VCSH — Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund ETF Shares

VCSH Price Performance — Growth of $10,000

Value of a $10,000 investment in VCSH over time, compared with SPY. Both lines are rebased to $10,000 on the first shared date. Based on total returns — prices are adjusted for dividends and splits, so this assumes distributions were reinvested. Hover or tap the chart for exact values.

VCSH Drawdown

The "underwater" chart: VCSH's decline from its highest prior value at each point in time. It shows how deep past losses ran and how long the fund took to recover to break-even.

Overview

Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund ETF Shares (VCSH) is a US Bonds - Corporate fund issued by Vanguard with $50.9 billion in assets under management. It holds an overall rank of #231 out of 458 tracked ETFs and sits at #3 of 17 within its specific category. The fund carries an ETFValuer grade of C, reflecting a score of 60.2/100. Its expense ratio of 0.03% is notably lower than the category median of 0.06%. Despite a dividend yield of 4.56%, which trails the category median of 6.01%, the fund’s top 10 holdings represent only 3.0% of assets, with its largest position being a United States Treasury Note/Bond at 0.8%.

The fund’s price of $77.30 sits at 12.2% of its 52-week range, indicating it is near the lower end of recent trading levels. Short-term performance shows mixed results, with a 1D decline of -0.05% and a 1W gain of +0.36%, while the 1M and 3M periods both registered losses of -0.24% and -0.33% respectively. In contrast, the longer-term picture is more positive, with a 1Y return of +1.35% matching the category median and a 3Y return of +17.05%. Year-to-date performance stands at +0.21%. The ETFValuer grade has remained unchanged at C across the last 35 tracked days, and price history is available for 3.0 years.

VCSH exhibits a volatility of 2.01% annualised, which is labelled as Very Low. Its beta of 0.43 suggests the fund moves less than the broader market. The Sharpe ratio of -1.81 indicates that risk-adjusted returns have been negative over the measured period. Maximum drawdown was recorded at -1.63%, showing limited downside severity. Liquidity is robust, with an average daily volume of 4,900,609 shares supporting easy trading.

AI-generated summary based on the data on this page.

VCSH Top Holdings

Holdings as of 2026-05-31 per the fund's most recent SEC N-PORT-P filing. Top 10 holdings make up 3.0% of net assets — a rough gauge of concentration risk (the higher this figure, the more the fund's return depends on a handful of names). To see how VCSH's holdings overlap with other ETFs you own or are considering, check the Stock Overlap tool.

Which Funds Overlap With VCSH

Holding two funds that own the same companies adds cost and complexity without adding much diversification. These tracked ETFs share the most names with VCSH's top 10 — VCIT overlaps most, holding 5 of the same companies as VCSH's top 10 (1.3% of VCSH's assets).

Compares the top 10 reported holdings of each fund, so it's a floor on true overlap — two S&P 500 trackers overlap ~100% even when only 10 names are listed. Use the Stock Overlap tool to search by individual company.

Market Backdrop

10-Year Treasury Yield: 5.22% (as of 2026-10-08) — The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds — the standard "risk-free rate" benchmark used to contextualize this fund’s Sharpe ratio and returns.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX): 15.41 (as of 2026-10-08) — A real-time gauge of expected S&P 500 volatility over the next 30 days — useful context for this fund’s own volatility label.

Federal Funds Rate: 3.75% (as of 2026-09-01) — The Federal Reserve’s target policy rate, which anchors short-term borrowing costs across the economy.

High-Yield Credit Spread: 3.15% (as of 2026-10-08) — The extra yield investors demand to hold high-yield corporate bonds over Treasuries — a real-time gauge of credit risk appetite relevant to this fund’s holdings.

VCSH Liquidity, Domicile & Tax Treatment

Liquidity: Average daily volume is 4.9M/day. Higher volume and a larger fund generally mean lower round-trip trading costs. AUM of $50.9B provides ample scale, supporting tight spreads and issuer commitment to keep the fund open.

Domicile & tax treatment: VCSH is a US-domiciled, SEC-registered ('40 Act) exchange-traded fund. Dividends and capital gains distributions are reported to US investors on Form 1099-DIV, and the fund is not subject to the PFIC reporting or UCITS-specific rules that apply to Irish- or Luxembourg-domiciled funds. Non-US investors should note that US-domiciled ETFs are generally subject to 30% US withholding tax on dividends (unless reduced by treaty) and to US estate tax exposure on the position — Irish-domiciled UCITS ETFs tracking the same index often avoid both, which is why non-US residents frequently prefer the UCITS equivalent where one exists. This is general information, not tax advice — consult a tax professional for your situation.

VCSH Performance History

How VCSH Compares to Other US Bonds - Corporate ETFs