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Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF

VCLTNasdaqVanguardA

$70.14−0.49 (−0.69%)

At close: Nov 2, 2026, 4:00 PM ET

Intraday session: down, 79 prints from 70.63 to 70.14. Range 70.14 to 70.67. Use the arrow keys to read each point.70.2070.3070.4070.5070.7010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.03%
Fund size · all share classes
$8.3B
1Y total return
−3.7%
Yield · Last 12 months
6.41%
Holdings
2565
Avg volume · 30D
5.06M sh
52W range
low $67.56high $77.96
Launched
Filings
SEC EDGAR

The ETF.net VCLT Grade

A

Score 75 out of 100

Rank
2 of 7
Six-pillar profile for VCLT. Scores out of 100: Cost 80, Risk 41, Mission 100, Tradability 58, Holdings 76, Durability 88. Strongest: Mission (100). Weakest: Risk (41). Leans toward Mission.

Score 75 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.

  • Cost

    The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.
    A80 out of 100
    Rank 1 of 7
  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    A100 out of 100
    Rank 1 of 7
  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    C41 out of 100
    Rank 4 of 7
  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    B58 out of 100
    Rank 3 of 7
  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    A76 out of 100
    Rank 2 of 7
  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    A88 out of 100
    Rank 1 of 7

Our read on VCLT

ETF.net Research

In short

AThe long end of investment-grade credit, held plain. VCLT tracks an index of corporate bonds with 10+ years left to run, costs three cents per $100 a year, and pays monthly. Maximum rate sensitivity, minimum toll.

Stated mandate

VCLT seeks to follow a market-weighted corporate bond index with long-term average maturity. It uses passive index sampling, maintains maturity consistent with the index, and normally invests at least 80% of assets in index bonds.

Why people hold it

  • 0.03% a year against a 0.19% median for investment-grade corporate bond funds. On a position held for years, that gap is real money.
  • The pure long lane: the Bloomberg U.S. 10+ Year Corporate Bond Index, while cohort leaders like VCIT, IGIB and IGSB sit short or intermediate.
  • A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so entering and exiting rarely means fighting the spread.
  • Boringly mechanical, which is the point: index sampling, at least 80% of assets in index bonds, monthly distributions, running since 2009.

Worth knowing

  • Long maturities swing hard when rates move. This is one of the most rate-sensitive corners of investment-grade credit.
  • Corporate credit only, roughly 300 bonds. No Treasuries and no short-maturity ballast to cushion a rough stretch.
  • Sampling means it holds a representative slice of the index rather than every bond in it.

VCLT Performance

Launched Nov 19, 2009

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

VCLT$9,627
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,146
Oct 31, 2025 to Nov 2, 2026. VCLT $9,627. SPY $11,146. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$11,000Oct 2025May 2026Nov 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Nov 2, 2026

Returns run to the Nov 2, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for VCLT. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodVCLT
Year to date−3.0%
1 month+3.4%
3 months−0.6%
1 year−3.7%
3 yearsper year+5.2%
5 yearsper year−3.5%
10 yearsper year+1.6%

With distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for VCLT
YearReturn barVCLT
2026 YTD−3.0%
2025+7.2%
2024−1.9%
2023+11.2%

VCLT in the news

VCLT Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Nov 2, 2026.
6.41%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$4.49Last 12 months
Upcoming payment
$0.37 per share
Pays on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Monthly

Distribution history

2023–2026

One bar per payment. 46 payments from 2023 to 2026 YTD. Feb 1, 2023 $0.31; Mar 1, 2023 $0.28; Apr 3, 2023 $0.31; May 1, 2023 $0.30; Jun 1, 2023 $0.31; Jul 3, 2023 $0.31; Aug 1, 2023 $0.32; Sep 1, 2023 $0.30; Oct 2, 2023 $0.33; Nov 1, 2023 $0.34; Dec 1, 2023 $0.31; Dec 22, 2023 $0.33; Feb 1, 2024 $0.34; Mar 1, 2024 $0.29; Apr 1, 2024 $0.32; May 1, 2024 $0.32; Jun 3, 2024 $0.32; Jul 1, 2024 $0.32; Aug 1, 2024 $0.31; Sep 3, 2024 $0.33; Oct 1, 2024 $0.32; Nov 1, 2024 $0.34; Dec 2, 2024 $0.33; Dec 24, 2024 $0.36; Feb 3, 2025 $0.34; Mar 3, 2025 $0.30; Apr 1, 2025 $0.35; May 1, 2025 $0.36; Jun 2, 2025 $0.37; Jul 1, 2025 $0.34; Aug 1, 2025 $0.42; Sep 2, 2025 $0.33; Oct 1, 2025 $0.33; Nov 3, 2025 $0.33; Dec 1, 2025 $0.34; Dec 18, 2025 $0.35; Feb 2, 2026 $0.35; Mar 2, 2026 $0.32; Apr 1, 2026 $0.36; May 1, 2026 $0.33; Jun 1, 2026 $0.36; Jul 1, 2026 $0.34; Aug 3, 2026 $0.35; Sep 1, 2026 $0.36; Oct 1, 2026 $0.35; Nov 2, 2026 $0.37. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Nov 2, 2026Pays Nov 4, 2026$0.37
Oct 1, 2026Oct 5, 2026$0.35
Sep 1, 2026Sep 3, 2026$0.36
Aug 3, 2026Aug 5, 2026$0.35
Jul 1, 2026Jul 6, 2026$0.34
Jun 1, 2026Jun 3, 2026$0.36
May 1, 2026May 5, 2026$0.33
Apr 1, 2026Apr 6, 2026$0.36
Mar 2, 2026Mar 4, 2026$0.32
Feb 2, 2026Feb 4, 2026$0.35
Dec 18, 2025Dec 22, 2025$0.35
Dec 1, 2025Dec 3, 2025$0.34

See all 204 payments⁠

$10,000 in VCLT 10 years ago paid $4,037 in dividends.⁠

VCLT Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
11.4%
Annualised · 36 months to Oct 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
0.23
vs 3-month T-bills · to Oct 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−34.4%
Trough Oct 2022
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
1.97
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

VCLT Cost

Cheapest in Investment Grade Corporate (10+ Year)

$638

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • VCLT 0.03%

    $638

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • VCLT 0.03%
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$200$400$600$800051015202530VCLT $638

Year by year

YearVCLT
10$55
20$216
30$638

Other funds in Investment Grade Corporate (10+ Year)