N-CSRS 1 fenway_final.htm fenway_final.htm - Generated by SEC Publisher for SEC Filing

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT
OF
REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

 

Investment Company Act file number: 811-05445

 

Name of Registrant:

Vanguard Fenway Funds

 

Address of Registrant:

P.O. Box 2600
  Valley Forge, PA 19482

 

Name and address of agent for service:

Anne E. Robinson, Esquire
  P.O. Box 876
  Valley Forge, PA 19482

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (610) 669-1000

 

Date of fiscal year end: September 30

 

Date of reporting period: October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

 

Item 1: Reports to Shareholders

 



Semiannual Report | March 31, 2018

Vanguard Equity Income Fund


 

Vanguard’s Principles for Investing Success

We want to give you the best chance of investment success. These principles, grounded in Vanguard’s research and experience, can put you on the right path.

Goals. Create clear, appropriate investment goals.

Balance. Develop a suitable asset allocation using broadly diversified funds. Cost. Minimize cost.

Discipline. Maintain perspective and long-term discipline.

A single theme unites these principles: Focus on the things you can control.

We believe there is no wiser course for any investor.

Contents  
Your Fund’s Performance at a Glance. 1
CEO’s Perspective. 2
Advisors’ Report. 4
Results of Proxy Voting. 9
Fund Profile. 11
Performance Summary. 13
Financial Statements. 14
About Your Fund’s Expenses. 29
Trustees Approve Advisory Arrangements. 31
Glossary. 33

 

Please note: The opinions expressed in this report are just that—informed opinions. They should not be considered promises
or advice. Also, please keep in mind that the information and opinions cover the period through the date on the front of this
report. Of course, the risks of investing in your fund are spelled out in the prospectus.
See the Glossary for definitions of investment terms used in this report.
About the cover: Nautical images have been part of Vanguard’s rich heritage since its start in 1975. For an
incoming ship, a lighthouse offers a beacon and safe path to shore. You can similarly depend on Vanguard to put
you first––and light the way––as you strive to meet your financial goals. Our client focus and low costs,
stemming from our unique ownership structure, assure that your interests are paramount.


 

Your Fund’s Performance at a Glance

• For the six months ended March 31, 2018, Vanguard Equity Income Fund returned 3.59% for Investor Shares. It outpaced the 3.32% return of its benchmark, the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index, and the 2.76% average return of its peers.

• The broad stock market posted strong returns over the period’s first four months as corporate earnings generally exceeded expectations and investors were willing to pay more for those earnings. Stocks declined in February and March as inflation concerns increased.

• Growth stocks did better than their value counterparts, and large-capitalization stocks surpassed small-caps.

• The Equity Income Fund’s two advisors focus on investing in value companies with higher yields, and they place an emphasis on dividends.

• Information technology stocks were by far the fund’s top performers, climbing nearly 23% and adding about 3 percentage points to results. Health care and consumer staples detracted the most from absolute returns.

Total Returns: Six Months Ended March 31, 2018  
  Total
  Returns
Vanguard Equity Income Fund  
Investor Shares 3.59%
Admiral™ Shares 3.63
FTSE High Dividend Yield Index 3.32
Equity Income Funds Average 2.76
Equity Income Funds Average: Derived from data provided by Lipper, a Thomson Reuters Company.
Admiral Shares carry lower expenses and are available to investors who meet certain account-balance requirements.

 

Expense Ratios      
Your Fund Compared With Its Peer Group      
  Investor Admiral Peer Group
  Shares Shares Average
Equity Income Fund 0.26% 0.17% 1.15%

The fund expense ratios shown are from the prospectus dated January 25, 2018, and represent estimated costs for the current fiscal year.
For the six months ended March 31, 2018, the fund’s annualized expense ratios were 0.27% for Investor Shares and 0.18% for Admiral
Shares. The peer-group expense ratio is derived from data provided by Lipper, a Thomson Reuters Company, and captures information
through year-end 2017.

Peer group: Equity Income Funds.

1


 

CEO’s Perspective

 

 

 

 

Tim Buckley
President and Chief Executive Officer

Dear Shareholder,

I feel extremely fortunate to have the chance to lead a company filled with people who come to work every day passionate about Vanguard’s core purpose: to take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success.

When I joined Vanguard in 1991, I found a mission-driven team focused on improving lives—helping people retire more comfortably, put their children through college, and achieve financial security. I also found a company with purpose in an industry ripe for improvement.

It was clear, even early in my career, that the cards were stacked against most investors. Hidden fees, performance-chasing, and poor advice were relentlessly eroding investors’ dreams.

We knew Vanguard could be different and, as a result, could make a real difference. We have lowered the costs of investing for our shareholders significantly. And we’re proud of the performance of our funds.

Vanguard is built for Vanguard investors—we focus solely on you, our fund shareholders. Everything we do is designed to give our clients the best chance for investment success. In my role as CEO, I’ll keep this priority

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front and center. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, but we’re even more excited about what’s to come.

Steady, time-tested guidance

Our guidance for investors, as always, is to stay the course, tune out the hyperbolic headlines, and focus on your goals and what you can control, such as costs and how much you save. This time-tested advice has served our clients well over the decades.

Regardless of how the markets perform in the short term, I’m incredibly optimistic about the future for our investors. We have a dedicated team serving you, and we will never stop striving to make

Vanguard the best place for you to invest through our high-quality funds and services, advice and guidance to help you meet your financial goals, and an experience that makes you feel good about entrusting us with your hard-earned savings.

Thank you for your continued loyalty.

Sincerely,


Mortimer J. Buckley
President and Chief Executive Officer
April 13, 2018

Market Barometer      
  Total Returns
  Periods Ended March 31, 2018
  Six One Five Years
  Months Year (Annualized)
Stocks      
Russell 1000 Index (Large-caps) 5.85% 13.98% 13.17%
Russell 2000 Index (Small-caps) 3.25 11.79 11.47
Russell 3000 Index (Broad U.S. market) 5.65 13.81 13.03
FTSE All-World ex US Index (International) 4.03 16.45 6.30
 
Bonds      
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index      
(Broad taxable market) -1.08% 1.20% 1.82%
Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index      
(Broad tax-exempt market) -0.37 2.66 2.73
Citigroup Three-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index 0.63 1.07 0.30
 
CPI      
Consumer Price Index 1.11% 2.36% 1.40%

 

3


 

Advisors’ Report

For the six months ended March 31, 2018, Vanguard Equity Income Fund returned 3.59% for Investor Shares and 3.63% for Admiral Shares. It surpassed the 3.32% return of its benchmark, the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index, and the 2.76% average return of its equity income peers.

Your fund is managed by two independent investment advisors, Wellington Management Company and Vanguard Quantitative Equity Group. The use of two advisors provides exposure to distinct yet complementary investment approaches, enhancing the diversification of your

fund. It is not uncommon for different advisors to have different views about individual securities or the broader investment environment.

The advisors, the percentage and amount of the fund’s assets each manages, and brief descriptions of their investment strategies are presented in the table below. The advisors have also prepared a discussion of the investment environment that existed during the fiscal period and of how their portfolio positioning reflects this assessment. These comments were prepared on April 19, 2018.

Vanguard Equity Income Fund Investment Advisors  
 
  Fund Assets Managed  
Investment Advisor % $ Million Investment Strategy
Wellington Management 63 19,419 A fundamental approach to seeking desirable
Company LLP     stocks. Our selections typically offer
      above-average dividend yields, below-average
      valuations, and the potential for dividend
      increases in the future.
Vanguard Quantitative Equity 35 10,661 Employs a quantitative fundamental
Group     management approach, using models that
      assess valuation, growth prospects,
      management decisions, market sentiment, and
      earnings and balance-sheet quality of
      companies as compared with their peers.
Cash Investments 2 700 These short-term reserves are invested by
      Vanguard in equity index products to simulate
      investment in stocks. Each advisor may also
      maintain a modest cash position.

 

4


 

Wellington Management
Company llp

Portfolio Manager:

W. Michael Reckmeyer, III, CFA,
Senior Managing Director
and Equity Portfolio Manager

Global markets continued to rally into the new year, boosted by strong economic data. The U.S. government passed a short-term spending bill to prevent an extended shutdown, and many companies began to respond favorably to the new tax bill. The S&P 500 Index soared to a record high at the end of January. Strong economic fundamentals also propelled markets in Japan, Europe, and China. In the background, however, rising volatility and a more hawkish tone from the major central banks began to indicate that the momentum could start to slow down.

A sharp correction in February, accompanied by a spike in volatility, appeared to be a result of shifting sentiment about inflation and other future market risks. In the United States, 10 of 11 industry sectors of the S&P 500 Index posted negative results and the index fell more than 10%.

Investors grew concerned about the potential upside to inflation risks, bond yields, and Federal Reserve policy stemming from pro-growth deregulation, tax cuts, and increased government spending. Despite this, the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee, under newly appointed Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, maintained an optimistic outlook for the U.S. economy and proceeded to raise interest rates in mid-March by another 25 basis points.

Favorable sector allocation, a residual of our bottom-up stock selection process, added to our portion of the fund’s performance during the six months.

An overweight to financials and an underweight to utilities and telecommunication services helped, as did security selection in industrials, information technology, and utilities.

Among individual stocks, our decision to move from a slightly overweighted position in General Electric to eliminating it altogether contributed to results. The company announced disappointing earnings results at the end of 2017, lowered its guidance, conveyed its intention to sell some of its legacy businesses, and announced that it would cut its dividend in half. An underweight to consumer goods corporation Procter & Gamble and an overweight to hardware company Cisco Systems also boosted returns.

Security selection broadly detracted from the portfolio, driven by weakness in financials, energy, and consumer staples. An underweighted allocation to information technology and a small frictional cash position also lagged. From an individual

5


 

stock perspective, our decision not to hold benchmark constituent Boeing disappointed most. Our overweights to MetLife and Philip Morris International also hurt.

At the end of the period, we were overweighted in financials, health care, and energy. We also moved from a benchmark-neutral position in real estate to a small overweight. We remained underweighted in information technology, industrials, consumer discretionary, telecommunication services, and consumer staples. In materials, we moved from a benchmark-like allocation to a small underweight.

Significant purchases included new holdings in Comcast, American International Group (AIG), Crown Castle, and Schlumberger. We initiated a position in Comcast after its dividend increase and short-term price weakness related to the company’s bid for U.K.-based media and telecommunications company Sky.

We believe insurance giant AIG can benefit from new management and improving pricing in the sector. We think Tower REIT Crown Castle has good organic growth prospects, driven by the rising use of mobile data in the United States. And we see oilfield services company Schlumberger as a leader in its industry that stands to benefit from an increase in drilling activity.

In addition to eliminating General Electric, we sold out of Altria Group and Cardinal Health during the period. Cardinal Health faced weak results, and we believe there are rising concerns about Amazon’s potential impact on health care distributors. We also trimmed exposure to Microsoft and VF as both companies neared our target prices.

As always, we remain focused on finding investment opportunities in quality dividend-paying companies with attractive total-return potential at discounted valuations.

Vanguard Quantitative Equity Group

Portfolio Managers:

James P. Stetler

Binbin Guo, Principal, Head of
Alpha Equity Investments

The investment environment

The period opened with global equities posting positive returns for the seventh consecutive quarter. In the United States, encouraging economic fundamentals, tax-law changes, and low inflation boosted investor sentiment. The European economy stayed on a path of broad improvement, including record-high employment and manufacturing activity and elevated consumer confidence. Developed markets in the Asia Pacific region also rallied, helped by economic and business activity in Japan and Singapore.

6


 

As 2018 began, global economic momentum continued against a backdrop of rising volatility and a hawkish tone from the major central banks. In the United States, companies began to respond to new tax laws, and strong earnings announcements moved the S&P 500 Index to a record high at the end of January. Developed Europe and Asia Pacific equities also rose, fueled by better macroeconomic fundamentals.

February brought a sudden change in market sentiment and the return of volatility after an unusually long period of calm. From a macroeconomic perspective, it seems the markets finally awoke to the fact that U.S. tax cuts, along with the country’s large government spending package and pro-growth deregulation, posed upside risks to inflation and Fed policy.

Over the period, the broad U.S. equity market (as measured by the Russell 3000 Index) returned 5.65%. U.S. stock market performance was mixed; 7 of 11 sectors advanced, led by information technology and consumer discretionary. Growth stocks outpaced their value counterparts, and large-capitalization stocks topped small-caps.

Investment objective and strategy

Although it’s important to understand how overall performance is affected by the macroeconomic factors we’ve described, our strategy focuses on company-specific fundamentals, not technical analysis. Our stock selection model evaluates companies

to identify those with attractive characteristics that we believe will outperform over the long run.

To do this, we use a strict quantitative process that focuses on a combination of five themes: high quality—healthy balance sheets and consistent cash-flow generation; management decisions—sound investment policies that favor internal over external funding; consistent earnings growth—a demonstrated ability to grow earnings year after year; strong market sentiment—market confirmation of our view; and reasonable valuation—avoidance of overpriced stocks.

The interaction of these themes generates an opinion on the stocks each day. We monitor our portfolio based on those rankings and adjust when appropriate. Our approach also includes a dynamic weighting process that shifts the relative importance of the themes over time. Using the results of our model, we then construct our portfolio with the goal of maximizing expected return while minimizing exposure to risks that our research indicates do not improve returns, such as industry selection and other risks relative to our benchmark.

Our successes and shortfalls

Over the six months, the results of our combined model were positive, with three of five themes helping. The quality and sentiment models added most to performance. Valuation also contributed, but growth and management decisions detracted.

7


 

Results exceeded those of the benchmark in 8 of the 11 sectors in which the fund maintained exposure. Energy and industrials added the most, followed by consumer discretionary. Information technology, real estate, and telecommunication services lagged.

Boeing was the largest relative contributor in industrials, helped by our underweighting of General Electric. Delek US Holdings was the standout in energy, and Tailored Brands and Best Buy led in consumer discretionary. Underweighted allocations to Cisco Systems and Microsoft in information technology and BlackRock and CME Group in financials hurt relative performance, as did an overweight to PG&E in utilities.

8


 

Results of Proxy Voting

At a special meeting of shareholders on November 15, 2017, fund shareholders approved the following proposals:

Proposal 1—Elect trustees for the fund.*

The individuals listed in the table below were elected as trustees for the fund. All trustees with the exception of Ms. Mulligan, Ms. Raskin, and Mr. Buckley (each of whom already serves as a director of The Vanguard Group, Inc.) served as trustees to the funds prior to the shareholder meeting.

      Percentage
Trustee For Withheld For
Mortimer J. Buckley 549,196,781 16,941,804 97.0%
Emerson U. Fullwood 548,277,743 17,860,842 96.8%
Amy Gutmann 547,523,838 18,614,747 96.7%
JoAnn Heffernan Heisen 548,366,779 17,771,806 96.9%
F. Joseph Loughrey 548,608,113 17,530,472 96.9%
Mark Loughridge 549,123,619 17,014,966 97.0%
Scott C. Malpass 547,921,510 18,217,075 96.8%
F. William McNabb III 548,186,555 17,952,030 96.8%
Deanna Mulligan 548,641,436 17,497,149 96.9%
André F. Perold 534,326,795 31,811,790 94.4%
Sarah Bloom Raskin 547,873,806 18,264,779 96.8%
Peter F. Volanakis 548,313,064 17,825,521 96.9%
* Results are for all funds within the same trust.      

 

Proposal 3—Approve a manager-of-managers arrangement with wholly owned subsidiaries
of Vanguard.

This arrangement enables Vanguard or the fund to enter into and materially amend investment advisory arrangements with wholly owned subsidiaries of Vanguard, subject to the approval of the fund’s board of trustees and any conditions imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while avoiding the costs and delays associated with obtaining future shareholder approval. The ability of the fund to operate in this manner is contingent upon the SEC’s approval of a pending application for an order of exemption.

        Broker Percentage
Vanguard Fund For Abstain Against Non-Votes For
Equity Income Fund 242,278,422 9,928,960 9,606,050 55,379,123 76.4%

 

9


 

Fund shareholders did not approve the following proposal:

Proposal 7Institute transparent procedures to avoid holding investments in companies that, in management’s judgment, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity, the most egregious violations of human rights. Such procedures may include time-limited engagement with problem companies if management believes that their behavior can be changed.

The trustees recommended a vote against the proposal for the following reasons: (1) Vanguard is fully compliant with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations that prohibit the investment in any company owned or controlled by the government of Sudan; (2) the addition of further investment constraints is not in fund shareholders’ best interests if those constraints are unrelated to a fund’s stated investment objective, policies, and strategies; and (3) divestment is an ineffective means to implement social change, as it often puts the shares into the hands of another owner with no direct impact to the company’s capitalization.

