long-term capital gains realized from the sale of its holdings. From time to time, each Fund may also make distributions that are treated as a return of capital. For holders of the Funds’ ETF Shares, income dividends generally are declared and distributed monthly; capital gains distributions, if any, generally occur annually in December. In addition, each Fund may occasionally make a supplemental distribution at some other time during the year.

Plain Talk About Distributions

As a shareholder, you are entitled to your portion of a fund’s income from

interest as well as capital gains from the fund’s sale of investments. Income

consists of interest the fund earns from its money market and bond

investments. Capital gains are realized whenever the fund sells securities for

higher prices than it paid for them. These capital gains are either short-term

or long-term, depending on whether the fund held the securities for one year

or less or for more than one year.

Reinvestment of Distributions

In order to reinvest dividend and capital gains distributions, investors in a Fund’s ETF Shares must hold their shares at a broker that offers a reinvestment service. This can be the broker’s own service or a service made available by a third party, such as the broker’s outside clearing firm or the Depository Trust Company (DTC). If a reinvestment service is available, distributions of income and capital gains can automatically be reinvested in additional whole and fractional ETF Shares of the Fund. If a reinvestment service is not available, investors will receive their distributions in cash. To determine whether a reinvestment service is available and whether there is a commission or other charge for using this service, consult your broker.

As with all exchange-traded funds, reinvestment of dividend and capital gains distributions in additional ETF Shares will occur four business days or more after the ex-dividend date (the date when a distribution of dividends or capital gains is deducted from the price of a Fund’s shares). The exact number of days depends on your broker. During that time, the amount of your distribution will not be invested in the Fund and therefore will not share in the Fund’s income, gains, and losses.

Basic Tax Points

Investors in taxable accounts should be aware of the following basic federal income tax points:

• Distributions are taxable to you whether or not you reinvest these amounts in additional ETF Shares.

• Distributions declared in December—if paid to you by the end of January—are taxable as if received in December.

• Any income dividend distribution or short-term capital gains distribution that you receive is taxable to you as ordinary income.

• Any distribution of net long-term capital gains is taxable to you as long-term capital gains, no matter how long you have owned ETF Shares.

• Capital gains distributions can occur when a Fund sells assets at a gain. Capital gains distributions vary from year to year as a result of the Fund’s investment activities and cash flows, including those due to redemption activity by Fund shareholders.

• Capital gains distributions may occur if Vanguard makes changes that would impact a Fund directly or indirectly, including if Vanguard makes changes to the Fund’s portfolio or to any other Vanguard fund or product that would involve the redemption of shares of the Fund and the related sale of the Fund’s investments.

• Your cost basis in the Fund will be decreased by the amount of any return of capital that you receive. This, in turn, will affect the amount of any capital gain or loss that you realize when selling your ETF Shares.

• Return of capital distributions generally are not taxable to you until your cost basis has been reduced to zero. If your cost basis is at zero, return of capital distributions will be treated as capital gains.

• A sale of ETF Shares is a taxable event. This means that you may have a capital gain to report as income, or a capital loss to report as a deduction, when you complete your tax return.

Individuals, trusts, and estates whose income exceeds certain threshold amounts are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on “net investment income.” Net investment income takes into account distributions paid by the Fund and capital gains from any sale of ETF Shares.

Income dividends and capital gains distributions that you receive, as well as your gains or losses from any sale of ETF Shares, may be subject to state and local income taxes. Depending on your state’s rules, however, any dividends attributable to interest earned on direct obligations of the U.S. government may be exempt from state and local taxes. Vanguard will notify you each year how much, if any, of your dividends may qualify for this exemption.

This prospectus provides general tax information only. If you are investing through a tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement or savings plan, special tax rules apply. Please consult your tax advisor for detailed information about any tax consequences for you.

