Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund VGTSX Risk & Disclosures

Investor Shares VGTSX
$28.59 +0.04 (+0.14%)
At close: Aug 27, 2026 · 4:00 PM EDT

Principal Risks

13 disclosed

As with any investment, an investment in the Fund could lose money over any time period. The Fund's share price and total return may fluctuate, potentially within a wide range. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. Each of the following risks could affect the Fund's performance:

•  General Market Risk. The markets in which the Fund invests can be affected by a variety of factors. These factors, which can be real or perceived, may include economic, market, political, and regulatory conditions and developments as well as local, regional, or global events such as wars, military conflicts, natural disasters, and public health issues. In addition, investor sentiment and expectations regarding these factors can also impact the markets. Different parts of the market, including different industries and sectors as well as different types of securities, may react differently to factors that affect the market. These factors can contribute to market uncertainty, market volatility, and fluctuations in the value of the Fund's investments, thereby resulting in potential losses to the Fund over short or long periods.

•  Investing in Foreign Markets. Foreign markets can perform differently than U.S. markets. World events could adversely affect the value and/or liquidity of securities of foreign companies or foreign issuers, potentially in ways that differ from impacts to U.S. companies or issuers. Further, global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibility that conditions in one country or region could adversely impact a different country or region. In addition, the rights and remedies associated with investments in a fund that invests in foreign securities may be different than a fund that invests in domestic securities. To the extent that the Fund invests a large portion of its assets in securities of issuers located primarily in one country or region, the Fund's performance may be hurt disproportionately by the poor performance of its investments in such country or region.

•  Investing in Emerging Markets. Investments in emerging markets are subject to higher degrees of risk and volatility than investments in developed markets. Compared with developed markets, emerging markets can have greater custodial and operational risks; less developed legal, tax, regulatory, financial reporting, accounting, and recordkeeping systems; and greater political, social, and economic instability than developed markets. In addition, emerging markets generally have less efficient trading markets with lower overall liquidity and more volatile currency exchange rates. Each of these risks can cause losses to the Fund's investments and/or impact the Fund's performance.

•  Currency Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that foreign currency will perform differently than U.S. dollars and increase the potential loss to the Fund. Currency exchange rates may be volatile, move rapidly, and change as a result of changes in interest rates, inflation rates, government surpluses or deficits, and monetary policy or currency controls imposed by local

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governments or supranational entities such as the International Monetary Fund. Changes in currency exchange rates can affect the value of the Fund's holdings.

•  Investments Economically Tied to China. The risks described under Investing in Foreign Markets, Investing in Emerging Markets, and Currency Risk apply to, and may be heightened with respect to, the Fund's investments in companies or issuers economically tied to China. The Fund also is subject to unique risks due to the considerable degrees of social and humanitarian, legal, regulatory, political, and economic uncertainty associated with investments in companies or issuers economically tied to China. All of these factors, among others, could have negative impacts on the Fund. For example, the Fund may not be able to access its desired amount of shares of companies incorporated in China that trade on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges (A-shares) and/or the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (H-shares), which may cause the Fund to miss out on investment opportunities. Investments economically tied to China may be (or become in the future) restricted or sanctioned by the U.S. government, which could cause these securities to decline in value or become less liquid. If the Fund's holdings become impacted by restrictions or sanctions, the Fund may incur losses. Additionally, the Fund may gain exposure to certain companies in China through legal structures known as variable interest entities (VIEs), which provide exposure to Chinese companies through contractual arrangements instead of equity ownership. Investing through a VIE does not offer the same level of investor protection as direct ownership and is subject to risks including breach of the contractual arrangements, difficulty in enforcing the contractual arrangements outside of the United States, and intervention by the U.S. government. These risks could significantly affect a VIE's market value, which in turn could impact the Fund's performance.

•  Investing in Equity Markets. The Fund invests in the equity markets. Equity markets have historically been cyclical, having periods of time when stock values rise and fall. Market volatility can lead to significant fluctuations in stock values, resulting in potential losses to the Fund.

•  Market Capitalization (Market Cap). Companies are generally classified into three types of market cap depending on their size: small-, mid-, and large-cap. Companies can be further classified into micro- or mega-cap. Different factors can affect each market cap uniquely, and historically small- and mid-cap stocks have typically been more volatile due to the effects of changing economic conditions. Large companies may not reach the same levels of growth or performance as smaller companies, and they may be slower to react to competitive challenges. The performance of funds that invest in a subset of market caps could diverge from the performance of a fund that is focused on a broader representation of the stock market.

•  Index Investing. The Fund is subject to risks associated with index investing. Because the Fund generally seeks to track the performance of the Target

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Index regardless of how the Target Index is performing, the Fund's performance may be lower than it would be if it were actively managed. Although the Fund seeks to hold substantially all of the securities included in the Target Index, it may be unable to do so. In addition, the Fund could be prevented from holding one or more securities in the same proportion as in the Target Index. The performance of the Fund's investments, in the aggregate, may not match the investment performance of the Target Index. This risk, known as tracking error risk, may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or under other unusual market conditions. The Fund also could be negatively impacted by changes to the Target Index made by the Index Provider or by errors made by the Index Provider. Any gains, losses, or costs associated with or resulting from an error made by the Index Provider will generally be borne by the Fund and, as a result, the Fund's shareholders.