        Broker Percentage
Vanguard Fund For Abstain Against Non-Votes For
Equity Income Fund 51,557,144 14,783,900 195,472,388 55,379,123 16.3%

 

10


 

Equity Income Fund

Fund Profile
As of March 31, 2018

Share-Class Characteristics  
  Investor Admiral
  Shares Shares
Ticker Symbol VEIPX VEIRX
Expense Ratio1 0.26% 0.17%
30-Day SEC Yield 2.71% 2.80%

 

Portfolio Characteristics    
    FTSE High DJ
    Dividend U.S. Total
    Yield Market
  Fund Index FA Index
Number of Stocks 193 378 3,771
Median Market Cap  $105.0B $130.6B $64.2B
Price/Earnings Ratio 17.2x 19.2x 21.2x
Price/Book Ratio 2.6x 2.8x 2.9x
Return on Equity 15.9% 16.2% 15.0%
Earnings Growth      
Rate 2.7% 1.8% 8.4%
Dividend Yield 2.9% 3.0% 1.8%
Foreign Holdings 8.5% 0.0% 0.0%
Turnover Rate      
(Annualized) 41%
Short-Term      
Reserves 1.2%

 

Volatility Measures    
  FTSE High DJ
  Dividend U.S. Total
  Yield Market
  Index FA Index
R-Squared 0.99 0.91
Beta 0.98 0.87

These measures show the degree and timing of the fund’s
fluctuations compared with the indexes over 36 months.

 

Sector Diversification (% of equity exposure)
    FTSE High DJ
    Dividend U.S. Total
    Yield Market
  Fund Index FA Index
Consumer      
Discretionary 5.0% 6.1% 12.9%
Consumer Staples 11.7 12.0 6.8
Energy 10.6 9.3 5.5
Financials 16.7 14.0 15.1
Health Care 14.8 12.9 13.3
Industrials 9.6 11.7 10.9
Information      
Technology 15.1 17.8 23.9
Materials 3.8 4.1 3.3
Real Estate 0.7 0.1 3.7
Telecommunication      
Services 4.0 4.5 1.7
Utilities 8.0 7.5 2.9

Sector categories are based on the Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”), except for the “Other” category (if applicable),
which includes securities that have not been provided a GICS classification as of the effective reporting period.

 

Ten Largest Holdings (% of total net assets)
Microsoft Corp. Systems Software 4.5%
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Diversified Banks 3.9
Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals 3.2
Cisco Systems Inc. Communications  
  Equipment 2.6
Verizon Communications Integrated  
Inc. Telecommunication  
  Services 2.4
Philip Morris    
International Inc. Tobacco 2.4
Intel Corp. Semiconductors 2.3
Wells Fargo & Co. Diversified Banks 2.2
Pfizer Inc. Pharmaceuticals 2.2
Chevron Corp. Integrated Oil & Gas 2.0
Top Ten   27.7%
The holdings listed exclude any temporary cash investments and equity index products.

 

1 The expense ratios shown are from the prospectus dated January 25, 2018, and represent estimated costs for the current fiscal year. For
the six months ended March 31, 2018, the annualized expense ratios were 0.27% for Investor Shares and 0.18% for Admiral Shares.

11


 

Equity Income Fund

Investment Focus


12


 

Equity Income Fund

Performance Summary

All of the returns in this report represent past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results that may be achieved by the fund. (Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data cited. For performance data current to the most recent month-end, visit our website at vanguard.com/performance.) Note, too, that both investment returns and principal value can fluctuate widely, so an investor’s shares, when sold, could be worth more or less than their original cost. The returns shown do not reflect taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or on the sale of fund shares.

Fiscal-Year Total Returns (%): September 30, 2007, Through March 31, 2018


Note: For 2018, performance data reflect the six months ended March 31, 2018.

Average Annual Total Returns: Periods Ended March 31, 2018      
  Inception One Five Ten
  Date Year Years Years
Investor Shares 3/21/1988 10.37% 11.65% 9.29%
Admiral Shares 8/13/2001 10.43 11.75 9.40

 

See Financial Highlights for dividend and capital gains information.

13


 

Equity Income Fund

Financial Statements (unaudited)

Statement of Net Assets
As of March 31, 2018

The fund reports a complete list of its holdings in regulatory filings four times in each fiscal year, at the quarter-ends. For the second and fourth fiscal quarters, the lists appear in the fund’s semiannual and annual reports to shareholders. For the first and third fiscal quarters, the fund files the lists with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form N-Q. Shareholders can look up the fund’s Forms N-Q on the SEC’s website at sec.gov. Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room (see the back cover of this report for further information).

    Market
    Value
  Shares ($000)
Common Stocks (96.7%)1    
Consumer Discretionary (4.7%)  
McDonald’s Corp. 1,605,931 251,135
Home Depot Inc. 1,229,701 219,182
Comcast Corp.    
Class A 6,275,876 214,447
Cie Generale des    
Etablissements    
Michelin SCA 770,842 113,941
Ford Motor Co. 9,326,955 103,343
Las Vegas Sands Corp. 1,131,267 81,338
Best Buy Co. Inc. 1,057,818 74,037
Wynn Resorts Ltd. 381,539 69,577
Ralph Lauren Corp.    
Class A 581,358 64,996
VF Corp. 730,274 54,128
Tailored Brands Inc. 1,973,994 49,468
H&R Block Inc. 1,310,818 33,308
Kohl’s Corp. 372,702 24,416
General Motors Co. 439,847 15,984
Omnicom Group Inc. 215,009 15,625
Polaris Industries Inc. 133,482 15,286
Interpublic Group of    
Cos. Inc. 491,241 11,313
MDC Holdings Inc. 399,724 11,160
Abercrombie & Fitch    
Co. 326,793 7,912
TEGNA Inc. 491,559 5,599
Dine Brands Global    
Inc. 54,751 3,591
Cracker Barrel Old    
Country Store Inc. 19,400 3,088
Tribune Media Co.    
Class A 75,610 3,063
L Brands Inc. 34,414 1,315
    1,447,252
Consumer Staples (11.3%)    
  Philip Morris    
  International Inc. 7,293,785 725,002
  PepsiCo Inc. 4,483,710 489,397
  Unilever NV 7,056,022 397,889
  Coca-Cola Co. 6,871,164 298,415
  British American    
  Tobacco plc 4,827,711 280,257
  Walmart Inc. 2,950,339 262,492
  Procter & Gamble    
  Co. 2,704,130 214,383
  Sysco Corp. 2,412,562 144,657
  Kraft Heinz Co. 2,307,287 143,721
  Diageo plc ADR 966,372 130,866
  Altria Group Inc. 1,221,577 76,129
  Kellogg Co. 1,122,634 72,983
  Conagra Brands Inc. 1,815,148 66,943
  Nu Skin Enterprises    
  Inc. Class A 742,455 54,726
  General Mills Inc. 665,400 29,983
  Archer-Daniels-    
  Midland Co. 580,425 25,173
  Clorox Co. 185,307 24,666
  Kimberly-Clark Corp. 183,374 20,195
  Pinnacle Foods Inc. 246,856 13,355
  Flowers Foods Inc. 479,785 10,488
  Coca-Cola European    
  Partners plc 166,604 6,941
  Vector Group Ltd. 104,671 2,134
      3,490,795
Energy (10.3%)    
  Chevron Corp. 5,268,457 600,815
  Exxon Mobil Corp. 7,456,363 556,319
  Suncor Energy Inc. 12,724,889 439,518
^ TransCanada Corp. 5,363,215 221,797
  Schlumberger Ltd. 3,039,894 196,924

 

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Equity Income Fund

      Market
      Value
    Shares ($000)
  Canadian Natural    
  Resources Ltd. 5,903,348 185,778
  Occidental    
  Petroleum Corp. 2,750,553 178,676
  Phillips 66 1,848,894 177,346
  Kinder Morgan Inc. 11,386,917 171,487
  ConocoPhillips 2,294,233 136,025
  Valero Energy Corp. 1,101,349 102,172
  Marathon Petroleum    
  Corp. 833,878 60,965
  Delek US Holdings    
  Inc. 1,305,859 53,149
  HollyFrontier Corp. 774,749 37,854
  Cosan Ltd. 2,869,212 29,811
^ Ship Finance    
  International Ltd. 1,173,600 16,783
  PBF Energy Inc.    
  Class A 161,658 5,480
      3,170,899
Financials (16.1%)    
  JPMorgan Chase &    
  Co. 11,022,930 1,212,192
  Wells Fargo & Co. 12,740,443 667,727
  MetLife Inc. 8,960,333 411,190
  PNC Financial    
  Services Group Inc. 2,386,642 360,956
  Marsh & McLennan    
  Cos. Inc. 3,537,898 292,195
  Chubb Ltd. 1,862,427 254,724
  BlackRock Inc. 469,632 254,409
  M&T Bank Corp. 1,132,692 208,823
  American International    
  Group Inc. 3,515,213 191,298
  Principal Financial    
  Group Inc. 2,645,716 161,150
  Travelers Cos. Inc. 1,082,711 150,345
  US Bancorp 2,561,526 129,357
  Aflac Inc. 2,143,034 93,779
  Prudential Financial    
  Inc. 801,136 82,958
  Regions Financial    
  Corp. 4,329,478 80,442
  Fifth Third Bancorp 1,957,071 62,137
  T. Rowe Price Group    
  Inc. 534,918 57,755
  LPL Financial Holdings    
  Inc. 923,082 56,373
  Ameriprise Financial Inc. 285,046 42,170
  FNF Group 996,737 39,889
  SunTrust Banks Inc. 439,080 29,875
  First American    
  Financial Corp. 425,026 24,940
  CME Group Inc. 153,831 24,881
  Huntington    
  Bancshares Inc. 1,366,534 20,635
BB&T Corp. 329,941 17,170
Federated Investors    
Inc. Class B 438,362 14,641
Thomson Reuters    
Corp. 103,040 3,982
Cullen/Frost Bankers    
Inc. 35,264 3,740
BankUnited Inc. 79,333 3,172
Umpqua Holdings    
Corp. 144,826 3,101
    4,956,006
Health Care (14.3%)    
Johnson & Johnson 7,610,404 975,273
Pfizer Inc. 18,731,634 664,786
Eli Lilly & Co. 6,070,308 469,660
Bristol-Myers    
Squibb Co. 6,976,134 441,240
Merck & Co. Inc. 7,678,896 418,269
Medtronic plc 4,136,384 331,821
Novartis AG 2,858,323 231,244
AbbVie Inc. 2,219,401 210,066
Koninklijke Philips NV 5,024,089 193,076
Roche Holding AG 748,773 171,739
Amgen Inc. 980,077 167,084
Abbott Laboratories 1,262,931 75,675
Gilead Sciences Inc. 664,800 50,119
    4,400,052
Industrials (9.3%)    
Caterpillar Inc. 2,579,984 380,238
Union Pacific Corp. 2,777,153 373,333
Eaton Corp. plc 3,585,439 286,512
3M Co. 1,200,563 263,548
Boeing Co. 771,586 252,988
Honeywell    
International Inc. 1,729,135 249,877
Raytheon Co. 780,012 168,342
Lockheed Martin    
Corp. 398,489 134,661
United Technologies    
Corp. 953,634 119,986
Waste Management    
Inc. 1,088,973 91,604
General Electric Co. 5,639,522 76,021
Norfolk Southern    
Corp. 477,555 64,842
BAE Systems plc 7,056,571 57,642
Copa Holdings SA    
Class A 425,416 54,721
Greenbrier Cos. Inc. 1,020,096 51,260
United Parcel Service    
Inc. Class B 480,416 50,280
GATX Corp. 721,719 49,431
Cummins Inc. 242,848 39,363
PACCAR Inc. 527,322 34,893
Timken Co. 257,662 11,749

 

15


 

Equity Income Fund

      Market
      Value
    Shares ($000)
  Ryder System Inc. 113,666 8,274
  Kennametal Inc. 187,067 7,513
  KAR Auction Services    
  Inc. 131,375 7,121
  Briggs & Stratton Corp. 241,778 5,177
  Watsco Inc. 24,824 4,492
  Brady Corp. Class A 79,676 2,960
  Deere & Co. 13,629 2,117
      2,848,945
Information Technology (14.3%)  
  Microsoft Corp. 15,043,453 1,373,016
  Cisco Systems Inc. 18,331,672 786,245
  Intel Corp. 13,713,514 714,200
  Analog Devices Inc. 3,987,923 363,419
  QUALCOMM Inc. 4,473,315 247,866
  Maxim Integrated    
  Products Inc. 3,266,386 196,702
  Texas Instruments Inc. 1,603,141 166,550
  HP Inc. 4,344,620 95,234
  Broadcom Ltd. 395,813 93,273
  International Business    
  Machines Corp. 562,033 86,233
  KLA-Tencor Corp. 571,481 62,297
  Western Union Co. 2,950,461 56,737
  DXC Technology Co. 463,077 46,553
  Science Applications    
  International Corp. 467,712 36,856
  Cypress Semiconductor    
  Corp. 2,102,679 35,662
  Western Digital Corp. 348,905 32,194
  Seagate Technology plc 391,655 22,920
  Automatic Data    
  Processing Inc. 18,807 2,134
      4,418,091
Materials (3.7%)    
  DowDuPont Inc. 8,391,187 534,603
  International Paper Co. 3,701,592 197,776
  LyondellBasell    
  Industries NV Class A 1,828,044 193,188
  Huntsman Corp. 1,990,993 58,237
  Air Products &    
  Chemicals Inc. 286,982 45,639
  Greif Inc. Class A 587,530 30,698
  CF Industries Holdings    
  Inc. 474,618 17,907
  Avery Dennison Corp. 130,426 13,858
  Packaging Corp. of    
  America 107,315 12,094
  Domtar Corp. 273,696 11,643
  Rayonier Advanced    
  Materials Inc. 426,808 9,164
  WestRock Co. 133,336 8,556
* Ferroglobe plc 523,524 5,617
      1,138,980
Other (0.3%)    
2 Vanguard High    
Dividend Yield ETF 1,047,950 86,445
 
Real Estate (0.7%)    
Crown Castle    
International Corp. 1,880,979 206,174
 
Telecommunication Services (3.9%)  
Verizon    
Communications Inc. 15,588,130 745,425
AT&T Inc. 8,173,163 291,373
BCE Inc. 4,089,284 175,969
    1,212,767
Utilities (7.8%)    
NextEra Energy Inc. 2,465,575 402,702
American Electric    
Power Co. Inc. 4,286,534 294,013
Dominion Energy Inc. 3,912,888 263,846
Sempra Energy 1,998,968 222,325
Exelon Corp. 5,696,001 222,201
Eversource Energy 3,244,722 191,179
Xcel Energy Inc. 3,300,752 150,118
Duke Energy Corp. 1,294,892 100,315
FirstEnergy Corp. 2,292,533 77,969
Entergy Corp. 904,570 71,262
Edison International 1,112,439 70,818
CenterPoint Energy    
Inc. 2,497,750 68,438
MDU Resources    
Group Inc. 1,532,808 43,164
PNM Resources Inc. 975,484 37,312
Public Service    
Enterprise Group Inc. 723,880 36,368
Consolidated Edison    
Inc. 447,490 34,877
National Fuel Gas Co. 622,568 32,031
NRG Energy Inc. 951,263 29,042
WEC Energy Group    
Inc. 211,763 13,278
DTE Energy Co. 121,743 12,710
Ameren Corp. 140,311 7,946
IDACORP Inc. 78,224 6,905
Vectren Corp. 77,245 4,938
Atmos Energy Corp. 55,054 4,638
    2,398,395
Total Common Stocks    
(Cost $22,517,840)   29,774,801

 

16


 

Equity Income Fund

    Market
    Value
  Shares ($000)
Temporary Cash Investments (3.8%)1  
Money Market Fund (2.4%)    
3,4 Vanguard Market    
Liquidity Fund,    
1.775% 7,425,335 742,533
 
  Face  
  Amount  
  ($000)  
Repurchase Agreements (1.2%)  
Goldman Sachs & Co.    
1.800%, 4/2/18 (Dated    
3/29/18, Repurchase    
Value $108,422,000    
collateralized by Federal    
Home Loan Mortgage    
Corp. 3.000%– 6.500%,    
9/1/20–4/1/39, and    
Federal National    
Mortgage Assn. 2.000%–  
7.500%, 5/1/23–2/1/48,    
with a value of    
110,568,000) 108,400 108,400
RBS Securities, Inc.    
1.790%, 4/2/18 (Dated    
3/29/18, Repurchase    
Value $200,040,000    
collateralized by U. S.    
Treasury Note/Bond    
1.500%–3.375%,    
10/31/19–11/15/19,    
with a value of    
$204,004,000) 200,000 200,000
Societe Generale 1.760%,    
4/2/18 (Dated 3/29/18,    
Repurchase Value    
$50,110,000 collater-    
alized by Federal Home    
Loan Bank 0.000%,    
4/6/18, Federal Home    
Loan Mortgage Corp.    
3.500%–5.704%,    
1/1/20–11/1/47, Federal    
National Mortgage Assn.  
1.000%–3.000%,    
4/30/18– 6/1/32, Govern-  
ment National Mortgage    
Assn. 4.500%, 2/20/47,    
and U.S. Treasury    
Note/Bond 0.000%–    
3.000%, 8/16/18–    
11/15/45, with a value    
of $51,102,000) 50,100 50,100
    358,500
    Face Market
    Amount Value
    ($000) ($000)
U. S. Government and Agency Obligations (0.2%)
5 federal home loan    
  bank discount notes,    
  1.604%, 4/27/18 25,000 24,972
  united states treasury    
  bill, 1.432%, 4/26/18 1,000 999
6 united states treasury    
  bill, 1.461%, 5/3/18 8,453 8,441
6 united states treasury    
  bill, 1.370%, 5/17/18 9,000 8,982
6 united states treasury    
  bill, 1.429%–1.559%,    
  5/24/18 300 299
6 united states treasury    
  bill, 1.446%, 5/31/18 300 299
6 united states treasury    
  bill, 1.599%, 6/7/18 500 499
6 united states treasury    
  bill, 1.509%, 6/21/18 7,000 6,974
6 united states treasury    
  bill, 1.846%, 8/9/18 1,000 994
6 united states treasury    
  bill, 1.849%, 8/16/18 1,000 993
6 united states treasury    
  bill, 1.908%, 9/27/18 2,000 1,981
      55,433
Total Temporary Cash Investments  
(Cost $1,156,426)   1,156,466
Total Investments (100.5%)    
(Cost $23,674,266)   30,931,267

