Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund invests in the United States dollar-denominated, investment-grade, fixed-rate, taxable bonds issued by industrial, utility and financial companies, with maturities between 1 and 5 years. The Fund employs an index sampling technique to select securities. The fund may invest in derivatives. The Fund's daily cash balance may be invested in one or more Vanguard CMT funds, which are money market funds. When investing in a Vanguard CMT fund, the Fund bears its proportionate share of the at-cost expenses of the CMT fund in which it invests. The Fund may invest a small portion of the Fund's assets in shares of bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The Fund may temporarily depart from normal investment policies when doing so is believed to be in the Fund's best interest, as long as the alternative is consistent with its investment objective. Vanguard Fixed Income Group is the Fund's advisor.