For release 21 March 2006

Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd says the Australian sharemarket had shown the value of taking a long-term, diversified approach to investing when it broke through the 5000 point index level for the first time yesterday.

The market continued to trade above the 5000 point mark in early trading today.

The S&P/ASX 200 breakthrough of 5000 points coincides with Vanguard's 10 year anniversary as a leading index fund investment house in Australia.

Jeremy Duffield, Vanguard's Managing Director said: "Vanguard welcomes the S&P/ASX 200 index reaching a record high. The key message for investors is the value of long-term investing in a diversified sharemarket-based portfolio.

"Our low cost index funds are available to all retail investors. Given our 10 years in the Australian market, we conducted a simple exercise that demonstrates the power of the indexing approach over the long term. What it teaches us is an investment of A$10,000 in the sharemarket over the past decade would have tripled to about A$32,800* - a return of 12.6% pa over the 10 year period.

"Vanguard's index funds are managed with prudence and a long-term outlook. They are an excellent way to make long-term investments in diversified portfolios of shares and other securities. Short-term risk is always present in investment, but over the long-term the sharemarket has provided investors with very substantial returns".

* The above calculation is a hypothetical example based on market performance and does not reflect an investment in any of Vanguard's products. The example shows the estimated growth of A$10,000 invested in the All Ordinaries Accumulation Index from 20/03/1996 to 31/03/2000 and in the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index thereafter until 20/03/2006. The calculation assumes reinvestment of all dividends. Note that the example does not take into account the fees, taxes and transaction costs which an investor would incur if making these investments.

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Notes to Editors:

Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Vanguard Group, Inc., which is based in the US and currently manages approximately US$960 billion (A$1.2 trillion) for more than 18 million individual and investor accounts as at 28 February 2006. In Australia, Vanguard has established a reputation as an index specialist, managing A$38.1 billion in index funds, for both institutional and retail investors.

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Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd (ABN 72 072 881 086) (AFSL 227263) is the issuer of interests in Vanguard funds. The above information does not take into account your circumstances so you should consider your circumstances and the Product Disclosure Statement before making any investment decision. Call 1300 655 101 to obtain a copy. Past performance is not an indication of future performance. Performance is not guaranteed and investments may rise or fall in value.