Share Price and Market Price

Share price, also known as net asset value (NAV), is calculated as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), generally 4 p.m., Eastern time, on each day that the NYSE is open for business (a business day). In the rare event the NYSE experiences unanticipated disruptions and is unavailable at the close of the trading day, NAVs will be calculated as of the close of regular trading on the Nasdaq (or another alternate exchange if the Nasdaq is unavailable, as determined at Vanguard’s discretion), generally 4 p.m., Eastern time. Each share class has its own NAV, which is computed by dividing the total assets, minus liabilities, allocated to the share class by the number of Fund shares outstanding for that class. On U.S. holidays or other days when the NYSE is closed, the NAV is not calculated, and the Funds do not sell or redeem shares. However, on those days the value of a Fund’s assets may be affected to the extent that the Fund holds securities that change in value on those days (such as foreign securities that trade on foreign markets that are open).

Remember: If you buy or sell ETF Shares on the secondary market, you will pay or receive the market price, which may be higher or lower than NAV. Your transaction will be priced at NAV only if you purchase or redeem your ETF Shares in Creation Unit blocks (an option available only to certain authorized broker-dealers).

Debt securities held by a Vanguard fund are valued based on information furnished by an independent pricing service or market quotations. When a fund determines that pricing-service information or market quotations either are not

readily available or do not accurately reflect the value of a security, the security is priced at its fair value (the amount that the owner might reasonably expect to receive upon the current sale of the security).

The values of any foreign securities held by a fund are converted into U.S. dollars using an exchange rate obtained from an independent third party as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The values of any mutual fund shares, including institutional money market fund shares, held by a fund are based on the NAVs of the shares. The values of any ETF shares or closed-end fund shares held by a fund are based on the market value of the shares.

A fund also may use fair-value pricing on bond market holidays when the fund is open for business (such as Columbus Day and Veterans Day). Fair-value prices are determined by Vanguard according to procedures adopted by the board of trustees. When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by a fund to calculate the NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities.

Each Fund has authorized certain financial intermediaries and their designees, and may, from time to time, authorize certain funds of funds for which Vanguard serves as the investment advisor (Vanguard Funds of Funds), to accept orders to buy or sell fund shares on its behalf. The Fund will be deemed to receive an order when accepted by the financial intermediary, its designee, or one of the Vanguard Funds of Funds, and the order will receive the NAV next computed by the Fund after such acceptance.

Vanguard’s website will show the previous day’s closing NAV and closing market price for each Fund’s ETF Shares.

Additional Information

Each Fund’s Bylaws require, unless the Trust otherwise consents in writing, that the U.S. Federal District Courts be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of complaints under the Securities Act of 1933. This provision may limit a shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a different forum and may result in increased shareholder costs in pursuing such a claim.

Vanguard Fund	Inception Date	Vanguard Fund Number	CUSIP Number
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund
ETF Shares	4/3/2007 (Investor Shares 12/11/1986)	928	921937835
Vanguard Short-term Bond Index Fund
ETF Shares	4/3/2007 (Investor Shares 3/1/1994)	924	921937827
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index Fund
ETF Shares	4/3/2007 (Investor Shares 3/1/1994)	925	921937819
Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index Fund
ETF Shares	4/3/2007	927	921937793

Certain affiliates of the Funds and the advisor may purchase and resell ETF Shares pursuant to the prospectus.

CGS identifiers have been provided by CUSIP Global Services, managed on behalf of the American Bankers Association by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services, LLC, and are not for use or dissemination in a manner that would serve as a substitute for any CUSIP service. The CUSIP Database, © 2024 American Bankers Association. “CUSIP” is a registered trademark of the American Bankers Association.

Financial Highlights

Financial highlights information is intended to help you understand a fund’s performance for the past five years (or, if shorter, its period of operations). Certain information reflects financial results for a single fund share. Total return represents the rate that an investor would have earned or lost each period on an investment in a fund or share class (assuming reinvestment of all distributions). This information has been obtained from the financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with fund financial statements, is included in a fund’s most recent annual report to shareholders. You may obtain a free copy of a fund’s latest annual or semiannual report, which is available upon request.

Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund ETF Shares


For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period	Year Ended December 31,
For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period	$71.83	$84.77	$88.03	$83.71	$79.16
Investment Operations
Net Investment Income1	2.292	1.830	1.623	1.962	2.295
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments	1.717	(12.903)	(3.085)	4.455	4.535
Total from Investment Operations	4.009	(11.073)	(1.462)	6.417	6.830
Distributions
Dividends from Net Investment Income	(2.269)	(1.808)	(1.615)	(1.954)	(2.280)
Distributions from Realized Capital Gains	—	(.059)	(.183)	(.143)	—
Total Distributions	(2.269)	(1.867)	(1.798)	(2.097)	(2.280)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$73.57	$71.83	$84.77	$88.03	$83.71
Total Return	5.70%	-13.15%	-1.66%	7.71%	8.71%
Ratios/Supplemental Data
Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)	$104,824	$84,879	$84,254	$68,245	$48,456
Ratio of Total Expenses to Average Net Assets	0.03%2	0.03%2	0.03%	0.035%	0.035%
Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets	3.18%	2.41%	1.89%	2.25%	2.78%
Portfolio Turnover Rate3,4	36%	40%	69%	79%	31%


1	Calculated based on average shares outstanding.
2	The ratio of expenses to average net assets for the period net of reduction from custody fee offset arrangements was 0.03%.
3	Excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind purchases or redemptions of the fund’s capital shares, including ETF Creation Units.
4	Includes 10%, 12%, 34%, 29%, and 10%, respectively, attributable to mortgage-dollar- roll activity.

Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares


For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period	Year Ended December 31,
For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period	$75.21	$80.81	$82.81	$80.55	$78.56
Investment Operations
Net Investment Income1	1.863	1.106	.960	1.474	1.819
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments	1.780	(5.580)	(1.785)	2.267	2.014
Total from Investment Operations	3.643	(4.474)	(.825)	3.741	3.833
Distributions
Dividends from Net Investment Income	(1.893)	(1.105)	(.953)	(1.481)	(1.843)
Distributions from Realized Capital Gains	—	(.021)	(.222)	—	—
Total Distributions	(1.893)	(1.126)	(1.175)	(1.481)	(1.843)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$76.96	$75.21	$80.81	$82.81	$80.55
Total Return	4.91%	-5.55%	-1.00%	4.67%	4.92%
Ratios/Supplemental Data
Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)	$31,830	$37,679	$42,076	$29,618	$22,522
Ratio of Total Expenses to Average Net Assets	0.04%2	0.04%2	0.04%	0.05%	0.05%
Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets	2.46%	1.44%	1.17%	1.79%	2.28%
Portfolio Turnover Rate3	64%	41%	37%	49%	44%


1	Calculated based on average shares outstanding.
2	The ratio of expenses to average net assets for the period net of reduction from custody fee offset arrangements was 0.04%.
3	Excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind purchases or redemptions of the fund’s capital shares, including ETF Creation Units.

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares


For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period	Year Ended December 31,
For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period	$74.25	$87.63	$92.73	$87.08	$81.27
Investment Operations
Net Investment Income1	2.394	1.783	1.715	2.080	2.392
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments	2.087	(13.370)	(3.817)	6.313	5.816
Total from Investment Operations	4.481	(11.587)	(2.102)	8.393	8.208
Distributions
Dividends from Net Investment Income	(2.361)	(1.772)	(1.719)	(2.094)	(2.398)
Distributions from Realized Capital Gains	—	(.021)	(1.279)	(.649)	—
Total Distributions	(2.361)	(1.793)	(2.998)	(2.743)	(2.398)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$76.37	$74.25	$87.63	$92.73	$87.08
Total Return	6.16%	-13.30%	-2.27%	9.71%	10.19%
Ratios/Supplemental Data
Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)	$16,751	$12,916	$14,359	$15,482	$13,546
Ratio of Total Expenses to Average Net Assets	0.04%2	0.04%2	0.04%	0.05%	0.05%
Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets	3.21%	2.27%	1.91%	2.27%	2.80%
Portfolio Turnover Rate3	63%	46%	46%	55%	50%


1	Calculated based on average shares outstanding.
2	The ratio of expenses to average net assets for the period net of reduction from custody fee offset arrangements was 0.04%.
3	Excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind purchases or redemptions of the fund’s capital shares, including ETF Creation Units.

