Investment

Sustainability Leaders Australian Shares

Investment details and fees

Minimum investment amounts

Initial investment$500,000

Additional investmentsNil

Holding balanceNil

Switch/withdrawalNil

Buy/sell spread

Purchase0.20%

Withdrawal0.20%

Management costs

Management costs0.50% p.a

Download a fund factsheet

Vanguard's Sustainability Leaders Australian Shares Fund provides investors an opportunity to invest in companies that lead their industry peers in terms of sustainable business practice ('Sustainable Leaders'). Vanguard has a long established relationship with Sustainable Asset Management (SAM). SAM is a Swiss based company, established in 1995 and recognised as a global leader in the field of sustainability research.

Portfolio Construction
Vanguard uses the Australia SAM Sustainability Index (AuSSI) to create a portfolio with characteristics (industry weights and asset size distribution) similar to those of the broader Australian equity market. At present, the AuSSI itself reflects those characteristics and is used as a reference for the portfolio.

Who it may suit

investors seeking exposure to companies that support sustainable business practice
long-term investors (usually five years plus)
investors seeking long-term capital growth and some tax-effective income
investors seeking a tax-effective investment
higher income earners using a gearing strategy
self managed super funds

Objectives

The fund seeks to capture the performance of Australia's Sustainability Leaders with a well diversified portfolio with risk and return characteristics similar to the broader Australian share market (as represented by the S&P ASX 200 index).

Benefits

Diversification

invests in around 70 Australian companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange

Sustainable investing

invests in companies that lead their industry peers in terms of sustainable business practice.

Capital growth potential and some tax-effective income

includes exposure to companies offering franking benefits that can offset income tax
quarterly distributions
offers long-term capital growth potential through its diversified portfolio of Australian shares

Potential for better after-tax returns

our buy and hold strategy takes advantage of capital gains discounts and the deferral of capital gains liabilities, which may result in better after-tax returns

Low fees

low management fees
no entry fees other than usual buy/sell spreads

Flexibility

easily switch funds with no costs other than usual buy / sell spreads
no minimum additional investment requirements mean you can add to your investment as much and as often as you like

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Resources

Managed over $500,000 - Funds at a Glance*

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Cash Cash Funds maintain liquidity and are lower risk when used as part of diversified investment strategy.

	Index/ Benchmark	Management Costs	Buy/Sell Spreads	Fund Size	No. of Securities in a fund	Income Distributions	Ratings and Recommendations
	Index/ Benchmark	Management Costs	Buy/Sell Spreads	Fund Size	No. of Securities in a fund	Income Distributions	Standard & Poors	Morningstar	Lonsec
Vanguard® Cash Reserve Fund	UBS Australia Bank Bill Index	0.15% p.a	Nil	$959.3m	50	Monthly	4 Stars	-	-
Vanguard® Cash Plus Fund	A customised Index, the Vanguard Cash Plus Index	0.29% p.a	Nil	$892.1m	54	Monthly	3 Stars	-	-

Fixed Interest Fixed interest funds play an important role in a balanced portfolio, providing broad diversification.

	Index/ Benchmark	Management Costs	Buy/Sell Spreads	Fund Size	No. of Securities in a fund	Income Distributions	Ratings and Recommendations
	Index/ Benchmark	Management Costs	Buy/Sell Spreads	Fund Size	No. of Securities in a fund	Income Distributions	Standard & Poors	Morningstar	Lonsec
Vanguard® Australian Government Bond Index Fund	UBS Government Bond Index	0.29% p.a	0.10%/ 0.10	$45.3m	36	Quarterly	4 Stars	-	-
Vanguard® Australian Fixed Interest Index Fund	UBS Australian Composite Bond Index	0.29% p.a	0.20%/ 0.20	$1,933.0m	333	Quarterly	4 Stars	-	Highly Recommended
Vanguard® International Fixed Interest Index Fund (Hedged)	Barclays Capital Global Treasury Index in $A (Hedged)	0.34% p.a	0.20%/ 0.20	$2,695.6m	473	Quarterly	4 Stars	-	Recommended
Vanguard® International Credit Securities Index Fund (Hedged)	Barclays Capital Global Aggregate Government-related and Corporate Index in $A (Hedged)	0.34% p.a.	0.40%/ 0.40%	$218.5m	625	Quarterly	-	-	-

PropertyProperty securities combine growth and income asset attributes, traditionally providing capital growth potential.

