Vanguard Retirement - Defensive
Asset Allocation
| Position | Category/Sector | Target Weight |
|---|---|---|
TPLGX T. Rowe Price Institutional Large Cap Core Growth Fund | Large Cap Growth Equities | 97.20% |
VFTNX Vanguard FTSE Social Index Fund Institutional Shares | Large Cap Growth Equities, ESG | 2.80% |
Performance
Performance Chart
The chart shows the growth of an initial investment of $10,000 in Vanguard Retirement - Defensive, comparing it to the performance of the S&P 500 index or another benchmark. All prices have been adjusted for splits and dividends. The portfolio is rebalanced Every 3 months.
The earliest data available for this chart is Oct 29, 2003, corresponding to the inception date of TPLGX
Returns By Period
As of May 9, 2025, the Vanguard Retirement - Defensive returned -4.80% Year-To-Date and 10.16% of annualized return in the last 10 years.
| YTD | 1M | 6M | 1Y | 5Y* | 10Y* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
^GSPC S&P 500 | -3.70% | 13.67% | -5.18% | 9.18% | 14.14% | 10.43% |
| Vanguard Retirement - Defensive | -4.80% | 16.95% | -15.40% | 0.48% | 6.97% | 10.16% |
| Portfolio components: | ||||||
TPLGX T. Rowe Price Institutional Large Cap Core Growth Fund | -4.81% | 17.02% | -15.69% | 0.17% | 6.72% | 10.07% |
VFTNX Vanguard FTSE Social Index Fund Institutional Shares | -4.50% | 14.51% | -5.12% | 10.88% | 15.44% | 12.59% |
Monthly Returns
The table below presents the monthly returns of Vanguard Retirement - Defensive, with color gradation from worst to best to easily spot seasonal factors. Returns are adjusted for dividends.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.83% | -3.46% | -8.29% | 1.61% | 2.91% | -4.80% | |||||||
| 2024 | 3.52% | 7.81% | 2.12% | -3.94% | 6.77% | 6.67% | -2.16% | 2.30% | 2.66% | 0.18% | 6.00% | -11.37% | 20.58% |
| 2023 | 9.48% | -1.83% | 8.17% | 2.26% | 6.62% | 6.25% | 3.26% | -0.77% | -5.17% | -0.65% | 10.86% | -0.13% | 43.95% |
| 2022 | -10.58% | -4.69% | 3.04% | -14.96% | -3.40% | -8.44% | 12.54% | -5.41% | -10.43% | 2.47% | 3.96% | -11.46% | -40.59% |
| 2021 | -1.26% | 1.94% | 0.07% | 7.38% | -1.56% | 5.90% | 2.56% | 3.82% | -5.68% | 5.86% | -1.42% | -8.06% | 8.64% |
| 2020 | 2.38% | -6.13% | -9.77% | 14.92% | 6.75% | 4.03% | 7.68% | 9.26% | -4.69% | -2.39% | 8.19% | 1.95% | 33.61% |
| 2019 | 11.07% | 2.86% | 1.66% | 3.99% | -5.84% | 6.30% | 1.47% | -1.72% | -1.21% | 1.95% | 4.95% | 1.82% | 29.73% |
| 2018 | 10.51% | -1.50% | -3.03% | 1.71% | 3.41% | 0.46% | 2.22% | 3.86% | 0.31% | -9.06% | 3.10% | -9.68% | 0.58% |
| 2017 | 4.75% | 3.79% | 1.42% | 3.64% | 3.52% | 0.62% | 4.39% | 1.33% | 1.03% | 4.60% | 2.23% | -1.08% | 34.58% |
| 2016 | -8.63% | -1.73% | 5.41% | -0.14% | 2.61% | -2.54% | 5.82% | 0.13% | 1.41% | -1.10% | 0.85% | 0.08% | 1.37% |
| 2015 | 0.06% | 6.39% | -0.51% | -0.40% | 1.72% | -0.78% | 4.87% | -6.09% | -3.54% | 9.83% | 0.50% | -0.85% | 10.70% |
| 2014 | -2.26% | 5.95% | -4.37% | -2.02% | 4.42% | 1.77% | 0.00% | 3.63% | -1.81% | 3.27% | 2.38% | -2.65% | 7.98% |
Expense Ratio
Vanguard Retirement - Defensive has an expense ratio of 0.56%, placing it in the medium range. Below, you can find the expense ratios of the portfolio's funds side by side and easily compare their relative costs.