Vanguard Long-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares


For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period	Year Ended December 31,
For a Share Outstanding Throughout Each Period	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period	$72.35	$103.14	$109.58	$99.92	$87.08
Investment Operations
Net Investment Income1	3.075	2.916	2.966	3.242	3.445
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments	2.2162	(30.687)2	(5.939)2	12.817	12.976
Total from Investment Operations	5.291	(27.771)	(2.973)	16.059	16.421
Distributions
Dividends from Net Investment Income	(3.031)	(2.915)	(2.955)	(3.236)	(3.409)
Distributions from Realized Capital Gains	—	(.104)	(.512)	(3.163)	(.172)
Total Distributions	(3.031)	(3.019)	(3.467)	(6.399)	(3.581)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$74.61	$72.35	$103.14	$109.58	$99.92
Total Return	7.53%	-27.20%	-2.63%	16.24%	19.09%
Ratios/Supplemental Data
Net Assets, End of Period (Millions)	$6,237	$4,218	$6,271	$5,808	$4,357
Ratio of Total Expenses to Average Net Assets	0.04%	0.04%3	0.04%	0.05%	0.05%
Ratio of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets	4.25%	3.54%	2.88%	2.96%	3.58%
Portfolio Turnover Rate4	25%	25%	30%	48%	33%


1	Calculated based on average shares outstanding.
2	Includes increases from purchase fees of $.01, $.01, and $.02.
3	The ratio of expenses to average net assets for the period net of reduction from custody fee offset arrangements was 0.04%.
4	Excludes the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of in-kind purchases or redemptions of the fund’s capital shares, including ETF Creation Units.

CFA® is a registered trademark owned by CFA Institute.

“Bloomberg®” and Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index, Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Government/Credit Float Adjusted Index, Bloomberg U.S. 5-10 Year Government/Credit Float Adjusted Index, and Bloomberg U.S. Long Government/Credit Float Adjusted Index (the “Indices”) are service marks of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates, including Bloomberg Index Services Limited (“BISL”), the administrator of the index (collectively, “Bloomberg”), and have been licensed for use for certain purposes by Vanguard.

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF, Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF, Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF, and Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF (the “Funds”) are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Bloomberg. Bloomberg does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of or counterparties to the Funds or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities or commodities generally or in the Funds particularly. The only relationship of Bloomberg to Vanguard is the licensing of certain trademarks, trade names and service marks and of the Indices, which are determined, composed and calculated by BISL without regard to Vanguard or the Funds. Bloomberg has no obligation to take the needs of Vanguard or the owners of the Funds into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Indices. Bloomberg is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing, price, or quantities of the Funds to be issued. Bloomberg shall not have any obligation or liability, including, without limitation, to customers of the Funds, in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Funds.

BLOOMBERG DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDICES OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO AND SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN. BLOOMBERG DOES NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY VANGUARD, OWNERS OF THE FUND OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDICES OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. BLOOMBERG DOES NOT MAKE ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE INDICES OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, BLOOMBERG, ITS LICENSORS, AND ITS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, AND VENDORS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY INJURY OR DAMAGES—WHETHER DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE OR OTHERWISE—ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE FUND OR INDICES OR ANY DATA OR VALUES RELATING THERETO—WHETHER ARISING FROM THEIR NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF.

Glossary of Investment Terms

Authorized Participant. Institutional investors that are permitted to purchase Creation Units directly from, and redeem Creation Units directly with, the issuing fund. To be an Authorized Participant, an entity must be a participant in the Depository Trust Company and must enter into an agreement with the fund’s Distributor.

Bid-Ask Spread. The difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase ETF Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for ETF Shares (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market.

Bond. A debt security issued by a corporation, a government, or a government agency in exchange for the money the bondholder lends it. In most instances, the issuer agrees to pay back the loan by a specific date and generally to make regular interest payments until that date.

Capital Gains Distributions. Payments to fund shareholders of gains realized on securities that a fund has sold at a profit, minus any realized losses.

Coupon Rate. The interest rate paid by the issuer of a debt security until its maturity. It is expressed as an annual percentage of the face value of the security.

Creation Unit. A large block of a specified number of ETF Shares. Certain broker-dealers known as “Authorized Participants” may purchase and redeem ETF Shares from the issuing fund in Creation Unit size blocks.

Dividend Distributions. Payments to fund shareholders of income from interest or dividends generated by a fund’s investments.

