Vanguard Cuts Costs on Six Funds

According to the announcement, six Vanguard stock index funds have added “ultra-low-cost Admiral Shares,” providing shareholders with what Vanguard termed “expense savings of more than 50% over the corresponding Investor Shares in some cases”.

The new shares are available for four domestic stock index funds, featuring estimated expense ratios ranging from 0.10% to 0.21%, and two international stock index funds with projected expense ratios of 0.12% and 0.18%.

A total of 74 Vanguard funds now offer Admiral Shares, including 38 index funds. To qualify for Admiral Shares of Vanguard index funds, shareholders need an account balance of $10,000 or more, while Investor Shares require a balance of $3,000.

Vanguard says it will automatically convert qualifying Investor Shares into the lower-cost Admiral Shares of the same fund over the next several months. Clients may also convert qualifying shares on Vanguard.com. Share conversions within the same fund are tax-free.

The impacted funds are listed on the following page.