 

17


 

Equity Income Fund

  Amount
  ($000)
Other Assets and Liabilities (-0.5%)  
Other Assets  
Investment in Vanguard 1,680
Receivables for Investment Securities Sold 43,459
Receivables for Accrued Income 55,277
Receivables for Capital Shares Issued 41,592
Variation Margin Receivable—  
Futures Contracts 8,441
Other Assets 14,432
Total Other Assets 164,881
Liabilities  
Payables for Investment Securities  
Purchased (99,432)
Collateral for Securities on Loan (155,667)
Payables to Investment Advisor (5,721)
Payables for Capital Shares Redeemed (35,274)
Payables to Vanguard (20,307)
Other Liabilities (26)
Total Liabilities (316,427)
Net Assets (100%) 30,779,721

 

At March 31, 2018, net assets consisted of:
  Amount
  ($000)
Paid-in Capital 22,596,041
Undistributed Net Investment Income 33,253
Accumulated Net Realized Gains 924,062
Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)  
Investment Securities 7,257,001
Futures Contracts (30,738)
Foreign Currencies 102
Net Assets 30,779,721

 

  Amount
  ($000)
Investor Shares—Net Assets  
Applicable to 160,899,713 outstanding
$.001 par value shares of beneficial  
interest (unlimited authorization) 5,801,685
Net Asset Value Per Share—  
Investor Shares $36.06
 
 
Admiral Shares—Net Assets  
Applicable to 330,507,052 outstanding
$.001 par value shares of beneficial  
interest (unlimited authorization) 24,978,036
Net Asset Value Per Share—  
Admiral Shares $75.57

 

See Note A in Notes to Financial Statements.
^ Includes partial security positions on loan to broker-dealers.
The total value of securities on loan is $149,643,000.
* Non-income-producing security.
1 The fund invests a portion of its cash reserves in equity
markets through the use of index futures contracts. After
giving effect to futures investments, the fund’s effective
common stock and temporary cash investment positions
represent 98.8% and 1.7%, respectively, of net assets.
2 Considered an affiliated company of the fund as the issuer
is another member of The Vanguard Group.
3 Affiliated money market fund available only to Vanguard
funds and certain trusts and accounts managed by Vanguard.
Rate shown is the 7-day yield.
4 Includes $155,667,000 of collateral received for securities
on loan.
5 The issuer operates under a congressional charter; its
securities are generally neither guaranteed by the U.S.
Treasury nor backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S.
government.
6 Securities with a value of $28,128,000 have been segregated
as initial margin for open futures contracts.
ADR—American Depositary Receipt.

18


 

Equity Income Fund

Derivative Financial Instruments Outstanding as of Period End    
 
Futures Contracts        
      ($000)
        Value and
    Number of   Unrealized
    Long (Short) Notional Appreciation
  Expiration Contracts Amount (Depreciation)
Long Futures Contracts        
E-mini S&P 500 Index June 2018 4,846 640,399 (30,738)

 

Unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on open futures contracts is required to be treated as realized gain (loss) for tax purposes.

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

19


 

Equity Income Fund

Statement of Operations

  Six Months Ended
  March 31, 2018
  ($000)
Investment Income  
Income  
Dividends—Unaffiliated Issuers1 427,893
Dividends—Affiliated Issuers 1,312
Interest—Unaffiliated Issuers 2,481
Interest—Affiliated Issuers 3,194
Securities Lending—Net 378
Total Income 435,258
Expenses  
Investment Advisory Fees—Note B  
Basic Fee 12,464
Performance Adjustment 143
The Vanguard Group—Note C  
Management and Administrative—Investor Shares 4,874
Management and Administrative—Admiral Shares 10,426
Marketing and Distribution—Investor Shares 538
Marketing and Distribution—Admiral Shares 952
Custodian Fees 132
Shareholders’ Reports and Proxy—Investor Shares 108
Shareholders’ Reports and Proxy—Admiral Shares 277
Trustees’ Fees and Expenses 21
Total Expenses 29,935
Net Investment Income 405,323
Realized Net Gain (Loss)  
Investment Securities Sold–Unaffiliated Issuers 946,690
Investment Securities Sold–Affiliated Issuers (78)
Futures Contracts 49,905
Foreign Currencies 57
Realized Net Gain (Loss) 996,574
Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)  
Investment Securities–Unaffiliated Issuers (299,562)
Investment Securities–Affiliated Issuers 1,482
Futures Contracts (36,346)
Foreign Currencies 124
Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) (334,302)
Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Operations 1,067,595
1 Dividends are net of foreign withholding taxes of $6,148,000.

 

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

20


 

Equity Income Fund

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

  Six Months Ended Year Ended
  March 31, September 30,
  2018 2017
  ($000) ($000)
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets    
Operations    
Net Investment Income 405,323 741,584
Realized Net Gain (Loss) 996,574 376,595
Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) (334,302) 3,006,882
Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Operations 1,067,595 4,125,061
Distributions    
Net Investment Income    
Investor Shares (70,115) (158,563)
Admiral Shares (305,016) (590,086)
Realized Capital Gain1    
Investor Shares (71,934) (59,063)
Admiral Shares (298,582) (197,566)
Total Distributions (745,647) (1,005,278)
Capital Share Transactions    
Investor Shares (271,304) (168,911)
Admiral Shares 1,353,816 2,822,122
Net Increase (Decrease) from Capital Share Transactions 1,082,512 2,653,211
Total Increase (Decrease) 1,404,460 5,772,994
Net Assets    
Beginning of Period 29,375,261 23,602,267
End of Period2 30,779,721 29,375,261

 

1 Includes fiscal 2018 and 2017 short-term gain distributions totaling $79,922,000 and $0, respectively. Short-term gain distributions
are treated as ordinary income dividends for tax purposes.
2 Net Assets—End of Period includes undistributed (overdistributed) net investment income of $33,253,000 and $3,004,000.

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

21


 

Equity Income Fund

Financial Highlights

Investor Shares            
Six Months          
  Ended          
For a Share Outstanding March 31, Year Ended September 30,
Throughout Each Period 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $35.64 $31.69 $28.78 $31.23 $28.26 $24.31
Investment Operations            
Net Investment Income . 4691 .9081 .909 .847 .826 .732
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)            
on Investments .832 4.292 3.912 (1.431) 3.754 3.946
Total from Investment Operations 1.301 5.200 4.821 (.584) 4.580 4.678
Distributions            
Dividends from Net Investment Income (. 435) (. 912) (. 895) (. 852) (. 811) (.728)
Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.446) (.338) (1.016) (1.014) (.799)
Total Distributions (.881) (1.250) (1.911) (1.866) (1.610) (.728)
Net Asset Value, End of Period $36.06 $35.64 $31.69 $28.78 $31.23 $28.26
 
Total Return2 3.59% 16.68% 17.21% -2.11% 16.62% 19.45%
 
Ratios/Supplemental Data            
Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $5,802 $6,002 $5,487 $4,812 $5,528 $4,839
Ratio of Total Expenses to            
Average Net Assets3 0.27% 0.26% 0.26% 0.26% 0.29% 0.30%
Ratio of Net Investment Income to            
Average Net Assets 2.55% 2.70% 3.00% 2.72% 2.74% 2.81%
Portfolio Turnover Rate 41% 28% 26% 32% 33% 34%

 

The expense ratio, net investment income ratio, and turnover rate for the current period have been annualized.
1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.
2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown. Fund prospectuses provide
information about any applicable account service fees.
3 Includes performance-based investment advisory fee increases (decreases) of 0.00%, (0.01%), (0.01%), (0.01%), 0.00%, and 0.00%.

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

22


 

Equity Income Fund

Financial Highlights

Admiral Shares            
Six Months          
  Ended          
For a Share Outstanding March 31, Year Ended September 30,
Throughout Each Period 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $74.69 $66.43 $60.31 $65.45 $59.24 $50.94
Investment Operations            
Net Investment Income 1.0221 1.9681 1.963 1.834 1.790 1.585
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)            
on Investments 1.742 8.977 8.219 (3.003) 7.853 8.293
Total from Investment Operations 2.764 10.945 10.182 (1.169) 9.643 9.878
Distributions            
Dividends from Net Investment Income (.947) (1.977) (1.932) (1.846) (1.758) (1.578)
Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (.937) (.708) (2.130) (2.125) (1.675)
Total Distributions (1.884) (2.685) (4.062) (3.971) (3.433) (1.578)
Net Asset Value, End of Period $75.57 $74.69 $66.43 $60.31 $65.45 $59.24
 
Total Return2 3.63% 16.75% 17.35% -2.03% 16.70% 19.61%
 
Ratios/Supplemental Data            
Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $24,978 $23,373 $18,115 $12,962 $12,319 $9,134
Ratio of Total Expenses to            
Average Net Assets3 0.18% 0.17% 0.17% 0.17% 0.20% 0.21%
Ratio of Net Investment Income to            
Average Net Assets 2.64% 2.79% 3.09% 2.81% 2.83% 2.90%
Portfolio Turnover Rate 41% 28% 26% 32% 33% 34%

 

The expense ratio, net investment income ratio, and turnover rate for the current period have been annualized.
1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.
2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown. Fund prospectuses provide
information about any applicable account service fees.
3 Includes performance-based investment advisory fee increases (decreases) of 0.00%, (0.01%), (0.01%), (0.01%), 0.00%, and 0.00%.

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

23


 

Equity Income Fund

Notes to Financial Statements

Vanguard Equity Income Fund is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as an open-end investment company, or mutual fund. The fund offers two classes of shares: Investor Shares and Admiral Shares. Investor Shares are available to any investor who meets the fund’s minimum purchase requirements. Admiral Shares are designed for investors who meet certain administrative, service, and account-size criteria.

A. The following significant accounting policies conform to generally accepted accounting principles for U.S. investment companies. The fund consistently follows such policies in preparing its financial statements.

1. Security Valuation: Securities are valued as of the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time) on the valuation date. Equity securities are valued at the latest quoted sales prices or official closing prices taken from the primary market in which each security trades; such securities not traded on the valuation date are valued at the mean of the latest quoted bid and asked prices. Securities for which market quotations are not readily available, or whose values have been affected by events occurring before the fund’s pricing time but after the close of the securities’ primary markets, are valued at their fair values calculated according to procedures adopted by the board of trustees. These procedures include obtaining quotations from an independent pricing service, monitoring news to identify significant market- or security-specific events, and evaluating changes in the values of foreign market proxies (for example, ADRs, futures contracts, or exchange-traded funds), between the time the foreign markets close and the fund’s pricing time. When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by a fund to calculate its net asset value may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Investments in Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund are valued at that fund’s net asset value. Temporary cash investments are valued using the latest bid prices or using valuations based on a matrix system (which considers such factors as security prices, yields, maturities, and ratings), both as furnished by independent pricing services.

2. Foreign Currency: Securities and other assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars using exchange rates obtained from an independent third party as of the fund’s pricing time on the valuation date. Realized gains (losses) and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investment securities include the effects of changes in exchange rates since the securities were purchased, combined with the effects of changes in security prices. Fluctuations in the value of other assets and liabilities resulting from changes in exchange rates are recorded as unrealized foreign currency gains (losses) until the assets or liabilities are settled in cash, at which time they are recorded as realized foreign currency gains (losses).

3. Futures Contracts: The fund uses index futures contracts to a limited extent, with the objective of maintaining full exposure to the stock market while maintaining liquidity. The fund may purchase or sell futures contracts to achieve a desired level of investment, whether to accommodate portfolio turnover or cash flows from capital share transactions. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are imperfect correlation between changes in market values of stocks held by the fund and the prices of futures contracts, and the possibility of an illiquid market. Counterparty risk involving futures is mitigated because a regulated clearinghouse is the counterparty instead of the clearing broker. To further mitigate counterparty risk, the fund trades futures contracts on an exchange, monitors the financial strength of its clearing brokers and clearinghouse, and has entered into clearing agreements with its clearing brokers. The clearinghouse imposes initial margin requirements to secure the fund’s performance and requires daily settlement of variation margin representing changes in the market value of each contract.

24


 

Equity Income Fund

Futures contracts are valued at their quoted daily settlement prices. The notional amounts of the contracts are not recorded in the Statement of Net Assets. Fluctuations in the value of the contracts are recorded in the Statement of Net Assets as an asset (liability) and in the Statement of Operations as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) until the contracts are closed, when they are recorded as realized futures gains (losses).

During the six months ended March 31, 2018, the fund’s average investments in long and short futures contracts represented 1% and 0% of net assets, respectively, based on the average of the notional amounts at each quarter-end during the period.

4. Repurchase Agreements: The fund enters into repurchase agreements with institutional counterparties. Securities pledged as collateral to the fund under repurchase agreements are held by a custodian bank until the agreements mature, and in the absence of a default, such collateral cannot be repledged, resold, or rehypothecated. Each agreement requires that the market value of the collateral be sufficient to cover payments of interest and principal. The fund further mitigates its counterparty risk by entering into repurchase agreements only with a diverse group of prequalified counterparties, monitoring their financial strength, and entering into master repurchase agreements with its counterparties. The master repurchase agreements provide that, in the event of a counterparty’s default (including bankruptcy), the fund may terminate any repurchase agreements with that counterparty, determine the net amount owed, and sell or retain the collateral up to the net amount owed to the fund. Such action may be subject to legal proceedings, which may delay or limit the disposition of collateral.

5. Federal Income Taxes: The fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company and distribute all of its taxable income. Management has analyzed the fund’s tax positions taken for all open federal income tax years (September 30, 2014–2017), and for the period ended March 31, 2018, and has concluded that no provision for federal income tax is required in the fund’s financial statements.

6. Distributions: Distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date.

7. Securities Lending: To earn additional income, the fund lends its securities to qualified institutional borrowers. Security loans are subject to termination by the fund at any time, and are required to be secured at all times by collateral in an amount at least equal to the market value of securities loaned. Daily market fluctuations could cause the value of loaned securities to be more or less than the value of the collateral received. When this occurs, the collateral is adjusted and settled on the next business day. The fund further mitigates its counterparty risk by entering into securities lending transactions only with a diverse group of prequalified counterparties, monitoring their financial strength, and entering into master securities lending agreements with its counterparties. The master securities lending agreements provide that, in the event of a counterparty’s default (including bankruptcy), the fund may terminate any loans with that borrower, determine the net amount owed, and sell or retain the collateral up to the net amount owed to the fund; however, such actions may be subject to legal proceedings. While collateral mitigates counterparty risk, in the event of a default, the fund may experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned. The fund invests cash collateral received in Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund, and records a liability in the Statement of Net Assets for the return of the collateral, during the period the securities are on loan. Securities lending income represents fees charged to borrowers plus income earned on invested cash collateral, less expenses associated with the loan. During the term of the loan, the fund is entitled to all distributions made on or in respect of the loaned securities.

25


 

Equity Income Fund

8. Credit Facility: The fund and certain other funds managed by The Vanguard Group (“Vanguard”) participate in a $3.1 billion committed credit facility provided by a syndicate of lenders pursuant to a credit agreement that may be renewed annually; each fund is individually liable for its borrowings, if any, under the credit facility. Borrowings may be utilized for temporary and emergency purposes, and are subject to the fund’s regulatory and contractual borrowing restrictions. The participating funds are charged administrative fees and an annual commitment fee of 0.10% of the undrawn amount of the facility; these fees are allocated to the funds based on a method approved by the fund’s board of trustees and included in Management and Administrative expenses on the fund’s Statement of Operations. Any borrowings under this facility bear interest at a rate based upon the higher of the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate, federal funds effective rate, or overnight bank funding rate plus an agreed-upon spread.

The fund had no borrowings outstanding at March 31, 2018, or at any time during the period then ended.

9. Other: Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Interest income includes income distributions received from Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund and is accrued daily. Premiums and discounts on debt securities purchased are amortized and accreted, respectively, to interest income over the lives of the respective securities. Security transactions are accounted for on the date securities are bought or sold. Costs used to determine realized gains (losses) on the sale of investment securities are those of the specific securities sold.

Each class of shares has equal rights as to assets and earnings, except that each class separately bears certain class-specific expenses related to maintenance of shareholder accounts (included in Management and Administrative expenses), shareholder reporting, and the proxy. Marketing and distribution expenses are allocated to each class of shares based on a method approved by the board of trustees. Income, other non-class-specific expenses, and gains and losses on investments are allocated to each class of shares based on its relative net assets.

