Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

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Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by abuss368 »

Bogleheads -

I am curious how many of us read from Vanguard (or any fund company):

* Annual Reports
* Semi-Annual Reports
* Statement of Additional Information (SAI)
* Prospectus


If you read this, do you save and retain the information? Thoughts and perspectives appreciated.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by 123 »

I read online most everything a fund company publishes about any fund I own. The part of the periodic fund reports that detail the specific holdings get less of a going-over for index funds since it's a rehash of the index itself for the most part. If it's a new fund (to me) I'll keep a paper copy of the full prospectus for a year or two until I feel I've "lived" with the fund long enough to refer to it as a friend.

Edited to add:
I've recently begun a "relationship" with VSMGX (Vanguard LIfeStrategy Moderate Growth) so that's the only paper full prospectus I'm holding onto. As I mull over my relationship with the fund I'll look over and read the prospectus time and again. Once I've become accustomed to the way VSMGX performs I'll toss the paper.
Last edited by 123 on Fri Jan 05, 2018 2:52 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by cfs »

I read information applicable to my funds [all listed], but I do not retain the files [they are available online]. Good luck with your investments and thanks for reading ~cfs~
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by Kinkelly »

I read all the info from any Fund I own and/or are considering purchasing.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by abuss368 »

I typically read the Fund annual reports and semiannual report. I have not been reading the prospectus and sai updates.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by abuss368 »

Sometimes lack of responses help and are informative. I surmise that many Bogleheads do not bother.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by abuss368 »

I am planning to delete from my computer.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by abuss368 »

Bogleheads -

I received an email notification from Vanguard that the latest annual reports are available for funds I own. I have historically read these reports and saved on our computer hard drive. Is this necessary or does anyone do this? I have found that I check the note related to the expense ratio as it may sometimes be lower than the current expense ratio and perhaps a decrease is on the horizon. I also enjoy reading the CEO commentary. Finally I do look at the fund highlights page that provides a trailing five year history.

Thoughts are appreciated.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by snarlyjack »

abuss,

I read & study all the info (prospectus, etc).
I do not save it to the hard drive.
But I definitely read all the info.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by retiringwhen »

abuss368 wrote: Wed May 02, 2018 9:01 pm Bogleheads -

I received an email notification from Vanguard that the latest annual reports are available for funds I own. I have historically read these reports and saved on our computer hard drive. Is this necessary or does anyone do this? I have found that I check the note related to the expense ratio as it may sometimes be lower than the current expense ratio and perhaps a decrease is on the horizon. I also enjoy reading the CEO commentary. Finally I do look at the fund highlights page that provides a trailing five year history.

Thoughts are appreciated.
I generally read them, but don’t save. They are easily found online and I don’t see a reason to keep the history. They seem like one less thing to clutter in my life.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by abuss368 »

retiringwhen wrote: Wed May 02, 2018 9:15 pm I generally read them, but don’t save. They are easily found online and I don’t see a reason to keep the history. They seem like one less thing to clutter in my life.
Good point! They also add up in terms of hard drive space on a computer!
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by abuss368 »

I received an email from Vanguard that the most recent fund report is available for both Total Stock Index and Total Bond Index. I have started to read less and less of this information and no longer save to our computer.

Thoughts?
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by abuss368 »

Just looked at the reports. The Chairman's Letter from Tim Buckley was one page and really offered nothing of value. No need to review these reports in my opinion.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by happenstance »

It is not really necessary to save these documents. I was recently researching a fund, for which I wanted to go back and read some of the un-audited commentary sections of the annual reports from the past 1-2 years. The SEC's EDGAR database keeps an archive of all this shareholder material. It is a bit clunky, but once you know how to navigate it, it's not an issue. Starting at the page I linked, enter a fund's ticker in the "Fast Search" page to get a list of all the documents the fund has filed. You can then narrow down the listing to just the kind of document that you want by entering one of these codes into the "Filing Type" box:

N-CSR = Annual Report
N-CSRS = Semiannual Report
497K = Summary Prospectus
497 = Statement of Additional Information
485BPOS = Fund registration information (or update thereof), which is either a full statutory prospectus or updates to them

So all the information that you're e-mailed is archived by the government and easily accessible to you. The one thing I find annoying is that fund companies seem to group the information for a large number of funds into a single filing, which can make the documents hard to navigate.

