529 Portfolio Vanguard Conservative Income Portfolio

Management style

Active

Asset class

Intermediate-Term Bond

Category

Intermediate-Term Bond

Risk / reward scale

Start of Risk Scale. On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 is less risk less reward, 5 is more risk more reward
The fund risk level is a 2

Less

More

End of Risk Scale.

Expense ratio

0.14%

as of 02/03/2025

YTD returns

2.64%

as of 07/07/2025

Investment minimum

$1,000

per account

NAV price

$18.67

as of 07/07/2025

Unit price

$18.67

as of 07/07/2025

Overview

Key facts

Management style

Active

Asset class

Intermediate-Term Bond

Category

Intermediate-Term Bond

Inception date

12/16/2002

Portfolio Number

4513

Ratings

Risk / reward scale

Start of Risk Scale. On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 is less risk less reward, 5 is more risk more reward
The fund risk level is a 2

Less

More

End of Risk Scale.
Price

Minimum Investment

$1,000

per account

Unit Price

$18.67

as of 07/07/2025

Unit change

decreased-$0.02 (-0.11%)

as of 07/07/2025

Expense Ratio

0.14%

as of 02/03/2025

Performance

YTD returns

2.64%

as of 07/07/2025

Product summary

Vanguard Conservative Income Portfolio’s main goal is to provide income by investing in two broadly diversified Vanguard bond funds and a short-term reserves account. Through the portfolio’s investment in these funds, you get a mix of bonds, including government and corporate bonds, to provide potential income through interest payments. The short-term reserves account may add stability to the portfolio by investing in cash equivalents, like U.S. Treasury bills, certificates of deposit, and money market instruments.

The portfolio could be a good fit for college savers with a short- to medium-term savings goal. Investors should be comfortable with the risks that come with investing in the bond market.

Fund management

The portfolio does not employ an investment advisor, but it benefits from the investment advisory services of the underlying Vanguard mutual fund(s) in which it invests.

Performance & fees

Total returns
Month-end/Quarterly Pre-Tax Toggle

as of 06/30/2025

Recent returns

Average annual

Month-end3-Month totalYTD1-yr3-yr5-yr10-yr

Since inception

12/16/2002

Vanguard Conserv Income

0.75%1.24%2.91%5.35%3.00%0.87%1.93%2.82%

Benchmark

as of 06/30/2025

Year1st Qtr2nd Qtr3rd Qtr4th QtrYear-end

Benchmark

20251.65%1.24%
20240.06%0.34%3.32%-0.93%2.77% 3.21%
20232.44%-0.29%-1.22%4.36%5.29% 5.45%
2022-3.23%-2.95%-2.74%0.90%-7.84% -7.63%
2021-1.48%1.11%0.28%0.16%0.05% 0.32%
20201.09%2.11%0.84%0.83%4.95% 5.19%
20192.08%2.15%1.70%0.06%6.11% 6.32%
2018-0.19%0.25%0.06%1.11%1.24% 1.28%
20170.63%0.63%0.56%0.50%2.34% 2.55%
20162.00%1.39%0.37%-1.62%2.13% 2.41%
20151.10%-1.21%0.39%-0.39%-0.13% 0.26%

as of 12/31/2024

Year

Total return

Benchmark

20242.77%3.21%
20235.29%5.45%
2022-7.84%-7.63%
20210.05%0.32%
20204.95%5.19%
20196.11%6.32%
20181.24%1.28%
20172.34%2.55%
20162.13%2.41%
2015-0.13%0.26%
20143.89%4.06%
2013-3.43%-2.93%
20123.62%4.23%
20117.04%7.81%
20104.74%5.10%

as of 06/30/2025

1-yr3-yr5-yr10-yr

Since inception

12/16/2002

Vanguard Conserv Income5.35% 9.28%4.41% 21.01% 87.20%

Benchmark

Expense ratio

Vanguard Conserv Income

0.14%

Historical volatility measures
as of 05/31/2025
BenchmarkR-Squared3Beta3
Vanguard 529 Conservative Income Composite11.001.02
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index
Portfolio-specific fees

Transaction fee

None

Account service fee

None

Fund family redemption fee

None

Note: All fees are included in the expense ratio.

Minimums
AccountsInitial minimum
529 Plan$1,000 Per account

The performance data shown represent past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate so that investors' units, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data cited.

Price

Closing price

Closing price as of 07/07/2025

Unit price

$18.67

Unit price change

decreased-$0.02 (-0.11%)

52-week High

$18.72

as of 07/01/2025

52-week Low

$17.84

as of 07/09/2024

52-week Difference

$0.88 (4.93%)

Historical prices
07/07/2025$18.67
07/03/2025$18.69
07/02/2025$18.70
07/01/2025$18.72
06/30/2025$18.72
06/27/2025$18.69
06/26/2025$18.71
06/25/2025$18.68
06/24/2025$18.68
06/23/2025$18.65

Portfolio composition

Allocation to underlying funds

as of 05/31/2025

Stylebox

Fixed Income

Quality

Trsy/
Agcy
Inv Grd
Corp
Below
Inv
Grade

Duration

Short

Medium

Long

Fund management

The portfolio does not employ an investment advisor, but it benefits from the investment advisory services of the underlying Vanguard mutual fund(s) in which it invests.