B. The investment advisory firm Wellington Management Company LLP provides investment advisory services to a portion of the fund for a fee calculated at an annual percentage rate of average net assets managed by the advisor. The basic fee of Wellington Management Company LLP is subject to quarterly adjustments based on performance relative to the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index for the preceding three years.

Vanguard provides investment advisory services to a portion of the fund as described below; the fund paid Vanguard advisory fees of $827,000 for the six months ended March 31, 2018.

For the six months ended March 31, 2018, the aggregate investment advisory fee paid to all advisors represented an effective annual basic rate of 0.08% of the fund’s average net assets, before an increase of $143,000 (0.00%) based on performance.

C. In accordance with the terms of a Funds’ Service Agreement (the “FSA”) between Vanguard and the fund, Vanguard furnishes to the fund investment advisory, corporate management, administrative, marketing, distribution, and cash management services at Vanguard’s cost of operations (as defined by the FSA). These costs of operations are allocated to the fund based on methods and guidelines approved by the board of trustees. Vanguard does not require reimbursement in the current period for certain costs of operations (such as deferred compensation/benefits and risk/insurance costs); the fund’s liability for these costs of operations is included in Payables to Vanguard on the Statement of Net Assets. All other costs of operations payable to Vanguard are generally settled twice a month.

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Equity Income Fund

Upon the request of Vanguard, the fund may invest up to 0.40% of its net assets as capital in Vanguard. At March 31, 2018, the fund had contributed to Vanguard capital in the amount of $1,680,000, representing 0.01% of the fund’s net assets and 0.67% of Vanguard’s capitalization. The fund’s trustees and officers are also directors and employees, respectively, of Vanguard.

D. Various inputs may be used to determine the value of the fund’s investments. These inputs are summarized in three broad levels for financial statement purposes. The inputs or methodologies used to value securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

Level 1Quoted prices in active markets for identical securities.
Level 2Other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.).
Level 3Significant unobservable inputs (including the fund’s own assumptions used to determine
the fair value of investments). Any investments valued with significant unobservable inputs are
noted on the Statement of Net Assets.

The following table summarizes the market value of the fund’s investments as of March 31, 2018, based on the inputs used to value them:

  Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Investments ($000) ($000) ($000)
Common Stocks 28,726,902 1,047,899
Temporary Cash Investments 742,533 413,933
Futures Contracts—Assets1 8,441
Total 29,477,876 1,461,832
1 Represents variation margin on the last day of the reporting period.

 

E. Distributions are determined on a tax basis and may differ from net investment income and realized capital gains for financial reporting purposes. Differences may be permanent or temporary. Permanent differences are reclassified among capital accounts in the financial statements to reflect their tax character. Temporary differences arise when certain items of income, expense, gain, or loss are recognized in different periods for financial statement and tax purposes. These differences will reverse at some time in the future. Differences in classification may also result from the treatment of short-term gains as ordinary income for tax purposes. The fund’s tax-basis capital gains and losses are determined only at the end of each fiscal year.

At March 31, 2018, the cost of investment securities for tax purposes was $23,694,720,000. Net unrealized appreciation of investment securities for tax purposes was $7,236,547,000, consisting of unrealized gains of $7,606,689,000 on securities that had risen in value since their purchase and $370,142,000 in unrealized losses on securities that had fallen in value since their purchase.

F. During the six months ended March 31, 2018, the fund purchased $6,589,421,000 of investment securities and sold $6,181,177,000 of investment securities, other than temporary cash investments.

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Equity Income Fund

G. Capital share transactions for each class of shares were:

  Six Months Ended Year Ended
  March 31, 2018 September 30, 2017
  Amount Shares Amount Shares
  ($000) (000) ($000) (000)
Investor Shares        
Issued 607,126 16,377 1,307,027 39,209
Issued in Lieu of Cash Distributions 130,978 3,524 201,419 5,967
Redeemed (1,009,408) (27,428) (1,677,357) (49,867)
Net Increase (Decrease)—Investor Shares (271,304) (7,527) (168,911) (4,691)
Admiral Shares        
Issued 2,966,734 38,349 5,702,925 81,210
Issued in Lieu of Cash Distributions 518,951 6,664 667,841 9,421
Redeemed (2,131,869) (27,449) (3,548,644) (50,390)
Net Increase (Decrease)—Admiral Shares 1,353,816 17,564 2,822,122 40,241

 

H. Transactions during the period in investments where the issuer is another member of The Vanguard Group were as follows:

    Current Period Transactions  
  Sept. 30,   Proceeds Realized       March 31,
  2017   from Net Change in   Capital Gain 2018
  Market Purchases Securities Gain Unrealized   Distributions Market
  Value at Cost Sold (Loss) App.(Dep.) Income Received Value
  ($000) ($000) ($000) ($000) ($000) ($000) ($000) ($000)
Vanguard High                
Dividend Yield ETF 84,957 1,488 1,312 86,445
Vanguard Market                
Liquidity Fund 471,508 NA1 NA1 (78) (6) 3,194 742,533
Total 556,465     (78) 1,482 4,506 828,978
1 Not applicable—purchases and sales are for temporary cash investment purposes.

 

I. Management has determined that no material events or transactions occurred subsequent to March 31, 2018, that would require recognition or disclosure in these financial statements.

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About Your Fund’s Expenses

As a shareholder of the fund, you incur ongoing costs, which include costs for portfolio management, administrative services, and shareholder reports (like this one), among others. Operating expenses, which are deducted from a fund’s gross income, directly reduce the investment return of the fund.

A fund’s expenses are expressed as a percentage of its average net assets. This figure is known as the expense ratio. The following examples are intended to help you understand the ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in your fund and to compare these costs with those of other mutual funds. The examples are based on an investment of $1,000 made at the beginning of the period shown and held for the entire period.

The accompanying table illustrates your fund’s costs in two ways:

Based on actual fund return. This section helps you to estimate the actual expenses that you paid over the period. The ”Ending Account Value“ shown is derived from the fund‘s actual return, and the third column shows the dollar amount that would have been paid by an investor who started with $1,000 in the fund. You may use the information here, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period.

To do so, simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number given for your fund under the heading ”Expenses Paid During Period.“

Based on hypothetical 5% yearly return. This section is intended to help you compare your fund‘s costs with those of other mutual funds. It assumes that the fund had a yearly return of 5% before expenses, but that the expense ratio is unchanged. In this case—because the return used is not the fund’s actual return—the results do not apply to your investment. The example is useful in making comparisons because the Securities and Exchange Commission requires all mutual funds to calculate expenses based on a 5% return. You can assess your fund’s costs by comparing this hypothetical example with the hypothetical examples that appear in shareholder reports of other funds.

Note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight and help you compare ongoing costs only and do not reflect transaction costs incurred by the fund for buying and selling securities. Further, the expenses do not include any purchase, redemption, or account service fees described in the fund prospectus. If such fees were applied to your account, your costs would be higher. Your fund does not carry a “sales load.”

The calculations assume no shares were bought or sold during the period. Your actual costs may have been higher or lower, depending on the amount of your investment and the timing of any purchases or redemptions.

You can find more information about the fund’s expenses, including annual expense ratios, in the Financial Statements section of this report. For additional information on operating expenses and other shareholder costs, please refer to your fund’s current prospectus.

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Six Months Ended March 31, 2018      
  Beginning Ending Expenses
  Account Value Account Value Paid During
Equity Income Fund 9/30/2017 3/31/2018 Period
Based on Actual Fund Return      
Investor Shares $1,000.00 $1,035.89 $1.37
Admiral Shares 1,000.00 1,036.34 0.91
Based on Hypothetical 5% Yearly Return      
Investor Shares $1,000.00 $1,023.59 $1.36
Admiral Shares 1,000.00 1,024.03 0.91

 

The calculations are based on expenses incurred in the most recent six-month period. The fund’s annualized six-month expense ratios for
that period are 0.27% for Investor Shares and 0.18% for Admiral Shares. The dollar amounts shown as “Expenses Paid” are equal to the
annualized expense ratio multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent
six-month period, then divided by the number of days in the most recent 12-month period (182/365).

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Trustees Approve Advisory Arrangements

The board of trustees of Vanguard Equity Income Fund has renewed the fund’s investment advisory arrangements with Wellington Management Company LLP and The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard), through its Quantitative Equity Group. The board determined that renewing the fund’s advisory arrangements was in the best interests of the fund and its shareholders.

The board based its decisions upon an evaluation of each advisor’s investment staff, portfolio management process, and performance. This evaluation included information provided to the board by Vanguard’s Portfolio Review Department, which is responsible for advisor oversight and product management. The Portfolio Review Department met regularly with the advisors and made monthly presentations to the board during the fiscal year that directed the board’s focus to relevant information and topics.

The board, or an investment committee made up of board members, also received information throughout the year during advisor presentations. For each advisor presentation, the board was provided with letters and reports that included information about, among other things, the advisory firm and the advisor’s assessment of the investment environment, portfolio performance, and portfolio characteristics.

In addition, the board received monthly reports, which included a Market and Economic Report, a Fund Dashboard Monthly Summary, and a Fund Performance Report.

Prior to their meeting, the trustees were provided with a memo and materials that summarized the information they received over the course of the year. They also considered the factors discussed below, among others. However, no single factor determined whether the board approved the arrangements. Rather, it was the totality of the circumstances that drove the board’s decisions.

Nature, extent, and quality of services

The board reviewed the quality of the fund’s investment management services over both the short and long term and took into account the organizational depth and stability of each advisor. The board considered the following:

Wellington Management. Wellington Management, founded in 1928, is among the nation’s oldest and most respected institutional investment managers. Using fundamental research, Wellington Management seeks to build a portfolio with an above-market yield, superior growth rate, and attractive valuation. Although every company purchased for the portfolio will pay a dividend, the goal is to build a portfolio with an above-market yield in aggregate, allowing for individual companies with below-market yields. Normalized earnings, normalized price-to-earnings ratios, and improving returns on capital are key to the research process. The board also noted that the portfolio manager of the fund has more than two decades of investment industry experience. The firm has advised the fund since 2000.

Vanguard. Vanguard has been managing investments for more than three decades. The Quantitative Equity Group adheres to a sound, disciplined investment management process; the team has considerable experience, stability, and depth. Vanguard has managed a portion of the fund since 2003.

The board concluded that each advisor’s experience, stability, depth, and performance, among other factors, warranted continuation of the advisory arrangements.

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Investment performance

The board considered the short- and long-term performance of the fund and each advisor, including any periods of outperformance or underperformance compared with a relevant benchmark index and peer group. The board concluded that the performance was such that each advisory arrangement should continue. Information about the fund’s most recent performance can be found in the Performance Summary section of this report.

Cost

The board concluded that the fund’s expense ratio was well below the average expense ratio charged by funds in its peer group and that the fund’s advisory expense rate was also well below the peer-group average. Information about the fund’s expenses appears in the About Your Fund’s Expenses section of this report as well as in the Financial Statements section, which also includes information about the fund’s advisory expense rate.

The board did not consider the profitability of Wellington Management in determining whether to approve the advisory fee because Wellington Management is independent of Vanguard and the advisory fee is the result of arm’s-length negotiations. The board does not conduct a profitability analysis of Vanguard because of Vanguard’s unique “at-cost” structure. Unlike most other mutual fund management companies, Vanguard is owned by the funds it oversees and produces “profits” only in the form of reduced expenses for fund shareholders.

The benefit of economies of scale

The board concluded that the fund’s shareholders benefit from economies of scale because of breakpoints in the fund’s advisory fee schedule for Wellington Management. The breakpoints reduce the effective rate of the fee as the fund’s assets managed by Wellington Management increase. The board also concluded that the fund’s at-cost arrangement with Vanguard ensures that the fund will realize economies of scale as it grows, with the cost to shareholders declining as the fund’s assets managed by Vanguard increase.

The board will consider whether to renew the advisory arrangements again after a one-year period.

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Glossary

30-Day SEC Yield. A fund’s 30-day SEC yield is derived using a formula specified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Under the formula, data related to the fund’s security holdings in the previous 30 days are used to calculate the fund’s hypothetical net income for that period, which is then annualized and divided by the fund’s estimated average net assets over the calculation period. For the purposes of this calculation, a security’s income is based on its current market yield to maturity (for bonds), its actual income (for asset-backed securities), or its projected dividend yield (for stocks). Because the SEC yield represents hypothetical annualized income, it will differ—at times significantly—from the fund’s actual experience. As a result, the fund’s income distributions may be higher or lower than implied by the SEC yield.

Beta. A measure of the magnitude of a fund’s past share-price fluctuations in relation to the ups and downs of a given market index. The index is assigned a beta of 1.00. Compared with a given index, a fund with a beta of 1.20 typically would have seen its share price rise or fall by 12% when the index rose or fell by 10%. For this report, beta is based on returns over the past 36 months for both the fund and the index. Note that a fund’s beta should be reviewed in conjunction with its R-squared (see definition). The lower the R-squared, the less correlation there is between the fund and the index, and the less reliable beta is as an indicator of volatility.

Dividend Yield. Dividend income earned by stocks, expressed as a percentage of the aggregate market value (or of net asset value, for a fund). The yield is determined by dividing the amount of the annual dividends by the aggregate value (or net asset value) at the end of the period. For a fund, the dividend yield is based solely on stock holdings and does not include any income produced by other investments.

Earnings Growth Rate. The average annual rate of growth in earnings over the past five years for the stocks now in a fund.

Equity Exposure. A measure that reflects a fund’s investments in stocks and stock futures. Any holdings in short-term reserves are excluded.

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 does not include the transaction costs of buying and selling portfolio securities.

Foreign Holdings. The percentage of a fund represented by securities or depositary receipts of companies based outside the United States.

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 measured from the inception date.

Median Market Cap. An indicator of the size of companies in which a fund invests; the midpoint of market capitalization (market price x shares outstanding) of a fund’s stocks, weighted by the proportion of the fund’s assets invested in each stock. Stocks representing half of the fund’s assets have market capitalizations above the median, and the rest are below it.

Price/Book Ratio. The share price of a stock divided by its net worth, or book value, per share.

For a fund, the weighted average price/book ratio of the stocks it holds.

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Price/Earnings Ratio. The ratio of a stock’s current price to its per-share earnings over the past year. For a fund, the weighted average P/E of the stocks it holds. P/E is an indicator of market expectations about corporate prospects; the higher the P/E, the greater the expectations for a company’s future growth.

R-Squared. A measure of how much of a fund’s past returns can be explained by the returns from the market in general, as measured by a given index. If a fund’s total returns were precisely synchronized with an index’s returns, its R-squared would be 1.00. If the fund’s returns bore no relationship to the index’s returns, its R-squared would be 0. For this report, R-squared is based on returns over the past 36 months for both the fund and the index.

Return on Equity. The annual average rate of return generated by a company during the past five years for each dollar of shareholder’s equity (net income divided by shareholder’s equity). For a fund, the weighted average return on equity for the companies whose stocks it holds.

Short-Term Reserves. The percentage of a fund invested in highly liquid, short-term securities that can be readily converted to cash.

Turnover Rate. An indication of the fund’s trading activity. Funds with high turnover rates incur higher transaction costs and may be more likely to distribute capital gains (which may be taxable to investors). The turnover rate excludes in-kind transactions, which have minimal impact on costs.

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The Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”) was developed by and is the exclusive property and a service mark
of MSCI Inc. (“MSCI”) and Standard and Poor’s, a division of McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“S&P”), and is licensed for use
by Vanguard. Neither MSCI, S&P nor any third party involved in making or compiling the GICS or any GICS classification
makes any express or implied warranties or representations with respect to such standard or classification (or the results
to be obtained by the use thereof), and all such parties hereby expressly disclaim all warranties of originality, accuracy,
completeness, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to any such standard or classification.
Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall MSCI, S&P, any of its affiliates or any third party involved in
making or compiling the GICS or any GICS classification have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, punitive,
consequential or any other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

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The People Who Govern Your Fund

The trustees of your mutual fund are there to see that the fund is operated and managed in your best interests since, as a shareholder, you are a part owner of the fund. Your fund’s trustees also serve on the board of directors of The Vanguard Group, Inc., which is owned by the Vanguard funds and provides services to them on an at-cost basis.

A majority of Vanguard’s board members are independent, meaning that they have no affiliation with Vanguard or the funds they oversee, apart from the sizable personal investments they have made as private individuals. The independent board members have distinguished backgrounds in business, academia, and public service. Each of the trustees and executive officers oversees 208 Vanguard funds.

Information for each trustee and executive officer of the fund appears below. The mailing address of the trustees and officers is P.O. Box 876, Valley Forge, PA 19482. More information about the trustees is in the Statement of Additional Information, which can be obtained, without charge, by contacting Vanguard at 800-662-7447, or online at vanguard.com.

Interested Trustees1

F. William McNabb III

Born in 1957. Trustee since July 2009. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: chairman of the board (January 2010–present) of Vanguard and of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard, trustee (2009–present) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard, and director (2008–present) of Vanguard. Chief executive officer and president (2008–2017) of Vanguard and each of the investment companies served by Vanguard, managing director (1995–2008) of Vanguard, and director (1997–2018) of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Director (2018–present) of UnitedHealth Group.

