Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VWSTX)

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The chart shows the growth of an initial investment of $10,000 in Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares, comparing it to the performance of the S&P 500 index or another benchmark. All prices have been adjusted for splits and dividends.

Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VWSTX) has returned 0.22% so far this year and 3.49% over the past 12 months. Over the last ten years, VWSTX has returned 1.87% per year, falling short of the S&P 500 Index benchmark, which averaged 12.16% annually.

Based on dividend-adjusted daily data since Aug 31, 1977, VWSTX's average daily return is +0.01%, while the average monthly return is +0.17%. At this rate, your investment would double in approximately 34.0 years.

Historically, 73% of months were positive and 27% were negative. The best month was Nov 2023 with a return of +1.5%, while the worst month was Apr 1987 at -1.2%. The longest winning streak lasted 36 consecutive months, and the longest losing streak was 5 months.

On a daily basis, VWSTX closed higher 16% of trading days. The best single day was Mar 25, 2020 with a return of +0.9%, while the worst single day was Mar 20, 2020 at -0.8%.

Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares has an annualized alpha of 2.18%, beta of 0.00, and R² of 0.00 versus S&P 500 Index. Calculated based on daily prices since September 30, 1977.

• This fund captured 5.72% of S&P 500 Index gains and tended to rise during its downturns (downside capture of -3.50%) — a profile typical of hedging or uncorrelated assets.
• Beta of 0.00 may look defensive, but with R² of 0.00 this fund is largely uncorrelated with S&P 500 Index — low beta reflects independence, not downside protection. See the Volatility section for a true picture of this fund's risk.
• R² of 0.00 means this fund moves largely independently of S&P 500 Index — capture ratios reflect limited market correlation rather than active downside protection. Consider using a more representative benchmark.

VWSTX has an expense ratio of 0.17%, which is considered low.

VWSTX ranks 98 for risk / return — in the top 98% of mutual funds on our site. This means strong returns relative to risk — exactly what professional investors look for. Well-suited for investors who want to maximize return per unit of risk.

The table below present risk-adjusted performance metrics for Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VWSTX) and compare them to a chosen benchmark (S&P 500 Index).

Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares provided a 3.11% dividend yield over the last twelve months, with an annual payout of $0.49 per share. The fund has been increasing its distributions for 4 consecutive years.

The table displays the monthly dividend distributions for Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares. The dividends shown in the table have been adjusted to account for any splits that may have occurred.

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.

The table below displays the maximum drawdowns of the Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares. 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 Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares was 3.09%, occurring on Oct 16, 1987. Recovery took 580 trading sessions.

The current Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares drawdown is 0.69%.

The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.