I personally prefer the formatting, searchability, and readability of the PDF versions, so I do download them via the e-mails. I also think for index funds, the information is pretty much uninteresting. The fund I was researching was an active bond fund though, so the commentary was somewhat useful.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by Ferdinand2014 »

I read all prospectus, quarterly and additional supplements of my funds. In addition I keep a spreadsheet of the top 25 monthly holdings by percent and I update monthly. This helps remind me I own parts of businesses and not a symbol with up and down arrows.I access and leave the reports online.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by 50/50 »

I look at the prospectus and reports on line. A few years ago I ordered a paper copy of the Statement of Additional Information for the funds I have. They're about 60 pages long but each one covers a number of funds. I read each one at the time and still have them but I don't plan to re-order.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by abuss368 »

Ferdinand2014 wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 11:43 pm I read all prospectus, quarterly and additional supplements of my funds. In addition I keep a spreadsheet of the top 25 monthly holdings by percent and I update monthly. This helps remind me I own parts of businesses and not a symbol with up and down arrows.I access and leave the reports online.
That seems like unnecessary work to maintain spreadsheets.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by abuss368 »

happenstance wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:01 pm It is not really necessary to save these documents. I was recently researching a fund, for which I wanted to go back and read some of the un-audited commentary sections of the annual reports from the past 1-2 years. The SEC's EDGAR database keeps an archive of all this shareholder material. It is a bit clunky, but once you know how to navigate it, it's not an issue. Starting at the page I linked, enter a fund's ticker in the "Fast Search" page to get a list of all the documents the fund has filed. You can then narrow down the listing to just the kind of document that you want by entering one of these codes into the "Filing Type" box:

N-CSR = Annual Report
N-CSRS = Semiannual Report
497K = Summary Prospectus
497 = Statement of Additional Information
485BPOS = Fund registration information (or update thereof), which is either a full statutory prospectus or updates to them

So all the information that you're e-mailed is archived by the government and easily accessible to you. The one thing I find annoying is that fund companies seem to group the information for a large number of funds into a single filing, which can make the documents hard to navigate.

I personally prefer the formatting, searchability, and readability of the PDF versions, so I do download them via the e-mails. I also think for index funds, the information is pretty much uninteresting. The fund I was researching was an active bond fund though, so the commentary was somewhat useful.
Thanks.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by Barry Barnitz »

Hi abuss368:

The wiki provides a page that you might find helpful for navigating EDGAR for Vanguard fund information: see Vanguard SEC listings.

regards,
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by Ferdinand2014 »

abuss368 wrote: Thu Mar 14, 2019 11:31 am
Ferdinand2014 wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 11:43 pm I read all prospectus, quarterly and additional supplements of my funds. In addition I keep a spreadsheet of the top 25 monthly holdings by percent and I update monthly. This helps remind me I own parts of businesses and not a symbol with up and down arrows.I access and leave the reports online.
That seems like unnecessary work to maintain spreadsheets.
Totally unnecessary. OCD is a bitch. Plus if I fiddle with the spreadsheet, it keeps me from fiddling with the actual investments.
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Re: Vanguard - Fund Reports, SAI, & Prospectus

Post by abuss368 »

Barry Barnitz wrote: Thu Mar 14, 2019 12:48 pm Hi abuss368:

The wiki provides a page that you might find helpful for navigating EDGAR for Vanguard fund information: see Vanguard SEC listings.

regards,
Thanks!
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