Ex-Dividend Date. The date when a distribution of dividends and/or capital gains is deducted from the share price of a mutual fund, ETF, or stock. On the ex-dividend date, the share price drops by the amount of the distribution per share (plus or minus any market activity).

Expense Ratio. A fund’s total annual operating expenses expressed as a percentage of the fund’s average net assets. The expense ratio includes management and administrative expenses, but it does not include the transaction costs of buying and selling portfolio securities.

Face Value. The amount to be paid at a bond’s maturity; also known as the par value or principal.

Fixed Income Security. An investment, such as a bond, representing a debt that must be repaid by a specified date, and on which the borrower may pay a fixed, variable, or floating rate of interest.

Float-Adjusted Index. An index that weights its constituent securities based on the value of the constituent securities that are available for public trading, rather than the value of all constituent securities. Some portion of an issuer’s securities may be unavailable for public trading because, for example, those securities are owned by company insiders on a restricted basis or by a government agency. By excluding unavailable securities, float-adjusted indexes can produce a more accurate picture of the returns actually experienced by investors in the measured market.

Inception Date. The date on which the assets of a fund (or one of its share classes) are first invested in accordance with the fund’s investment objective. For funds with a subscription period, the inception date is the day after that period ends. Investment performance is generally measured from the inception date.

Indexing. A low-cost investment strategy in which a fund attempts to track—rather than outperform—a specified market benchmark, or “index.”

Investment-Grade Bond. A debt security whose credit quality is considered by independent bond rating agencies, or through independent analysis conducted by a fund’s advisor, to be sufficient to ensure timely payment of principal and interest under current economic circumstances. Debt securities rated in one of the four highest rating categories are considered investment-grade. Other debt securities may be considered by an advisor to be investment-grade.

Joint Committed Credit Facility. Each Fund participates, along with other funds managed by Vanguard, in a committed credit facility provided by a syndicate of lenders pursuant to a credit agreement that may be renewed annually; each Vanguard fund is individually liable for its borrowings, if any, under the credit facility. The amount and terms of the committed credit facility are subject to approval by the Funds’ board of trustees and renegotiation with the lender syndicate on an annual basis.

Mutual Fund. An investment company that pools the money of many people and invests it in a variety of securities in an effort to achieve a specific objective over time.

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). A stock exchange based in New York City that is open for regular trading on business days, Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time.

Principal. The face value of a debt instrument or the amount of money put into an investment.

Return of Capital. A return of capital occurs when a fund’s distributions exceed its earnings in a fiscal year. A return of capital is a return of all or part of your original investment or amounts paid in excess of your original investment in a fund. In general, a return of capital reduces your cost basis in a fund’s shares and is not taxable to you until your cost basis has been reduced to zero.

Securities. Stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other investments.

Total Return. A percentage change, over a specified time period, in a fund’s net asset value, assuming the reinvestment of all distributions of dividends and capital gains.

Volatility. The fluctuations in value of a mutual fund or other security. The greater a fund’s volatility, the wider the fluctuations in its returns.

Yield. Income (interest or dividends) earned by an investment, expressed as a percentage of the investment’s price.

This page intentionally left blank.

Connect with Vanguard® ˃ vanguard.com

For More Information

If you would like more information about Vanguard Bond ETFs, the following documents are available free upon request:

Annual/Semiannual Reports to Shareholders

Additional information about the Funds’ investments is available in the Funds’ annual and semiannual reports to shareholders. In the annual reports, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds’ performance during its last fiscal year.

Statement of Additional Information (SAI)

The SAI provides more detailed information about the Funds’ ETF Shares and is incorporated by reference into (and thus legally a part of) this prospectus.

To receive a free copy of the latest annual or semiannual reports or the SAI, or to request additional information about Vanguard ETF Shares, please visit vanguard.com or contact us as follows:

Telephone: 866-499-8473; Text telephone for people with hearing impairment: 800-749-7273

Information Provided by the SEC

Reports and other information about the Funds are available in the EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at sec.gov, or you can receive copies of this information, for a fee, by electronic request at the following email address: [email protected].

Funds’ Investment Company Act file number: 811-04681

Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor.

P 984 042024