Mortimer J. Buckley

Born in 1969. Trustee since January 2018. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: chief executive officer (January 2018–present) of Vanguard; chief executive officer, president, and trustee (January 2018–present) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard; president and director (2017–present) of Vanguard; and president (February 2018–present) of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Chief investment officer (2013–2017), managing director (2002–2017), head of the Retail Investor Group (2006–2012), and chief information officer (2001–2006) of Vanguard. Chairman of the board (2011–2017) of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Independent Trustees

Emerson U. Fullwood

Born in 1948. Trustee since January 2008. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: executive chief staff and marketing officer for North America and corporate vice president (retired 2008) of Xerox Corporation (document management products and services). Former president of the Worldwide Channels Group, Latin America, and Worldwide Customer Service and executive chief staff officer of Developing Markets of Xerox. Executive in residence and 2009–2010 Distinguished Minett Professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Lead director of SPX FLOW, Inc. (multi-industry manufacturing). Director of the University of Rochester Medical Center, the Monroe Community College Foundation, the United Way of Rochester, North Carolina A&T University, and Roberts Wesleyan College. Trustee of the University of Rochester.

Amy Gutmann

Born in 1949. Trustee since June 2006. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: president (2004–present) of the University of Pennsylvania. Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science, School of Arts and Sciences, and professor of communication, Annenberg School for Communication, with secondary faculty appointments in the Department of Philosophy, School of Arts and Sciences, and at the Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania. Trustee of the National Constitution Center.

1 Mr. McNabb and Mr. Buckley are considered “interested persons,” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, because they are officers of the Vanguard funds.


 

JoAnn Heffernan Heisen

Born in 1950. Trustee since July 1998. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: corporate vice president of Johnson & Johnson (pharmaceuticals/medical devices/consumer products) and member of its executive committee (1997–2008). Chief global diversity officer (retired 2008), vice president and chief information officer (1997–2006), controller (1995–1997), treasurer (1991–1995), and assistant treasurer (1989–1991) of Johnson & Johnson. Director of Skytop Lodge Corporation (hotels) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Member of the advisory board of the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Rutgers University.

F. Joseph Loughrey

Born in 1949. Trustee since October 2009. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: president and chief operating officer (retired 2009) and vice chairman of the board (2008–2009) of Cummins Inc. (industrial machinery). Chairman of the board of Hillenbrand, Inc. (specialized consumer services), Oxfam America, and the Lumina Foundation for Education. Director of the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Member of the advisory council for the College of Arts and Letters and chair of the advisory board to the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, both at the University of Notre Dame.

Mark Loughridge

Born in 1953. Trustee since March 2012. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: senior vice president and chief financial officer (retired 2013) of IBM (information technology services). Fiduciary member of IBM’s Retirement Plan Committee (2004–2013), senior vice president and general manager (2002–2004) of IBM Global Financing, vice president and controller (1998–2002) of IBM, and a variety of other prior management roles at IBM. Member of the Council on Chicago Booth.

Scott C. Malpass

Born in 1962. Trustee since March 2012. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: chief investment officer (1989–present) and vice president (1996–present) of the University of Notre Dame. Assistant professor of finance at the Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame, and member of the Notre Dame 403(b) Investment Committee. Chairman of the board of TIFF Advisory Services, Inc. Member of the board of Catholic Investment Services, Inc. (investment advisors), the board of advisors for Spruceview Capital Partners, and the board of superintendence of the Institute for the Works of Religion.

Deanna Mulligan

Born in 1963. Trustee since January 2018. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: president (2010–present) and chief executive officer (2011–present) of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Chief operating officer (2010–2011) and executive vice president (2008–2010) of Individual Life and Disability of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Member of the board of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, the American Council of Life Insurers, the Partnership for New York City (business leadership), and the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. Trustee of the Economic Club of New York and the Bruce Museum (arts and science). Member of the Advisory Council for the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

André F. Perold

Born in 1952. Trustee since December 2004. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: George Gund Professor of Finance and Banking, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School (retired 2011). Chief investment officer and co-managing partner of HighVista Strategies LLC (private investment firm). Overseer of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

Sarah Bloom Raskin

Born in 1961. Trustee since January 2018. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: deputy secretary (2014–2017) of the United States Department of the Treasury. Governor (2010–2014) of the Federal Reserve Board. Commissioner (2007–2010) of financial regulation for the State of Maryland. Member of the board of directors (2012–2014) of Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. Director of i(x) Investments, LLC.

Peter F. Volanakis

Born in 1955. Trustee since July 2009. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: president and chief operating officer (retired 2010) of Corning Incorporated (communications equipment) and director of Corning Incorporated (2000–2010) and Dow Corning (2001–2010). Director (2012) of SPX Corporation (multi-industry manufacturing). Overseer of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, Dartmouth College (2001–2013). Chairman of the board of trustees of Colby-Sawyer College. Member of the Board of Hypertherm Inc. (industrial cutting systems, software, and consumables).


 

Executive Officers

Glenn Booraem

Born in 1967. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: principal of Vanguard. Investment stewardship officer (2017–present), treasurer (2015–2017), controller (2010–2015), and assistant controller (2001–2010) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard.

Christine M. Buchanan

Born in 1970. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: principal of Vanguard and global head of Fund Administration at Vanguard. Treasurer (2017–present) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard. Partner (2005–2017) at KPMG LLP (audit, tax, and advisory services).

Brian Dvorak

Born in 1973. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: principal of Vanguard. Chief compliance officer (2017–present) of Vanguard and each of the investment companies served by Vanguard. Assistant vice president (2017–present) of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Vice president and director of Enterprise Risk Management (2011–2013) at Oppenheimer Funds, Inc.

Thomas J. Higgins

Born in 1957. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: principal of Vanguard. Chief financial officer (2008–present) and treasurer (1998–2008) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard.

Peter Mahoney

Born in 1974. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: principal of Vanguard. Controller (2015–present) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard. Head of International Fund Services (2008–2014) at Vanguard.

Anne E. Robinson

Born in 1970. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: general counsel (2016–present) of Vanguard. Secretary (2016–present) of Vanguard and of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard. Managing director (2016–present) of Vanguard. Director and senior vice president (2016–2018) of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Managing director and general counsel of Global Cards and Consumer Services (2014–2016) at Citigroup. Counsel (2003–2014) at American Express.

Michael Rollings

Born in 1963. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: finance director (2017–present) and treasurer (2017) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard. Managing director (2016–present) of Vanguard. Chief financial officer (2016–present) of Vanguard. Director (2016–present) of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Executive vice president and chief financial officer (2006–2016) of MassMutual Financial Group.

Vanguard Senior Management Team
 
Mortimer J. Buckley James M. Norris
Gregory Davis Thomas M. Rampulla
John James Karin A. Risi
Martha G. King Anne E. Robinson
John T. Marcante Michael Rollings
Chris D. McIsaac  
 
 
Chairman Emeritus and Senior Advisor
 
John J. Brennan  
Chairman, 1996–2009  
Chief Executive Officer and President, 1996–2008
 
 
Founder  
 
John C. Bogle  
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, 1974–1996

 


 

 

  P.O. Box 2600
  Valley Forge, PA 19482-2600
 
 
 
Connect with Vanguard® > vanguard.com
 
 
 
Fund Information > 800-662-7447 Source for Bloomberg Barclays indexes: Bloomberg
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  Q652 052018

 



Semiannual Report | March 31, 2018

Vanguard PRIMECAP Core Fund


 

Vanguard’s Principles for Investing Success

We want to give you the best chance of investment success. These principles, grounded in Vanguard’s research and experience, can put you on the right path.

Goals. Create clear, appropriate investment goals.

Balance. Develop a suitable asset allocation using broadly diversified funds. Cost. Minimize cost.

Discipline. Maintain perspective and long-term discipline.

A single theme unites these principles: Focus on the things you can control.

We believe there is no wiser course for any investor.

Contents  
Your Fund’s Performance at a Glance. 1
CEO’s Perspective. 2
Advisor’s Report. 4
Results of Proxy Voting. 7
Fund Profile. 8
Performance Summary. 9
Financial Statements. 10
About Your Fund’s Expenses. 20
Trustees Approve Advisory Arrangement. 22
Glossary. 24

 

Please note: The opinions expressed in this report are just that—informed opinions. They should not be considered promises
or advice. Also, please keep in mind that the information and opinions cover the period through the date on the front of this
report. Of course, the risks of investing in your fund are spelled out in the prospectus.
See the Glossary for definitions of investment terms used in this report.
About the cover: Nautical images have been part of Vanguard’s rich heritage since its start in 1975. For an
incoming ship, a lighthouse offers a beacon and safe path to shore. You can similarly depend on Vanguard to put
you first––and light the way––as you strive to meet your financial goals. Our client focus and low costs,
stemming from our unique ownership structure, assure that your interests are paramount.


 

Your Fund’s Performance at a Glance

• For the six months ended March 31, 2018, Vanguard PRIMECAP Core Fund returned 6.13%, exceeding the 5.98% return of its benchmark and the 4.96% average return of its multi-capitalization core fund peers.

• The broad stock market posted strong returns over the period’s first four months as corporate earnings generally exceeded expectations and investors were willing to pay more for those earnings. Stocks declined in February and March as inflation concerns increased.

• PRIMECAP Management Company, the fund’s advisor, traditionally invests most heavily in the information technology and health care sectors. Technology, which advanced about 15%, contributed most to the fund’s results. Health care, which declined about 3%, detracted most.

• The fund’s industrial stocks also performed well, while its consumer discretionary stocks lagged those in the benchmark.

Total Returns: Six Months Ended March 31, 2018  
  Total
  Returns
Vanguard PRIMECAP Core Fund 6.13%
MSCI US Prime Market 750 Index 5.98
Multi-Cap Core Funds Average 4.96
Multi-Cap Core Funds Average: Derived from data provided by Lipper, a Thomson Reuters Company.  

 

Expense Ratios    
Your Fund Compared With Its Peer Group    
    Peer Group
  Fund Average
PRIMECAP Core Fund 0.46% 1.11%

 

The fund expense ratio shown is from the prospectus dated January 25, 2018, and represents estimated costs for the current fiscal year.
For the six months ended March 31, 2018, the fund’s annualized expense ratio was 0.46%. The peer-group expense ratio is derived from
data provided by Lipper, a Thomson Reuters Company, and captures information through year-end 2017.

Peer group: Multi-Cap Core Funds.

1


 

CEO’s Perspective


Tim Buckley
President and Chief Executive Officer

Dear Shareholder,

I feel extremely fortunate to have the chance to lead a company filled with people who come to work every day passionate about Vanguard’s core purpose: to take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success.

When I joined Vanguard in 1991, I found a mission-driven team focused on improving lives—helping people retire more comfortably, put their children through college, and achieve financial security. I also found a company with purpose in an industry ripe for improvement.

It was clear, even early in my career, that the cards were stacked against most investors. Hidden fees, performance-chasing, and poor advice were relentlessly eroding investors’ dreams.

We knew Vanguard could be different and, as a result, could make a real difference. We have lowered the costs of investing for our shareholders significantly. And we’re proud of the performance of our funds.

Vanguard is built for Vanguard investors—we focus solely on you, our fund shareholders. Everything we do is designed to give our clients the best chance for investment success. In my role as CEO, I’ll keep this priority

2


 

front and center. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, but we’re even more excited about what’s to come.

Steady, time-tested guidance

Our guidance for investors, as always, is to stay the course, tune out the hyperbolic headlines, and focus on your goals and what you can control, such as costs and how much you save. This time-tested advice has served our clients well over the decades.

Regardless of how the markets perform in the short term, I’m incredibly optimistic about the future for our investors. We have a dedicated team serving you, and we will never stop striving to make

Vanguard the best place for you to invest through our high-quality funds and services, advice and guidance to help you meet your financial goals, and an experience that makes you feel good about entrusting us with your hard-earned savings.

Thank you for your continued loyalty.

Sincerely,


Mortimer J. Buckley
President and Chief Executive Officer
April 13, 2018

Market Barometer      
    Total Returns
    Periods Ended March 31, 2018
  Six One Five Years
  Months Year (Annualized)
Stocks      
Russell 1000 Index (Large-caps) 5.85% 13.98% 13.17%
Russell 2000 Index (Small-caps) 3.25 11.79 11.47
Russell 3000 Index (Broad U.S. market) 5.65 13.81 13.03
FTSE All-World ex US Index (International) 4.03 16.45 6.30
 
Bonds      
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index      
(Broad taxable market) -1.08% 1.20% 1.82%
Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index      
(Broad tax-exempt market) -0.37 2.66 2.73
Citigroup Three-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index 0.63 1.07 0.30
 
CPI      
Consumer Price Index 1.11% 2.36% 1.40%

 

3


 

Advisor’s Report

For the six months ended March 31, 2018, Vanguard PRIMECAP Core Fund returned 6.13%, slightly exceeding the 5.98% return of the fund’s benchmark, the MSCI US Prime Market 750 Index; the 4.96% average return of the fund’s multi-capitalization core fund competitors; and the 5.84% return of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, which serves as a proxy for the broad market in the attribution discussion that follows. Relative to the S&P 500 Index, sector allocation, particularly the fund’s overweight position in information technology, helped relative results. Stock selection detracted from relative results, as underperformance in consumer discretionary and health care more than offset strong stock selection in industrials and information technology.

The investment environment

The economy finished 2017 on solid footing. Tax legislation passed in December, catalyzing an optimism not seen since before the 2008–2009 recession. Consumer confidence climbed to its highest level in a decade, and consumption increased at a robust pace in the fourth quarter, buoyed by continued gains in employment levels and household net worth. Industrial production and business investment also increased at a solid pace. Treasury yields rose but remained accommodative, and the U.S. dollar weakened on foreign economies’ growth and central bank commentary. The U.S. stock market reacted favorably to these developments, climbing steadily to record highs in late January, with historically low levels of volatility.

This relentless ascent eventually hit a snag, largely in the form of potential regulatory scrutiny of key technology companies and combative trade rhetoric. Underlying economic measures remained robust through March-end, but volatility spiked and the U.S. equity market corrected lower, finishing the period 8% below January highs.

Despite the late retreat, cyclicals outperformed during the period, with the consumer discretionary and information technology sectors each returning roughly 13%. Within these sectors, so-called FAANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google) and their brethren continued their outperformance streak. More defensive sectors such as consumer staples, telecommunication services, and utilities lost absolute ground, as did energy and real estate.

Portfolio update

Sector allocation helped the fund’s relative results. The portfolio maintained its significant overweight position in information technology, health care, and industrial stocks (72% of ending assets versus 48% in the benchmark). The portfolio has meaningful underweight positions in consumer staples and energy (1% versus 14%) and limited exposure to materials, telecommunication services, real estate, and utilities (2% versus 11%). The fund is also modestly underweighted in financials (10% versus 15%); it maintains in-line exposure to consumer discretionary (12%). The fund’s relative results benefited most from its overweight allocation to information technology and

4


 

underweights in consumer staples and energy. This more than offset the negative impact from its health care overweight.

The fund’s information technology holdings contributed strongly, returning 15%, ahead of the benchmark’s 13%. The fund maintains significant holdings in semiconductor and software stocks. Key positive performers included Texas Instruments (+17%) and NVIDIA (+30%) in semiconductors; software company Micro Focus International (–56%) provided a partial offset. Storage company NetApp (+42%) also contributed meaningfully to outperformance.

The fund’s health care holdings detracted. The portfolio returned –3% against a roughly flat benchmark return. Biotech-nology and pharmaceutical stocks, where our holdings are concentrated, under-performed health care providers and services, which benefited from the tax legislation and speculation about mergers and acquisitions. During the period, Biogen’s early 2017 spinoff, Bioverativ, was acquired by Sanofi, generating an 84% return. However, our large position in former parent Biogen (–13%) under-performed the benchmark. Biotechnology company Amgen (–7%) and pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly (–8%) and Roche (–7%) also contributed to sector underperformance.

The fund’s industrial holdings contributed to relative performance. Effective stock selection in the sector contributed to relative performance. The fund benefited from owning Airbus (+21%) and avoiding General Electric (–43%). Airlines, a significant overweight position for the fund, saw mixed results, as Delta Air Lines, United Continental Holdings, and American Airlines out-performed, while Southwest Airlines underperformed.

In consumer discretionary, disappointing stock selection led to underperformance. Sony (+29%) was a positive contributor, but the fund’s ownership of CarMax (–18%) and its limited exposure to surging Amazon (+51%) and Netflix (+63%) detracted from relative results.

As of March 31, 2018, the fund’s top ten holdings represented 30% of assets.

Advisor perspectives

The current bull market recently eclipsed the nine-year mark, and yet there are reasons for late-cycle optimism. Earnings growth in 2018 is expected to be robust, driven in part by the substantial corporate tax cut that is part of the new tax law. Valuation is not excessive; following its late-period correction, the S&P 500 Index trades at a forward price/earnings multiple (16.4 times) roughly in line with its 25-year historical average (16.1 times). We remain constructive on the U.S. economy, with 2.9% real GDP growth in last year’s fourth quarter and comparable growth expected during 2018. U.S. equities thus continue to be attractive, particularly relative to the 10-year Treasury yield of 2.7% that was briefly hit in January.

