Fund Evaluator:

Vanguard FTSE Social Index I Overview

Vanguard FTSE Social Index I (VFTNX) is a passively managed U.S. Equity Large Blend fund. Vanguard launched the fund in 2003.

The investment seeks to track the performance of the FTSE U.S. Choice Index that measures the investment return of large- and mid-capitalization stocks. The index is composed of large- and mid-cap stocks of companies that are screened for certain environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) criteria by the index provider. The manager attempts to replicate the target index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the stocks that make up the index, holding each stock in approximately the same proportion as its weighting in the index. It is non-diversified.

About Vanguard FTSE Social Index I (VFTNX)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 1.36 years: Aaron Choi (2025), Chris Nieves (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: DJ US Total Stock Market TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and FTSE US Choice TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Vanguard FTSE Social Index I has 395 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 46.4% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Vanguard FTSE Social Index I is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. Vanguard FTSE Social Index I has 0.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 98.5%. There is 0.7% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Vanguard FTSE Social Index I has 0.4% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $14 billion in total assets, which is above the $6 billion average for the Large Blend category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

VFTNX Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Vanguard FTSE Social Index I expense ratio is low compared to funds in the Large Blend category. Vanguard FTSE Social Index I has an expense ratio of 0.03%, which is 96% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Vanguard FTSE Social Index I has a portfolio turnover rate of 7%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 48% for the Large Blend category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, Vanguard FTSE Social Index I returned -1.5%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Large Blend category had an average return of -0.2%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.

Vanguard FTSE Social Index I has a trailing yield of 0.89%, which is above the 0.56% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Vanguard FTSE Social Index I Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 9.4%, 0.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 21.3% over the past year (grade of C), 20.9% over the past three years (grade of B) and 12.5% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 16.1% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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