# Vanguard Ultra-Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VWSTX): Mutual Fund Facts & Distributions > Markdown mirror of https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/vwstx for AI agents. Same live data as the HTML page, regenerated on the same refresh cycle. Not investment advice. - Issuer: Vanguard · Asset class: Municipal Bond - Strategy: Leveraged · Inception: 1977-09-01 The primary objective of this fund is to generate ongoing income that is exempt from federal personal income taxes, while striving for limited fluctuations in its share price. A substantial portion, specifically at least 75%, of the fund's holdings consists of high-quality municipal bonds. These are defined as securities within the top three credit-rating tiers from nationally recognized statistical rating organizations, or those deemed of comparable quality by the advisor if unrated. Up to 20% of the portfolio may be allocated to medium-grade quality bonds, as determined by either a rating... ## Key Facts | Metric | Value | |---|---| | Price | $15.77 | | Expense Ratio | 0.17% | | Assets Under Management | $18.50B | | NAV | $15.77 | | Holdings Count | 0 | | Distribution Yield (TTM) | 3.02% | | Annual Distribution (TTM) | $0.48 /share | | Distribution Frequency | Monthly | | 52-Week Range | $15.61 – $15.95 | | Beta | 0.18 | ## Latest Distribution - Amount: $0.0403 /share - Ex-date: 2026-09-30 - Pay date: 2026-10-01 ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does VWSTX invest in? The primary objective of this fund is to generate ongoing income that is exempt from federal personal income taxes, while striving for limited fluctuations in its share price. A substantial portion, specifically at least 75%, of the fund's holdings consists of high-quality municipal bonds. These are defined as securities within the top three credit-rating tiers from nationally recognized statistical rating organizations, or those deemed of comparable quality by the advisor if unrated. Up to 20% of the portfolio may be allocated to medium-grade quality bonds, as determined by either a rating agency or the advisor. The final 5% can be invested in securities with lower credit ratings or those assessed by the advisor as having similar quality, even without a formal rating. This fund offers the potential for a higher yield than a typical money market fund, primarily because it invests in longer-maturity securities. However, this increased yield potential is accompanied by a correspondingly greater level of risk. Changes in interest rates can affect the fund: declining rates may lead to reduced income for its short-term bond holdings, while rising rates could exert downward pressure on the fund's share price. This offering may appeal to investors who desire a modest, federally tax-exempt income stream and are comfortable with some degree of income and share price volatility. ### What is the expense ratio of VWSTX? Vanguard Ultra-Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VWSTX) charges an expense ratio of 0.17%. This is the annual fee deducted from fund assets to cover management and operations. ### What is VWSTX's dividend yield? VWSTX's trailing-twelve-month yield is 3.02%, calculated from the sum of dividends over the past year divided by the current price. ### What is the duration of VWSTX? Effective duration measures VWSTX's sensitivity to interest-rate changes: a duration of 6 means a 1% rate move shifts NAV by roughly 6% in the opposite direction. VWSTX's current duration is published on the fund's factsheet on the issuer's website. ### What is the credit quality of VWSTX? VWSTX's credit quality breakdown (the share of holdings rated AAA through CCC and below) is published on the fund's factsheet. Higher-quality (investment-grade) funds yield less but carry less default risk than high-yield / junk bond funds. ### What is the yield to maturity of VWSTX? Yield to maturity (YTM) is the total return you'd earn from VWSTX if every bond in the portfolio is held to maturity at the current price. VWSTX's YTM is published on the fund's factsheet on the issuer's website. It differs from the trailing-12-month yield because YTM reflects current bond prices rather than historical income paid. ### Does VWSTX pay a dividend? Yes, Vanguard Ultra-Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VWSTX) distributes dividends to shareholders. The trailing-twelve-month yield is 3.02%. Full dividend history is on this page. ### How often does VWSTX pay dividends? Vanguard Ultra-Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares pays dividends Monthly. Each ex-dividend date, record date, and payment date is listed in the dividend history table on this page. ### When is VWSTX's next ex-dividend date? The most recently announced ex-dividend date for VWSTX was 2026-09-30. The next ex-date typically follows Monthly; once announced it appears at the top of the dividend history table on this page. ### How much will VWSTX's expense ratio cost me over 30 years? On a $10,000 investment compounding at 7% gross return, a 0.17% expense ratio quietly compounds against your balance every year. The Fee Compounding Forecast card above projects the dollar drag for any holding period and assumption you pick. The typical result for a 1.0% expense ratio on a 30-year hold is roughly 25% of the final balance lost to fees. ### How does VWSTX charge its expense ratio? The expense ratio is deducted in tiny daily slices from VWSTX's net asset value (NAV). You never see a bill. The price quoted on every exchange is already net of fees. There's no "fee day" to avoid; the cost is continuous and built into the trading price. ### Why does VWSTX cost more than a fund like VOO? VWSTX is a leveraged fund (current expense ratio 0.17%). Daily-reset leverage products carry swap and financing costs that don't exist on a plain-vanilla equity ETF. The Cost Verdict card compares against the leveraged/inverse cohort where these costs are the norm. ### Are there cheaper alternatives to VWSTX? The Lower-Fee Alternatives card above lists mutual funds following the same investment strategy as VWSTX (0.17%) but at a lower expense ratio. Each row shows the fee gap, the peer's AUM as a liquidity sanity-check, and a direct link to that fund's analysis page. Cheaper price doesn't automatically mean better. Verify the peer holds what you actually want. ## More on Dividend Data - Overview (HTML): https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/vwstx - Distribution history: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/vwstx/dividend - Holdings & diversification: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/vwstx/diversification - Fees & cheaper alternatives: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/vwstx/expenses - Peer comparison: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/vwstx/peers Data sourced from primary filings and market data providers; see https://www.dividenddata.com/methodology.