5


 

There are, as always, reasons for concern. Chief among these is the heightened possibility of a trade war. Legitimate U.S. trade grievances certainly exist, and it remains unclear whether President Trump’s aggressive posturing is more bark or bite. But the actions suggested by the President’s threats of tariffs against various Chinese imports are fraught with legal, economic, and geopolitical risks. We remain hopeful that this protectionist impulse will fade.

Importantly, many of our holdings have opportunity sets that do not rely on near-term macroeconomic trends. Our largest sector positions are in information technology (32%) and health care (20%), and in both sectors the forward P/E ratio is below its 20-year average despite what we view as strong secular growth trajectories.

Conclusion

As bottom-up stock pickers, we spend our time searching for opportunities to invest in stocks with long-term prospects we find to be materially better than market prices imply. We believe, as scientist and Nobel laureate Alexander Fleming said, “It is the lone worker who makes the first advance in a subject; the details may be worked out by a team, but the prime idea is due to the enterprise, thought, and perception of an individual.” This approach to stock selection, which drives portfolio composition and, thus, sector allocation, often results in portfolios that bear little resemblance to market indexes, creating the possibility for lengthy periods of relative outperformance or under-performance. We nonetheless believe that this approach can generate superior results for shareholders over the long term.

PRIMECAP Management Company

April 23, 2018

6


 

Results of Proxy Voting

At a special meeting of shareholders on November 15, 2017, fund shareholders approved the following proposals:

Proposal 1—Elect trustees for the fund.*

The individuals listed in the table below were elected as trustees for the fund. All trustees with the exception of Ms. Mulligan, Ms. Raskin, and Mr. Buckley (each of whom already serves as a director of The Vanguard Group, Inc.) served as trustees to the funds prior to the shareholder meeting.

      Percentage
Trustee For Withheld For
Mortimer J. Buckley 549,196,781 16,941,804 97.0%
Emerson U. Fullwood 548,277,743 17,860,842 96.8%
Amy Gutmann 547,523,838 18,614,747 96.7%
JoAnn Heffernan Heisen 548,366,779 17,771,806 96.9%
F. Joseph Loughrey 548,608,113 17,530,472 96.9%
Mark Loughridge 549,123,619 17,014,966 97.0%
Scott C. Malpass 547,921,510 18,217,075 96.8%
F. William McNabb III 548,186,555 17,952,030 96.8%
Deanna Mulligan 548,641,436 17,497,149 96.9%
André F. Perold 534,326,795 31,811,790 94.4%
Sarah Bloom Raskin 547,873,806 18,264,779 96.8%
Peter F. Volanakis 548,313,064 17,825,521 96.9%
* Results are for all funds within the same trust.      

 

Proposal 3—Approve a manager-of-managers arrangement with wholly owned subsidiaries
of Vanguard.

This arrangement enables Vanguard or the fund to enter into and materially amend investment advisory arrangements with wholly owned subsidiaries of Vanguard, subject to the approval of the fund’s board of trustees and any conditions imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while avoiding the costs and delays associated with obtaining future shareholder approval. The ability of the fund to operate in this manner is contingent upon the SEC’s approval of a pending application for an order of exemption.

        Broker Percentage
Vanguard Fund For Abstain Against Non-Votes For
PRIMECAP Core Fund 196,188,984 9,123,464 15,124,845 28,508,738 78.8%

 

7


 

PRIMECAP Core Fund

Fund Profile
As of March 31, 2018

Portfolio Characteristics    
    MSCI US DJ
    Prime U.S. Total
    Market Market
  Fund 750 Index FA Index
Number of Stocks 152 759 3,771
Median Market Cap $64.2B $85.1B $64.2B
Price/Earnings Ratio 19.3x 21.5x 21.2x
Price/Book Ratio 3.3x 3.1x 2.9x
Return on Equity 17.4% 15.9% 15.0%
Earnings Growth      
Rate 10.8% 8.2% 8.4%
Dividend Yield 1.6% 1.8% 1.8%
Foreign Holdings 12.8% 0.0% 0.0%
Turnover Rate      
(Annualized) 11%
Ticker Symbol VPCCX
Expense Ratio1 0.46%
30-Day SEC Yield 1.19%
Short-Term Reserves 2.6%

 

Sector Diversification (% of equity exposure)
    MSCI US DJ
    Prime U.S. Total
    Market Market
  Fund 750 Index FA Index
Consumer      
Discretionary 12.1% 13.0% 12.9%
Consumer Staples 0.6 7.4 6.8
Energy 0.7 5.6 5.5
Financials 10.2 14.4 15.1
Health Care 20.5 13.3 13.3
Industrials 20.3 10.5 10.9
Information      
Technology 33.2 24.8 23.9
Materials 2.0 3.0 3.3
Real Estate 0.0 3.2 3.7
Telecommunication      
Services 0.4 1.9 1.7
Utilities 0.0 2.9 2.9

Sector categories are based on the Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”), except for the “Other” category (if applicable),
which includes securities that have not been provided a GICS classification as of the effective reporting period.

 

Volatility Measures    
    DJ
  MSCI US U.S. Total
  Prime Market Market
  750 Index FA Index
R-Squared 0.91 0.91
Beta 1.06 1.05

These measures show the degree and timing of the fund’s
fluctuations compared with the indexes over 36 months.

 

Ten Largest Holdings (% of total net assets)
Southwest Airlines Co. Airlines 4.9%
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Diversified Banks 3.6
Alphabet Inc. Internet Software &  
  Services 3.4
Eli Lilly & Co. Pharmaceuticals 3.2
Amgen Inc. Biotechnology 3.2
Texas Instruments Inc. Semiconductors 3.1
Microsoft Corp. Systems Software 2.4
Biogen Inc. Biotechnology 2.2
FedEx Corp. Air Freight &  
  Logistics 2.2
AstraZeneca plc Pharmaceuticals 2.2
Top Ten   30.4%
The holdings listed exclude any temporary cash investments and
equity index products.    

 

Investment Focus


1 The expense ratio shown is from the prospectus dated January 25, 2018, and represents estimated costs for the current fiscal year. For
the six months ended March 31, 2018, the annualized expense ratio was 0.46%.

8


 

PRIMECAP Core Fund

Performance Summary

All of the returns in this report represent past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results that may be achieved by the fund. (Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data cited. For performance data current to the most recent month-end, visit our website at vanguard.com/performance.) Note, too, that both investment returns and principal value can fluctuate widely, so an investor’s shares, when sold, could be worth more or less than their original cost. The returns shown do not reflect taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or on the sale of fund shares.

Fiscal-Year Total Returns (%): September 30, 2007, Through March 31, 2018


Note: For 2018, performance data reflect the six months ended March 31, 2018.

Average Annual Total Returns: Periods Ended March 31, 2018      
  Inception One Five Ten
  Date Year Years Years
PRIMECAP Core Fund 12/9/2004 17.27% 15.44% 11.86%

 

See Financial Highlights for dividend and capital gains information.

9


 

PRIMECAP Core Fund

Financial Statements (unaudited)

Statement of Net Assets
As of March 31, 2018

The fund reports a complete list of its holdings in regulatory filings four times in each fiscal year, at the quarter-ends. For the second and fourth fiscal quarters, the lists appear in the fund’s semiannual and annual reports to shareholders. For the first and third fiscal quarters, the fund files the lists with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form N-Q. Shareholders can look up the fund’s Forms N-Q on the SEC’s website at sec.gov. Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room (see the back cover of this report for further information).

      Market
      Value
    Shares ($000)
Common Stocks (97.5%)    
Consumer Discretionary (11.8%)  
  Sony Corp. ADR 3,800,000 183,692
* CarMax Inc. 2,244,300 139,012
  Carnival Corp. 1,885,900 123,677
  Royal Caribbean    
  Cruises Ltd. 894,000 105,260
  TJX Cos. Inc. 1,230,000 100,319
  Ross Stores Inc. 1,120,000 87,338
^ Mattel Inc. 5,887,699 77,423
  L Brands Inc. 1,589,700 60,742
  Whirlpool Corp. 386,774 59,219
  Walt Disney Co. 500,000 50,220
* Amazon.com Inc. 30,593 44,278
  Las Vegas Sands    
  Corp. 460,000 33,074
  Newell Brands Inc. 1,110,000 28,283
  Tribune Media Co.    
  Class A 685,700 27,778
  CBS Corp. Class B 441,234 22,675
  VF Corp. 300,000 22,236
  Marriott International    
  Inc. Class A 101,000 13,734
  Comcast Corp.    
  Class A 372,000 12,711
  Hilton Worldwide    
  Holdings Inc. 144,000 11,341
* Charter    
  Communications Inc.    
  Class A 24,400 7,594
* Norwegian Cruise    
  Line Holdings Ltd. 131,700 6,976
  MGM Resorts    
  International 190,000 6,654
  Gildan Activewear Inc.    
  Class A 200,000 5,778
^ Entercom    
  Communications    
  Corp. Class A 569,543 5,496
  Restaurant Brands    
  International Inc. 78,900 4,491
  Bed Bath & Beyond    
  Inc. 133,191 2,796
  Adient plc 27,050 1,617
* Netflix Inc. 4,800 1,418
* Tempur Sealy    
  International Inc. 22,000 996
* Burlington Stores Inc. 4,600 612
      1,247,440
Consumer Staples (0.6%)    
  CVS Health Corp. 472,377 29,386
  PepsiCo Inc. 200,000 21,830
  Tyson Foods Inc.    
  Class A 67,500 4,940
  Constellation Brands    
  Inc. Class A 7,436 1,695
  Philip Morris    
  International Inc. 9,875 982
  Altria Group Inc. 10,624 662
      59,495
Energy (0.7%)    
  Schlumberger Ltd. 394,300 25,543
* Transocean Ltd. 1,321,800 13,086
  Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. 496,250 11,900
* Southwestern Energy    
  Co. 2,100,000 9,093
  EOG Resources Inc. 62,600 6,590
  National Oilwell Varco    
  Inc. 150,000 5,521
  Pioneer Natural    
  Resources Co. 2,600 447
      72,180
Financials (9.9%)    
  JPMorgan Chase & Co. 3,422,866 376,413
  Charles Schwab Corp. 2,460,734 128,499
  Discover Financial    
  Services 1,780,081 128,041
  Wells Fargo & Co. 1,822,400 95,512

 

10


 

PRIMECAP Core Fund

      Market
      Value
    Shares ($000)
  Marsh & McLennan    
  Cos. Inc. 1,130,412 93,361
  Northern Trust Corp. 899,450 92,760
  Bank of America Corp. 1,594,859 47,830
  US Bancorp 773,300 39,052
  Progressive Corp. 360,800 21,983
  CME Group Inc. 79,850 12,915
  Travelers Cos. Inc. 49,000 6,804
  American Express Co. 51,000 4,757
  Comerica Inc. 35,000 3,358
  Moody’s Corp. 12,000 1,936
  Chubb Ltd. 9,630 1,317
      1,054,538
Health Care (20.0%)    
  Eli Lilly & Co. 4,424,800 342,347
  Amgen Inc. 1,986,936 338,733
* Biogen Inc. 861,300 235,841
  AstraZeneca plc ADR 6,532,200 228,431
  Roche Holding AG 774,100 177,548
  Novartis AG ADR 1,831,100 148,044
  Thermo Fisher    
  Scientific Inc. 562,700 116,175
  Bristol-Myers Squibb    
  Co. 1,609,200 101,782
* Boston Scientific Corp. 3,512,200 95,953
  Abbott Laboratories 1,552,400 93,020
  Medtronic plc 693,000 55,592
*,1 Siemens Healthineers    
  AG 1,260,200 51,791
* Illumina Inc. 150,900 35,676
  Agilent Technologies    
  Inc. 382,600 25,596
  Sanofi ADR 540,000 21,643
  Merck & Co. Inc. 375,000 20,426
* Waters Corp. 65,000 12,912
  Zimmer Biomet    
  Holdings Inc. 98,700 10,762
  Stryker Corp. 45,500 7,322
* Cerner Corp. 10,000 580
      2,120,174
Industrials (19.8%)    
  Southwest Airlines    
  Co. 9,016,525 516,467
  FedEx Corp. 973,500 233,747
  American Airlines    
  Group Inc. 3,497,800 181,746
  Airbus SE 1,468,050 169,859
* United Continental    
  Holdings Inc. 2,064,800 143,442
  Siemens AG 994,100 126,798
  Caterpillar Inc. 680,000 100,218
* AECOM 2,287,100 81,489
  Delta Air Lines Inc. 1,483,000 81,283
  United Parcel Service    
  Inc. Class B 742,700 77,731
  Jacobs Engineering    
  Group Inc. 1,047,655 61,969
  Deere & Co. 383,900 59,627
  Boeing Co. 160,000 52,461
  Textron Inc. 560,000 33,023
  Honeywell    
  International Inc. 200,000 28,902
  Rockwell Automation    
  Inc. 144,100 25,102
  Union Pacific Corp. 160,000 21,509
  Pentair plc 270,000 18,395
  TransDigm Group Inc. 55,500 17,035
  Ritchie Bros    
  Auctioneers Inc. 533,300 16,783
  CSX Corp. 285,000 15,877
  IDEX Corp. 92,000 13,111
  General Dynamics    
  Corp. 50,000 11,045
  Acuity Brands Inc. 50,000 6,960
* Herc Holdings Inc. 104,000 6,755
      2,101,334
Information Technology (32.4%)  
  Texas Instruments Inc. 3,190,200 331,430
  Microsoft Corp. 2,796,400 255,227
  NetApp Inc. 3,020,400 186,328
* Alphabet Inc. Class A 176,827 183,394
* Alphabet Inc. Class C 170,513 175,934
  Hewlett Packard    
  Enterprise Co. 9,870,867 173,135
  NVIDIA Corp. 715,000 165,587
* Flex Ltd. 9,330,600 152,369
  HP Inc. 6,739,367 147,727
  KLA-Tencor Corp. 1,127,600 122,920
  Intel Corp. 2,275,000 118,482
  Cisco Systems Inc. 2,686,600 115,228
* Alibaba Group    
  Holding Ltd. ADR 542,430 99,558
  ASML Holding NV 480,000 95,309
* Micron Technology    
  Inc. 1,790,000 93,331
  QUALCOMM Inc. 1,658,830 91,916
* Adobe Systems Inc. 390,000 84,271
  Intuit Inc. 485,000 84,075
  Applied Materials Inc. 1,280,000 71,181
*,^ Telefonaktiebolaget    
  LM Ericsson ADR 11,006,000 70,438
* eBay Inc. 1,457,900 58,666
  DXC Technology Co. 544,646 54,753
  Activision Blizzard Inc. 800,000 53,968
* Altaba Inc. 691,600 51,206
  Visa Inc. Class A 381,500 45,635
* Keysight Technologies    
  Inc. 849,300 44,495
  Corning Inc. 1,447,000 40,342
  Analog Devices Inc. 439,100 40,015

 

11


 

PRIMECAP Core Fund

      Market
      Value
    Shares ($000)
* PayPal Holdings Inc. 458,300 34,771
  Micro Focus    
  International plc ADR 2,156,001 30,270
* Dell Technologies Inc.    
  Class V 402,592 29,474
* Electronic Arts Inc. 235,000 28,491
  Apple Inc. 125,000 20,972
  Oracle Corp. 450,000 20,588
  Mastercard Inc.    
  Class A 104,000 18,217
* BlackBerry Ltd. 1,547,500 17,796
  Western Digital Corp. 188,000 17,347
  Booz Allen Hamilton    
  Holding Corp. Class A 105,923 4,101
  Teradyne Inc. 45,300 2,071
      3,431,018
Materials (1.9%)    
  Monsanto Co. 773,350 90,242
  DowDuPont Inc. 800,000 50,968
  Praxair Inc. 229,700 33,146
  Celanese Corp.    
  Class A 150,000 15,031
  Cabot Corp. 125,000 6,965
  Greif Inc. Class A 75,000 3,919
  Greif Inc. Class B 35,000 2,039
* AdvanSix Inc. 15,000 522
      202,832
Telecommunication Services (0.4%)  
*,^ Sprint Corp. 8,480,000 41,382
* T-Mobile US Inc. 82,600 5,042
      46,424
Total Common Stocks    
(Cost $5,391,918)   10,335,435
    Market
    Value
  Shares ($000)
Temporary Cash Investment (3.0%)  
Money Market Fund (3.0%)  
2,3 Vanguard Market    
Liquidity Fund, 1.775%   
(Cost $314,187) 3,142,171 314,217
Total Investments (100.5%)  
(Cost $5,706,105)   10,649,652
Other Assets and Liabilities (-0.5%)  
Other Assets    
Investment in Vanguard   591
Receivables for Accrued Income 16,299
Receivables for Capital Shares Issued 2,063
Other Assets   3,806
Total Other Assets   22,759
Liabilities    
Payables for Investment    
Securities Purchased   (4,819)
Collateral for Securities on Loan (43,488)
Payables to Investment Advisor (8,406)
Payables for Capital Shares Redeemed (5,748)
Payables to Vanguard   (8,836)
Other Liabilities   (1,184)
Total Liabilities   (72,481)
Net Assets (100%)    
Applicable to 394,738,692 outstanding
$.001 par value shares of beneficial  
interest (unlimited authorization) 10,599,930
Net Asset Value Per Share $26.85

 

12


 

PRIMECAP Core Fund

At March 31, 2018, net assets consisted of:
  Amount
  ($000)
Paid-in Capital 5,280,021
Undistributed Net Investment Income 34,303
Accumulated Net Realized Gains 341,887
Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)  
Investment Securities 4,943,547
Foreign Currencies 172
Net Assets 10,599,930

 

See Note A in Notes to Financial Statements.
* Non-income-producing security.
^ Includes partial security positions on loan to broker-dealers.
The total value of securities on loan is $41,817,000.
1 Security exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the
Securities Act of 1933. Such securities may be sold in
transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified
institutional buyers. At March 31, 2018, the value of this
security represented 0.5% of net assets.
2 Affiliated money market fund available only to Vanguard
funds and certain trusts and accounts managed by Vanguard.
Rate shown is the 7-day yield.
3 Includes $43,488,000 of collateral received for securities
on loan.
ADR—American Depositary Receipt.