Performance & fees

1
Consists of the Spliced Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index (34.5%), Bloomberg Global Aggregate ex-USD Float Adjusted RIC Capped Index (USD Hedged) (22.5%), Bloomberg U.S. 0-5 Year TIPS Index (18%), FTSE 3-Month Treasury Bill Index (2.50%), and Ryan Labs 3 year GIC Index (22.5%). The Spliced Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index consists of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index through December 31, 2009 and the Bloomberg Aggregate Float Adjusted Index thereafter. The Bloomberg 0-5 Year TIPS Index replaced the U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities Index on November 1, 2015.
2

Most recent data available. © 2023 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; (3) does not constitute investment advice offered by Morningstar; and (4) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

3

R-squared and beta are calculated from trailing 36-month fund returns relative to the associated benchmark.

Portfolio composition

4
The Fund may be invested in a combination of Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund and Vanguard Total International Bond || Index Fund to achieve its target allocation to non-U.S bonds

© 2023 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan is a Nevada Trust administered by the office of the Nevada State Treasurer. The Vanguard Group, Inc., serves as the Investment Manager for The Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan and through its affiliate, Vanguard Marketing Corporation, markets and distributes the Plan. Ascensus Broker Dealer Services, LLC, serves as Program Manager and has overall responsibility for the day-to-day operations. The Plan's portfolios, although they invest in Vanguard mutual funds, are not mutual funds. Investment returns are not guaranteed and you could lose money by investing in the Plan.

For more information about The Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan, obtain a Program Description(PDF), which includes investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other information; read and consider it carefully before investing. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor.

Interest rate risk. The chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be low for short-term bond funds, moderate for intermediate-term bond funds, and high for long-term bond funds.

  • Income risk: The chance that falling interest rates will cause an underlying fund’s income to decline.
  • Call risk: The chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (redeem) securities with higher coupons or interest rates before their maturity dates. An underlying fund would then lose any price appreciation above the bond’s call price and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the underlying fund’s income. Such redemptions and subsequent reinvestments would also increase the underlying fund’s portfolio turnover rate.
  • Prepayment risk: The chance that during periods of falling interest rates, homeowners will refinance their mortgages before their maturity dates, resulting in prepayment of mortgage-backed securities held by an underlying fund. The underlying fund would then lose any price appreciation above the mortgage’s principal and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the underlying fund’s income. Such prepayments and subsequent reinvestments would also increase the underlying fund’s portfolio turnover rate.
  • Credit risk: The chance that an issuer of a bond owned by an underlying fund will fail to pay interest or principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer’s ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline.
  • Extension risk: The chance that during periods of rising interest rates, certain debt securities will be paid off substantially more slowly than originally anticipated, and the value of those securities may fall. For underlying funds that invest in mortgage-backed securities, extension risk is the chance that during periods of rising interest rates, homeowners will prepay their mortgages at slower rates.
  • Income fluctuation risk: The chance that an underlying fund’s quarterly income distributions are likely to fluctuate considerably more than the income distributions of a typical bond fund. In fact, under certain conditions, the underlying fund may not have any income to distribute. For Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund, income fluctuations associated with changes in interest rates are expected to be low; however, income fluctuations associated with changes in inflation are expected to be high.
  • Country/Regional risk: The chance that world events—such as political upheaval, financial troubles, or natural disasters—will adversely affect the value or liquidity of securities issued by companies in foreign countries or regions. Country/regional risk is especially high in emerging markets.
  • Currency hedging risk: The chance that the currency hedging transactions entered into by an underlying fund may not perfectly offset the underlying fund’s foreign currency exposures.
  • Nondiversification risk: The chance that an underlying fund’s performance may be hurt disproportionately by the poor performance of bonds issued by just a few or even a single issuer. Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund is considered nondiversified, which means that it may invest a significant percentage of its assets in bonds issued by a small number of issuers.
  • Manager risk: The chance that poor security selection will cause an underlying fund to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective.
  • Derivatives risk: Each of the underlying funds may invest, to a limited extent, in derivatives. Generally speaking, a derivative is a financial contract whose value is based on the value of a financial asset (such as a stock, a bond, or a currency), a physical asset (such as gold, oil, or wheat), a market index (such as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index) or a reference rate (such as LIBOR). Investments in derivatives may subject the underlying funds to risks different from, and possibly greater than, those of investments directly in the underlying securities or assets. The underlying funds will not use derivatives for speculation or for the purpose of leveraging (magnifying) investment returns.
  • Index sampling risk: The chance that the securities selected for an underlying fund that uses the sampling method of indexing will not, in the aggregate, provide investment performance matching that of the index.