•  Concentration Risk. Except as may be necessary to approximate the composition of its Target Index, the Fund will not concentrate its investments in the securities of issuers whose principal business activities are in the same industry or group of industries. If the Target Index becomes concentrated and the Fund needs to concentrate in the same industry or group of industries, its performance could be negatively impacted by the industry or industries in which it is concentrated.

An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Annual Total Returns

The following bar chart and table show the Fund's historical performance and are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's Admiral Shares has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the Admiral Shares compare with those of a broad-based securities market index. FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index returns are adjusted for withholding taxes applicable to U.S.-based mutual funds organized as Delaware statutory trusts. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance.

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Annual Total Returns - Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest and lowest returns for a calendar quarter were:

Total Return

Quarter

Highest

18.11

%

June 30, 2020

Lowest

-24.30

%

March 31, 2020

Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2025

1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund

Admiral Shares

Return Before Taxes

32.18

%

7.93

%

8.51

%

Return After Taxes on Distributions

31.03

7.05

7.68

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of

Fund Shares

19.58

6.01

6.69

FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index

(reflects no deduction for fees or expenses)

31.95

%

8.04

%

8.56

%

Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are shown only for the Admiral Shares and may differ for each share class. After-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares may be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder.

Investment Advisor

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard) through its wholly owned subsidiary, Vanguard Capital Management (VCM). VCM exercises portfolio management responsibilities for the Fund.

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Portfolio Managers

Christine D. Franquin, Principal of Vanguard and Portfolio Manager at VCM. She has co-managed the Fund since 2017.

Michael Perre, Principal of Vanguard and Portfolio Manager at VCM. He has managed the Fund since 2008 (co-managed since 2016).

Jeffrey D. Miller, Portfolio Manager at VCM. He has co-managed the Fund since 2025

Listed in the order the fund’s prospectus gives them — filers order risks by significance, so the first is the one the fund considers most material.

As with any investment, an investment in the Fund could lose money over any time period.

•  General Market Risk. The markets in which the Fund invests can be affected by a variety of factors. These factors, which can be real or perceived, may include economic, market, political, and regulatory conditions and developments as well as local, regional, or global events such as wars, military conflicts, natural disasters, and public health issues. In addition, investor sentiment and expectations regarding these factors can also impact the markets. Different parts of the market, including different industries and sectors as well as different types of securities, may react differently to factors that affect the market. These factors can contribute to market uncertainty, market volatility, and fluctuations in the value of the Fund's investments, thereby resulting in potential losses to the Fund over short or long periods.

•  Investing in Foreign Markets. Foreign markets can perform differently than U.S. markets. World events could adversely affect the value and/or liquidity of securities of foreign companies or foreign issuers, potentially in ways that differ from impacts to U.S. companies or issuers. Further, global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibility that conditions in one country or region could adversely impact a different country or region. In addition, the rights and remedies associated with investments in a fund that invests in foreign securities may be different than a fund that invests in domestic securities. To the extent that the Fund invests a large portion of its assets in securities of issuers located primarily in one country or region, the Fund's performance may be hurt disproportionately by the poor performance of its investments in such country or region.

Fund Facts

identifiers and filing details
Fund Name
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund
Share Class
Investor Shares
Ticker
VGTSX
Series ID
S000002932
Class ID
C000008020
CIK
0001004655
Prospectus Date
Feb 27, 2026

Source Filing

Every figure on these pages is read from one SEC filing. Registered readers get its accession number and a direct link to it on EDGAR.

The source document Create a free account to open this fund’s filing on EDGAR.

Purchase & Sale of Shares

If you invest directly with Vanguard, you may purchase or redeem shares online through our website (vanguard.com), by mail (The Vanguard Group, P.O. Box 982901, El Paso, TX 79998-2901), or by telephone (800-662-2739). The minimum investment amount required to open a Fund account for Admiral Shares is generally $3,000. The minimum investment amount required to add to an existing Fund account is generally $1.

Financial intermediaries, institutional clients, and Vanguard-advised clients should contact Vanguard for information on special eligibility rules that may apply to them regarding Admiral Shares. If you invest in Vanguard fund shares indirectly through an intermediary (including investing in shares through a brokerage account offered by Vanguard Brokerage Services), please contact that firm directly for more information regarding your eligibility. If you invest in Vanguard fund shares through an employer-sponsored retirement or savings plan, your plan administrator or your benefits office can provide you with detailed information on how you can invest through your plan

Tax Information

The Fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains. If you are investing through a tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement or savings plan, special tax rules apply. You should consult your own tax advisor with respect to any particular U.S. or non-U.S. tax consequences of your investment in the Fund