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

13


 

PRIMECAP Core Fund

Statement of Operations

  Six Months Ended
  March 31, 2018
  ($000)
Investment Income  
Income  
Dividends1 87,225
Interest 2 1,687
Securities Lending—Net 138
Total Income 89,050
Expenses  
Investment Advisory Fees—Note B 16,452
The Vanguard Group—Note C  
Management and Administrative 6,886
Marketing and Distribution 698
Custodian Fees 393
Shareholders’ Reports and Proxy 70
Trustees’ Fees and Expenses 7
Total Expenses 24,506
Net Investment Income 64,544
Realized Net Gain (Loss)  
Investment Securities Sold 2 362,455
Foreign Currencies (38)
Realized Net Gain (Loss) 362,417
Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)  
Investment Securities 2 201,430
Foreign Currencies 52
Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) 201,482
Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Operations 628,443

1 Dividends are net of foreign withholding taxes of $2,464,000.
2 Interest income, realized net gain (loss), and change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) from affiliated companies of the
fund were $1,687,000, ($19,000), and ($36,000), respectively. Purchases and sales are for temporary cash investment purposes.

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

14


 

PRIMECAP Core Fund

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

  Six Months Ended Year Ended
  March 31, September 30,
  2018 2017
  ($000) ($000)
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets    
Operations    
Net Investment Income 64,544 117,017
Realized Net Gain (Loss) 362,417 319,881
Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) 201,482 1,493,605
Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Operations 628,443 1,930,503
Distributions    
Net Investment Income (111,019) (103,025)
Realized Capital Gain1 (315,476) (350,990)
Total Distributions (426,495) (454,015)
Capital Share Transactions    
Issued 474,745 782,491
Issued in Lieu of Cash Distributions 362,767 388,936
Redeemed (663,457) (843,977)
Net Increase (Decrease) from Capital Share Transactions 174,055 327,450
Total Increase (Decrease) 376,003 1,803,938
Net Assets    
Beginning of Period 10,223,927 8,419,989
End of Period2 10,599,930 10,223,927

 

1 Includes fiscal 2018 and 2017 short-term gain distributions totaling $10,086,000 and $12,674,000, respectively.
Short-term gain distributions are treated as ordinary income dividends for tax purposes.
2 Net Assets—End of Period includes undistributed (overdistributed) net investment income of $34,303,000 and $80,816,000.

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

15


 

PRIMECAP Core Fund

Financial Highlights

Six Months          
  Ended          
For a Share Outstanding March 31, Year Ended September 30,
Throughout Each Period 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period $26.33 $22.55 $20.26 $21.87 $18.65 $14.98
Investment Operations            
Net Investment Income .1641 .3041 .275 .285 .255 .242
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)            
on Investments 1.459 4.701 3.047 (.328) 3.820 3.955
Total from Investment Operations 1.623 5.005 3.322 (.043) 4.075 4.197
Distributions            
Dividends from Net Investment Income (. 287) (. 278) (. 243) (. 270) (.178) (. 260)
Distributions from Realized Capital Gains (. 816) (. 947) (.789) (1.297) (. 677) (. 267)
Total Distributions (1.103) (1.225) (1.032) (1.567) (.855) (.527)
Net Asset Value, End of Period $26.85 $26.33 $22.55 $20.26 $21.87 $18.65
 
Total Return2 6.13% 23.13% 16.78% -0.73% 22.60% 28.88%
 
Ratios/Supplemental Data            
Net Assets, End of Period (Millions) $10,600 $10,224 $8,420 $6,917 $6,828 $5,774
Ratio of Total Expenses to            
Average Net Assets 0.46% 0.46% 0.46% 0.47% 0.50% 0.50%
Ratio of Net Investment Income to            
Average Net Assets 1.20% 1.27% 1.31% 1.29% 1.23% 1.42%
Portfolio Turnover Rate 11% 9% 11% 10% 13% 7%

 

The expense ratio, net investment income ratio, and turnover rate for the current period have been annualized.
1 Calculated based on average shares outstanding.
2 Total returns do not include account service fees that may have applied in the periods shown. Fund prospectuses provide
information about any applicable account service fees.

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

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PRIMECAP Core Fund

Notes to Financial Statements

Vanguard PRIMECAP Core Fund is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as an open-end investment company, or mutual fund.

A. The following significant accounting policies conform to generally accepted accounting principles for U.S. investment companies. The fund consistently follows such policies in preparing its financial statements.

1. Security Valuation: Securities are valued as of the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time) on the valuation date. Equity securities are valued at the latest quoted sales prices or official closing prices taken from the primary market in which each security trades; such securities not traded on the valuation date are valued at the mean of the latest quoted bid and asked prices. Securities for which market quotations are not readily available, or whose values have been affected by events occurring before the fund’s pricing time but after the close of the securities’ primary markets, are valued at their fair values calculated according to procedures adopted by the board of trustees. These procedures include obtaining quotations from an independent pricing service, monitoring news to identify significant market- or security-specific events, and evaluating changes in the values of foreign market proxies (for example, ADRs, futures contracts, or exchange-traded funds), between the time the foreign markets close and the fund’s pricing time. When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by a fund to calculate its net asset value may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Investments in Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund are valued at that fund’s net asset value.

2. Foreign Currency: Securities and other assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars using exchange rates obtained from an independent third party as of the fund’s pricing time on the valuation date. Realized gains (losses) and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investment securities include the effects of changes in exchange rates since the securities were purchased, combined with the effects of changes in security prices. Fluctuations in the value of other assets and liabilities resulting from changes in exchange rates are recorded as unrealized foreign currency gains (losses) until the assets or liabilities are settled in cash, at which time they are recorded as realized foreign currency gains (losses).

3. Federal Income Taxes: The fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company and distribute all of its taxable income. Management has analyzed the fund’s tax positions taken for all open federal income tax years (September 30, 2014–2017), and for the period ended March 31, 2018, and has concluded that no provision for federal income tax is required in the fund’s financial statements.

4. Distributions: Distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date.

5. Securities Lending: To earn additional income, the fund lends its securities to qualified institutional borrowers. Security loans are subject to termination by the fund at any time, and are required to be secured at all times by collateral in an amount at least equal to the market value of securities loaned. Daily market fluctuations could cause the value of loaned securities to be more or less than the value of the collateral received. When this occurs, the collateral is adjusted and settled on the next business day. The fund further mitigates its counterparty risk by entering into securities lending transactions only with a diverse group of prequalified counterparties, monitoring their financial strength, and entering into master securities lending agreements with its counterparties. The master securities lending agreements provide that, in the event of a counterparty’s default (including bankruptcy), the fund may terminate any loans with that borrower, determine the net amount owed, and sell or retain the collateral up to the net amount owed to the fund; however, such actions may be subject

17


 

PRIMECAP Core Fund

to legal proceedings. While collateral mitigates counterparty risk, in the event of a default, the fund may experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned. The fund invests cash collateral received in Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund, and records a liability in the Statement of Net Assets for the return of the collateral, during the period the securities are on loan. Securities lending income represents fees charged to borrowers plus income earned on invested cash collateral, less expenses associated with the loan. During the term of the loan, the fund is entitled to all distributions made on or in respect of the loaned securities.

6. Credit Facility: The fund and certain other funds managed by The Vanguard Group (“Vanguard”) participate in a $3.1 billion committed credit facility provided by a syndicate of lenders pursuant to a credit agreement that may be renewed annually; each fund is individually liable for its borrowings, if any, under the credit facility. Borrowings may be utilized for temporary and emergency purposes, and are subject to the fund’s regulatory and contractual borrowing restrictions. The participating funds are charged administrative fees and an annual commitment fee of 0.10% of the undrawn amount of the facility; these fees are allocated to the funds based on a method approved by the fund’s board of trustees and included in Management and Administrative expenses on the fund’s Statement of Operations. Any borrowings under this facility bear interest at a rate based upon the higher of the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate, federal funds effective rate, or overnight bank funding rate plus an agreed-upon spread.

The fund had no borrowings outstanding at March 31, 2018, or at any time during the period then ended.

7. Other: Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Interest income includes income distributions received from Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund and is accrued daily. Security transactions are accounted for on the date securities are bought or sold. Costs used to determine realized gains (losses) on the sale of investment securities are those of the specific securities sold.

B. PRIMECAP Management Company provides investment advisory services to the fund for a fee calculated at an annual percentage rate of average net assets. For the six months ended March 31, 2018, the investment advisory fee represented an effective annual rate of 0.31% of the fund’s average net assets.

C. In accordance with the terms of a Funds’ Service Agreement (the “FSA”) between Vanguard and the fund, Vanguard furnishes to the fund corporate management, administrative, marketing, and distribution services at Vanguard’s cost of operations (as defined by the FSA). These costs of operations are allocated to the fund based on methods and guidelines approved by the board of trustees. Vanguard does not require reimbursement in the current period for certain costs of operations (such as deferred compensation/benefits and risk/insurance costs); the fund’s liability for these costs of operations is included in Payables to Vanguard on the Statement of Net Assets. All other costs of operations payable to Vanguard are generally settled twice a month.

Upon the request of Vanguard, the fund may invest up to 0.40% of its net assets as capital in Vanguard. At March 31, 2018, the fund had contributed to Vanguard capital in the amount of $591,000, representing 0.01% of the fund’s net assets and 0.24% of Vanguard’s capitalization. The fund’s trustees and officers are also directors and employees, respectively, of Vanguard.

D. Various inputs may be used to determine the value of the fund’s investments. These inputs are summarized in three broad levels for financial statement purposes. The inputs or methodologies used to value securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

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PRIMECAP Core Fund

Level 1Quoted prices in active markets for identical securities.
Level 2Other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.).
Level 3Significant unobservable inputs (including the fund’s own assumptions used to determine
the fair value of investments). Any investments valued with significant unobservable inputs are noted
on the Statement of Net Assets.

The following table summarizes the market value of the fund’s investments as of March 31, 2018, based on the inputs used to value them:

  Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Investments ($000) ($000) ($000)
Common Stocks 9,809,440 525,995
Temporary Cash Investments 314,217
Total 10,123,657 525,995

 

E. Distributions are determined on a tax basis and may differ from net investment income and realized capital gains for financial reporting purposes. Differences may be permanent or temporary. Permanent differences are reclassified among capital accounts in the financial statements to reflect their tax character. Temporary differences arise when certain items of income, expense, gain, or loss are recognized in different periods for financial statement and tax purposes. These differences will reverse at some time in the future. Differences in classification may also result from the treatment of short-term gains as ordinary income for tax purposes. The fund’s tax-basis capital gains and losses are determined only at the end of each fiscal year.

At March 31, 2018, the cost of investment securities for tax purposes was $5,706,105,000. Net unrealized appreciation of investment securities for tax purposes was $4,943,547,000, consisting of unrealized gains of $5,208,827,000 on securities that had risen in value since their purchase and $265,280,000 in unrealized losses on securities that had fallen in value since their purchase.

F. During the six months ended March 31, 2018, the fund purchased $560,422,000 of investment securities and sold $704,259,000 of investment securities, other than temporary cash investments.

G. Capital shares issued and redeemed were:

  Six Months Ended Year Ended
  March 31, 2018 September 30, 2017
  Shares Shares
  (000) (000)
Issued 17,312 32,818
Issued in Lieu of Cash Distributions 13,401 17,325
Redeemed (24,226) (35,330)
Net Increase (Decrease) in Shares Outstanding 6,487 14,813

 

H. Management has determined that no material events or transactions occurred subsequent to March 31, 2018, that would require recognition or disclosure in these financial statements.

19


 

About Your Fund’s Expenses

As a shareholder of the fund, you incur ongoing costs, which include costs for portfolio management, administrative services, and shareholder reports (like this one), among others. Operating expenses, which are deducted from a fund’s gross income, directly reduce the investment return of the fund.

A fund’s expenses are expressed as a percentage of its average net assets. This figure is known as the expense ratio. The following examples are intended to help you understand the ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in your fund and to compare these costs with those of other mutual funds. The examples are based on an investment of $1,000 made at the beginning of the period shown and held for the entire period.

The accompanying table illustrates your fund’s costs in two ways:

Based on actual fund return. This section helps you to estimate the actual expenses that you paid over the period. The ”Ending Account Value“ shown is derived from the fund‘s actual return, and the third column shows the dollar amount that would have been paid by an investor who started with $1,000 in the fund. You may use the information here, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period.

To do so, simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number given for your fund under the heading ”Expenses Paid During Period.“

Based on hypothetical 5% yearly return. This section is intended to help you compare your fund‘s costs with those of other mutual funds. It assumes that the fund had a yearly return of 5% before expenses, but that the expense ratio is unchanged. In this case—because the return used is not the fund’s actual return—the results do not apply to your investment. The example is useful in making comparisons because the Securities and Exchange Commission requires all mutual funds to calculate expenses based on a 5% return. You can assess your fund’s costs by comparing this hypothetical example with the hypothetical examples that appear in shareholder reports of other funds.

Note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight and help you compare ongoing costs only and do not reflect transaction costs incurred by the fund for buying and selling securities. Further, the expenses do not include any purchase, redemption, or account service fees described in the fund prospectus. If such fees were applied to your account, your costs would be higher. Your fund does not carry a “sales load.”

The calculations assume no shares were bought or sold during the period. Your actual costs may have been higher or lower, depending on the amount of your investment and the timing of any purchases or redemptions.

You can find more information about the fund’s expenses, including annual expense ratios, in the Financial Statements section of this report. For additional information on operating expenses and other shareholder costs, please refer to your fund’s current prospectus.

20


 

Six Months Ended March 31, 2018      
  Beginning Ending Expenses
  Account Value Account Value Paid During
PRIMECAP Core Fund 9/30/2017 3/31/2018 Period
Based on Actual Fund Return $1,000.00 $1,061.33 $2.36
Based on Hypothetical 5% Yearly Return 1,000.00 1,022.64 2.32

 

The calculations are based on expenses incurred in the most recent six-month period. The fund’s annualized six-month expense ratio for
that period is 0.46%. The dollar amounts shown as “Expenses Paid” are equal to the annualized expense ratio multiplied by the average
account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent six-month period, then divided by the number of days in
the most recent 12-month period (182/365).

21


 

Trustees Approve Advisory Arrangement

The board of trustees of Vanguard PRIMECAP Core Fund has renewed the fund’s investment advisory arrangement with PRIMECAP Management Company (PRIMECAP Management). The board determined that renewing the fund’s advisory arrangement was in the best interests of the fund and its shareholders.

The board based its decision upon an evaluation of the advisor’s investment staff, portfolio management process, and performance. This evaluation included information provided to the board by Vanguard’s Portfolio Review Department, which is responsible for fund and advisor oversight and product management. The Portfolio Review Department met regularly with the advisor and made monthly presentations to the board during the fiscal year that directed the board’s focus to relevant information and topics.

The board, or an investment committee made up of board members, also received information throughout the year during advisor presentations. For each advisor presentation, the board was provided with letters and reports that included information about, among other things, the advisory firm and the advisor’s assessment of the investment environment, portfolio performance, and portfolio characteristics.

In addition, the board received monthly reports, which included a Market and Economic Report, a Fund Dashboard Monthly Summary, and a Fund Performance Report.

Prior to their meeting, the trustees were provided with a memo and materials that summarized the information they received over the course of the year. They also considered the factors discussed below, among others. However, no single factor determined whether the board approved the arrangement. Rather, it was the totality of the circumstances that drove the board’s decision.

Nature, extent, and quality of services

The board reviewed the quality of the fund’s investment management services over both the short and long term, and took into account the organizational depth and stability of the advisor. The board considered that PRIMECAP Management, founded in 1983, is recognized for its long-term approach to equity investing. The portfolio managers are responsible for separate sub-portfolios, and each portfolio manager employs a fundamental, research-driven approach in seeking to identify companies with long-term growth potential that the market has yet to appreciate. The multi-counselor approach that the advisor employs is designed to emphasize individual decision-making and enable the portfolio managers to invest only in their highest-conviction ideas. PRIMECAP Management’s fundamental research focuses on developing opinions independent from Wall Street’s consensus and maintaining a long-term time horizon. PRIMECAP Management has managed the fund since its inception in 2004.