Risk-Adjusted Performance
Risk-Adjusted Performance Rank
The current rank of Vanguard Retirement - Defensive is 7, meaning it’s performing worse than 93% of other portfolios on our website when it comes to balancing risk and reward. Below is a breakdown of how it compares using common performance measures.
Risk-Adjusted Performance Indicators
This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for positions. Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.
| Sharpe ratio | Sortino ratio | Omega ratio | Calmar ratio | Martin ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TPLGX T. Rowe Price Institutional Large Cap Core Growth Fund | 0.01 | 0.19 | 1.03 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
VFTNX Vanguard FTSE Social Index Fund Institutional Shares | 0.53 | 0.87 | 1.13 | 0.54 | 2.01 |
Dividends
Dividend yield
Vanguard Retirement - Defensive provided a 0.06% dividend yield over the last twelve months.
| TTM | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | 0.06% | 0.06% | 0.06% | 0.04% | 0.03% | 0.06% | 0.22% | 0.21% | 0.22% | 0.30% | 0.15% | 0.12% |
| Portfolio components: | ||||||||||||
TPLGX T. Rowe Price Institutional Large Cap Core Growth Fund | 0.03% | 0.03% | 0.03% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.02% | 0.18% | 0.16% | 0.19% | 0.25% | 0.11% | 0.08% |
VFTNX Vanguard FTSE Social Index Fund Institutional Shares | 1.10% | 1.01% | 1.12% | 1.37% | 0.95% | 1.22% | 1.46% | 1.82% | 1.49% | 1.82% | 1.60% | 1.33% |
Drawdowns
Drawdowns Chart
The Drawdowns chart displays portfolio losses from any high point along the way. Drawdowns are calculated considering price movements and all distributions paid, if any.
Worst Drawdowns
The table below displays the maximum drawdowns of the Vanguard Retirement - Defensive. A maximum drawdown is a measure of risk, indicating the largest reduction in portfolio value due to a series of losing trades.
The maximum drawdown for the Vanguard Retirement - Defensive was 56.08%, occurring on Nov 20, 2008. Recovery took 819 trading sessions.
The current Vanguard Retirement - Defensive drawdown is 18.88%.
Depth | Start | To Bottom | Bottom | To Recover | End | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -56.08% | Oct 15, 2007 | 279 | Nov 20, 2008 | 819 | Feb 23, 2012 | 1098 |
| -49.18% | Nov 17, 2021 | 285 | Jan 5, 2023 | 463 | Nov 7, 2024 | 748 |
| -30.81% | Feb 20, 2020 | 23 | Mar 23, 2020 | 54 | Jun 9, 2020 | 77 |
| -30.64% | Dec 12, 2024 | 79 | Apr 8, 2025 | — | — | — |
| -21.71% | Oct 2, 2018 | 58 | Dec 24, 2018 | 70 | Apr 5, 2019 | 128 |
Volatility
Volatility Chart
The current Vanguard Retirement - Defensive volatility is 13.82%, representing the average percentage change in the investments's value, either up or down over the past month. The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.
Diversification
Diversification Metrics
Number of Effective Assets
The portfolio contains 2 assets, with an effective number of assets of 1.06, reflecting the diversification based on asset allocation. This number of effective assets suggests a highly concentrated portfolio, where a few assets dominate the allocation, potentially increasing the portfolio's risk due to lack of diversification.
Asset Correlations Table
| ^GSPC | VFTNX | TPLGX | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ^GSPC | 1.00 | 0.98 | 0.93 | 0.93 |
| VFTNX | 0.98 | 1.00 | 0.94 | 0.94 |
| TPLGX | 0.93 | 0.94 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Portfolio | 0.93 | 0.94 | 1.00 | 1.00 |