The board concluded that the advisor’s experience, stability, depth, and performance, among other factors, warranted continuation of the advisory arrangement.

Investment performance

The board considered the short- and long-term performance of the fund, including any periods of outperformance or underperformance compared with a relevant benchmark index and peer group. The board concluded that the performance was such that the advisory arrangement should continue. Information about the fund’s most recent performance can be found in the Performance Summary section of this report.

22


 

Cost

The board concluded that the fund’s expense ratio was well below the average expense ratio charged by funds in its peer group and that the fund’s advisory fee rate was also well below its peer-group average. Information about the fund’s expense ratio appears in the About Your Fund’s Expenses section of this report as well as in the Financial Statements section, which also includes information about the fund’s advisory fee rate.

The board did not consider the profitability of PRIMECAP Management in determining whether to approve the advisory fee, because PRIMECAP Management is independent of Vanguard and the advisory fee is the result of arm’s-length negotiations.

The benefit of economies of scale

The board concluded that the fund’s shareholders benefit from economies of scale because of the breakpoints in the fund’s advisory fee schedule. The breakpoints reduce the effective rate of the fee as the fund’s assets increase.

The board will consider whether to renew the advisory arrangement again after a one-year period.

23


 

Glossary

30-Day SEC Yield. A fund’s 30-day SEC yield is derived using a formula specified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Under the formula, data related to the fund’s security holdings in the previous 30 days are used to calculate the fund’s hypothetical net income for that period, which is then annualized and divided by the fund’s estimated average net assets over the calculation period. For the purposes of this calculation, a security’s income is based on its current market yield to maturity (for bonds), its actual income (for asset-backed securities), or its projected dividend yield (for stocks). Because the SEC yield represents hypothetical annualized income, it will differ—at times significantly—from the fund’s actual experience. As a result, the fund’s income distributions may be higher or lower than implied by the SEC yield.

Beta. A measure of the magnitude of a fund’s past share-price fluctuations in relation to the ups and downs of a given market index. The index is assigned a beta of 1.00. Compared with a given index, a fund with a beta of 1.20 typically would have seen its share price rise or fall by 12% when the index rose or fell by 10%. For this report, beta is based on returns over the past 36 months for both the fund and the index. Note that a fund’s beta should be reviewed in conjunction with its R-squared (see definition). The lower the R-squared, the less correlation there is between the fund and the index, and the less reliable beta is as an indicator of volatility.

Dividend Yield. Dividend income earned by stocks, expressed as a percentage of the aggregate market value (or of net asset value, for a fund). The yield is determined by dividing the amount of the annual dividends by the aggregate value (or net asset value) at the end of the period. For a fund, the dividend yield is based solely on stock holdings and does not include any income produced by other investments.

Earnings Growth Rate. The average annual rate of growth in earnings over the past five years for the stocks now in a fund.

Equity Exposure. A measure that reflects a fund’s investments in stocks and stock futures. Any holdings in short-term reserves are excluded.

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 does not include the transaction costs of buying and selling portfolio securities.

Foreign Holdings. The percentage of a fund represented by securities or depositary receipts of companies based outside the United States.

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 measured from the inception date.

Median Market Cap. An indicator of the size of companies in which a fund invests; the midpoint of market capitalization (market price x shares outstanding) of a fund’s stocks, weighted by the proportion of the fund’s assets invested in each stock. Stocks representing half of the fund’s assets have market capitalizations above the median, and the rest are below it.

Price/Book Ratio. The share price of a stock divided by its net worth, or book value, per share.

For a fund, the weighted average price/book ratio of the stocks it holds.

24


 

Price/Earnings Ratio. The ratio of a stock’s current price to its per-share earnings over the past year. For a fund, the weighted average P/E of the stocks it holds. P/E is an indicator of market expectations about corporate prospects; the higher the P/E, the greater the expectations for a company’s future growth.

R-Squared. A measure of how much of a fund’s past returns can be explained by the returns from the market in general, as measured by a given index. If a fund’s total returns were precisely synchronized with an index’s returns, its R-squared would be 1.00. If the fund’s returns bore no relationship to the index’s returns, its R-squared would be 0. For this report, R-squared is based on returns over the past 36 months for both the fund and the index.

Return on Equity. The annual average rate of return generated by a company during the past five years for each dollar of shareholder’s equity (net income divided by shareholder’s equity). For a fund, the weighted average return on equity for the companies whose stocks it holds.

Short-Term Reserves. The percentage of a fund invested in highly liquid, short-term securities that can be readily converted to cash.

Turnover Rate. An indication of the fund’s trading activity. Funds with high turnover rates incur higher transaction costs and may be more likely to distribute capital gains (which may be taxable to investors). The turnover rate excludes in-kind transactions, which have minimal impact on costs.

25


 

The Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”) was developed by and is the exclusive property and a service mark
of MSCI Inc. (“MSCI”) and Standard and Poor’s, a division of McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“S&P”), and is licensed for use
by Vanguard. Neither MSCI, S&P nor any third party involved in making or compiling the GICS or any GICS classification
makes any express or implied warranties or representations with respect to such standard or classification (or the results
to be obtained by the use thereof), and all such parties hereby expressly disclaim all warranties of originality, accuracy,
completeness, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to any such standard or classification.
Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall MSCI, S&P, any of its affiliates or any third party involved in
making or compiling the GICS or any GICS classification have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, punitive,
consequential or any other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

26


 

The People Who Govern Your Fund

The trustees of your mutual fund are there to see that the fund is operated and managed in your best interests since, as a shareholder, you are a part owner of the fund. Your fund’s trustees also serve on the board of directors of The Vanguard Group, Inc., which is owned by the Vanguard funds and provides services to them on an at-cost basis.

A majority of Vanguard’s board members are independent, meaning that they have no affiliation with Vanguard or the funds they oversee, apart from the sizable personal investments they have made as private individuals. The independent board members have distinguished backgrounds in business, academia, and public service. Each of the trustees and executive officers oversees 208 Vanguard funds.

Information for each trustee and executive officer of the fund appears below. The mailing address of the trustees and officers is P.O. Box 876, Valley Forge, PA 19482. More information about the trustees is in the Statement of Additional Information, which can be obtained, without charge, by contacting Vanguard at 800-662-7447, or online at vanguard.com.

Interested Trustees1

F. William McNabb III

Born in 1957. Trustee since July 2009. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: chairman of the board (January 2010–present) of Vanguard and of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard, trustee (2009–present) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard, and director (2008–present) of Vanguard. Chief executive officer and president (2008–2017) of Vanguard and each of the investment companies served by Vanguard, managing director (1995–2008) of Vanguard, and director (1997–2018) of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Director (2018–present) of UnitedHealth Group.

Mortimer J. Buckley

Born in 1969. Trustee since January 2018. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: chief executive officer (January 2018–present) of Vanguard; chief executive officer, president, and trustee (January 2018–present) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard; president and director (2017–present) of Vanguard; and president (February 2018–present) of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Chief investment officer (2013–2017), managing director (2002–2017), head of the Retail Investor Group (2006–2012), and chief information officer (2001–2006) of Vanguard. Chairman of the board (2011–2017) of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Independent Trustees

Emerson U. Fullwood

Born in 1948. Trustee since January 2008. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: executive chief staff and marketing officer for North America and corporate vice president (retired 2008) of Xerox Corporation (document management products and services). Former president of the Worldwide Channels Group, Latin America, and Worldwide Customer Service and executive chief staff officer of Developing Markets of Xerox. Executive in residence and 2009–2010 Distinguished Minett Professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Lead director of SPX FLOW, Inc. (multi-industry manufacturing). Director of the University of Rochester Medical Center, the Monroe Community College Foundation, the United Way of Rochester, North Carolina A&T University, and Roberts Wesleyan College. Trustee of the University of Rochester.

Amy Gutmann

Born in 1949. Trustee since June 2006. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: president (2004–present) of the University of Pennsylvania. Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science, School of Arts and Sciences, and professor of communication, Annenberg School for Communication, with secondary faculty appointments in the Department of Philosophy, School of Arts and Sciences, and at the Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania. Trustee of the National Constitution Center.

1 Mr. McNabb and Mr. Buckley are considered “interested persons,” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, because they are officers of the Vanguard funds.


 

JoAnn Heffernan Heisen

Born in 1950. Trustee since July 1998. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: corporate vice president of Johnson & Johnson (pharmaceuticals/medical devices/consumer products) and member of its executive committee (1997–2008). Chief global diversity officer (retired 2008), vice president and chief information officer (1997–2006), controller (1995–1997), treasurer (1991–1995), and assistant treasurer (1989–1991) of Johnson & Johnson. Director of Skytop Lodge Corporation (hotels) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Member of the advisory board of the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Rutgers University.

F. Joseph Loughrey

Born in 1949. Trustee since October 2009. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: president and chief operating officer (retired 2009) and vice chairman of the board (2008–2009) of Cummins Inc. (industrial machinery). Chairman of the board of Hillenbrand, Inc. (specialized consumer services), Oxfam America, and the Lumina Foundation for Education. Director of the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Member of the advisory council for the College of Arts and Letters and chair of the advisory board to the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, both at the University of Notre Dame.

Mark Loughridge

Born in 1953. Trustee since March 2012. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: senior vice president and chief financial officer (retired 2013) of IBM (information technology services). Fiduciary member of IBM’s Retirement Plan Committee (2004–2013), senior vice president and general manager (2002–2004) of IBM Global Financing, vice president and controller (1998–2002) of IBM, and a variety of other prior management roles at IBM. Member of the Council on Chicago Booth.

Scott C. Malpass

Born in 1962. Trustee since March 2012. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: chief investment officer (1989–present) and vice president (1996–present) of the University of Notre Dame. Assistant professor of finance at the Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame, and member of the Notre Dame 403(b) Investment Committee. Chairman of the board of TIFF Advisory Services, Inc. Member of the board of Catholic Investment Services, Inc. (investment advisors), the board of advisors for Spruceview Capital Partners, and the board of superintendence of the Institute for the Works of Religion.

Deanna Mulligan

Born in 1963. Trustee since January 2018. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: president (2010–present) and chief executive officer (2011–present) of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Chief operating officer (2010–2011) and executive vice president (2008–2010) of Individual Life and Disability of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Member of the board of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, the American Council of Life Insurers, the Partnership for New York City (business leadership), and the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. Trustee of the Economic Club of New York and the Bruce Museum (arts and science). Member of the Advisory Council for the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

André F. Perold

Born in 1952. Trustee since December 2004. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: George Gund Professor of Finance and Banking, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School (retired 2011). Chief investment officer and co-managing partner of HighVista Strategies LLC (private investment firm). Overseer of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

Sarah Bloom Raskin

Born in 1961. Trustee since January 2018. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: deputy secretary (2014–2017) of the United States Department of the Treasury. Governor (2010–2014) of the Federal Reserve Board. Commissioner (2007–2010) of financial regulation for the State of Maryland. Member of the board of directors (2012–2014) of Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. Director of i(x) Investments, LLC.

Peter F. Volanakis

Born in 1955. Trustee since July 2009. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: president and chief operating officer (retired 2010) of Corning Incorporated (communications equipment) and director of Corning Incorporated (2000–2010) and Dow Corning (2001–2010). Director (2012) of SPX Corporation (multi-industry manufacturing). Overseer of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, Dartmouth College (2001–2013). Chairman of the board of trustees of Colby-Sawyer College. Member of the Board of Hypertherm Inc. (industrial cutting systems, software, and consumables).


 

Executive Officers

Glenn Booraem

Born in 1967. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: principal of Vanguard. Investment stewardship officer (2017–present), treasurer (2015–2017), controller (2010–2015), and assistant controller (2001–2010) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard.

Christine M. Buchanan

Born in 1970. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: principal of Vanguard and global head of Fund Administration at Vanguard. Treasurer (2017–present) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard. Partner (2005–2017) at KPMG LLP (audit, tax, and advisory services).

Brian Dvorak

Born in 1973. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: principal of Vanguard. Chief compliance officer (2017–present) of Vanguard and each of the investment companies served by Vanguard. Assistant vice president (2017–present) of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Vice president and director of Enterprise Risk Management (2011–2013) at Oppenheimer Funds, Inc.

Thomas J. Higgins

Born in 1957. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: principal of Vanguard. Chief financial officer (2008–present) and treasurer (1998–2008) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard.

Peter Mahoney

Born in 1974. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: principal of Vanguard. Controller (2015–present) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard. Head of International Fund Services (2008–2014) at Vanguard.

Anne E. Robinson

Born in 1970. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: general counsel (2016–present) of Vanguard. Secretary (2016–present) of Vanguard and of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard. Managing director (2016–present) of Vanguard. Director and senior vice president (2016–2018) of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Managing director and general counsel of Global Cards and Consumer Services (2014–2016) at Citigroup. Counsel (2003–2014) at American Express.

Michael Rollings

Born in 1963. Principal occupation(s) during the past five years and other experience: finance director (2017–present) and treasurer (2017) of each of the investment companies served by Vanguard. Managing director (2016–present) of Vanguard. Chief financial officer (2016–present) of Vanguard. Director (2016–present) of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Executive vice president and chief financial officer (2006–2016) of MassMutual Financial Group.

Vanguard Senior Management Team
 
Mortimer J. Buckley James M. Norris
Gregory Davis Thomas M. Rampulla
John James Karin A. Risi
Martha G. King Anne E. Robinson
John T. Marcante Michael Rollings
Chris D. McIsaac  
 
 
Chairman Emeritus and Senior Advisor
 
John J. Brennan  
Chairman, 1996–2009  
Chief Executive Officer and President, 1996–2008
 
 
Founder  
 
John C. Bogle  
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, 1974–1996

 


 

 

  P.O. Box 2600
  Valley Forge, PA 19482-2600
 
 
 
Connect with Vanguard® > vanguard.com
 
 
 
Fund Information > 800-662-7447 Source for Bloomberg Barclays indexes: Bloomberg
Direct Investor Account Services > 800-662-2739 Index Services Limited. Copyright 2018, Bloomberg. All
  rights reserved.
Institutional Investor Services > 800-523-1036  
Text Telephone for People  
Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing > 800-749-7273  
 
This material may be used in conjunction  
with the offering of shares of any Vanguard  
fund only if preceded or accompanied by  
the fund’s current prospectus.  
 
All comparative mutual fund data are from Lipper, a  
Thomson Reuters Company, or Morningstar, Inc., unless  
otherwise noted.  
 
You can obtain a free copy of Vanguard’s proxy voting  
guidelines by visiting vanguard.com/proxyreporting or by  
calling Vanguard at 800-662-2739. The guidelines are  
also available from the SEC’s website, sec.gov. In  
addition, you may obtain a free report on how your fund  
voted the proxies for securities it owned during the 12  
months ended June 30. To get the report, visit either  
vanguard.com/proxyreporting or sec.gov.  
 
You can review and copy information about your fund at  
the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. To  
find out more about this public service, call the SEC at  
202-551-8090. Information about your fund is also  
available on the SEC’s website, and you can receive  
copies of this information, for a fee, by sending a  
request in either of two ways: via email addressed to  
publicinfo@sec.gov or via regular mail addressed to the  
Public Reference Section, Securities and Exchange  
Commission, Washington, DC 20549-1520.  
  © 2018 The Vanguard Group, Inc.
  All rights reserved.
  Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor.
 
  Q12202 052018

 


Item 2: Code of Ethics.

Not Applicable.

Item 3: Audit Committee Financial Expert.

Not Applicable.
Item 4: Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

(a) Audit Fees.

Not Applicable.

Item 5: Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.

Not Applicable.

Item 6: Investments.

Not Applicable.

Item 7: Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management
Investment Companies.

Not Applicable.

Item 8: Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not Applicable.

Item 9: Purchase of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and
Affiliated Purchasers.

Not Applicable.

Item 10: Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

Not Applicable.

Item 11: Controls and Procedures.

     (a) Disclosure Controls and Procedures. The Principal Executive and Financial Officers concluded that the Registrant’s Disclosure Controls and Procedures are effective based on their evaluation of the Disclosure Controls and Procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report.

     (b) Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. There were no significant changes in Registrant’s Internal Control Over Financial Reporting or in other factors that could significantly affect this control subsequent to the date of the evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.


 

Item 12: Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management
Investment Companies.

Not Applicable.

Item 13: Exhibits.

(a) Certifications.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

  VANGUARD FENWAY FUNDS
 
 
BY: /s/ MORTIMER J. BUCKLEY*
  MORTIMER J. BUCKLEY
  CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
 
Date: May 17, 2018

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

  VANGUARD FENWAY FUNDS
 
BY: /s/ MORTIMER J. BUCKLEY*
  MORTIMER J. BUCKLEY
  CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Date: May 17, 2018
  VANGUARD FENWAY FUNDS
 
BY: /s/ THOMAS J. HIGGINS*
  THOMAS J. HIGGINS
  CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Date: May 17, 2018

 

* By: /s/ Anne E. Robinson

Anne E. Robinson, pursuant to a Power of Attorney filed on January 18, 2018 see file
Number 33-32216, Incorporated by Reference.