	Index/ Benchmark	Management Costs	Buy/Sell Spreads	Fund Size	No. of Securities in a fund	Income Distributions	Ratings and Recommendations
	Index/ Benchmark	Management Costs	Buy/Sell Spreads	Fund Size	No. of Securities in a fund	Income Distributions	Standard & Poors	Morningstar	Lonsec
Vanguard® Australian Property Securities Index Fund	S&P/ASX 300 A-REIT Index	0.34% p.a	0.20%/ 0.20%	$1,174.0m	26	Quarterly	4 Stars	Highly Recommended	Highly Recommended
Vanguard® International Property Securities Index Fund	UBS Global Real Estate Investors Index ex-Australia in $A	0.40% p.a	0.30%/ 0.30%	$215.0m	216	Quarterly	4 Stars	Recommended	-
Vanguard® International Property Securities Index Fund (Hedged)	UBS Global Real Estate Investors Index ex-Australia in $A (Hedged)	0.43% p.a	0.40%/ 0.40%	$147.8m	216	Quarterly	4 Stars	Recommended	Recommended

Australian Shares Australian Shares provide a tax-effective income while capital grows over time.

	Index/ Benchmark	Management Costs	Buy/Sell Spreads	Fund Size	No. of Securities in a fund	Income Distributions	Ratings and Recommendations
	Index/ Benchmark	Management Costs	Buy/Sell Spreads	Fund Size	No. of Securities in a fund	Income Distributions	Standard & Poors	Morningstar	Lonsec
Vanguard® Australian Shares Index Fund	S&P/ASX 300 Index	0.34% p.a	0.20%/ 0.10%	$3,042.8m	270	Quarterly	4 Stars	Recommended	Recommended
Vanguard® Australian Shares High Yield Fund	S&P/ASX 200 ex-A-REIT Index	0.40% p.a	0.20%/ 0.10%	$219.6m	104	Monthly	4 Stars	Investment Grade	Recommended
Vanguard® Sustainability Leaders Australian Shares Fund	S&P/ASX 200 Index	0.50% p.a	0.20%/ 0.20%	$149.0m	72	Quarterly	-	-	-

International Shares International Shares provide diversification across countries, industries and companies which help lower risk.

	Index/ Benchmark	Management Costs	Buy/Sell Spreads	Fund Size	No. of Securities in a fund	Income Distributions	Ratings and Recommendations
	Index/ Benchmark	Management Costs	Buy/Sell Spreads	Fund Size	No. of Securities in a fund	Income Distributions	Standard & Poors	Morningstar	Lonsec
Vanguard® International Shares Index Fund	MSCI World ex-Australia Index in $A	0.36% p.a	0.30%/ 0.10%	$3,787.4m	1,429	Quarterly	4 Stars	Recommended	Recommended
Vanguard® International Shares Index Fund (Hedged)	MSCI World ex-Australia Index in $A	0.39% p.a	0.40%/ 0.20%	$1,340.1m	1,429	Quarterly	4 Stars	Recommended	Recommended
Vanguard® Emerging Markets Shares Index Fund	MSCI Emerging Markets Index ex-Columbia and Pakistan in $A	0.56% p.a	0.75%/ 1.00%	$294.5m	688	Quarterly	4 Stars	-	-
Vanguard® International Small Companies Index Fund	MSCI Small Cap ex-Australia Index	0.39% p.a	0.35%/ 0.25%	$81.4m	2,177	Quarterly	4 Stars	-	-
Vanguard® International Small Companies Index Fund (Hedged)	MSCI Small Cap ex-Australia Index (Hedged) in $A	0.42% p.a	0.45%/ 0.35%	$73.3m	2,177	Quarterly	4 Stars	-	-
Vanguard® Global Infrastructure Fund	A customised Index, the Vanguard Global Infrastructure Index	0.49% p.a	0.30%/ 0.30%	$54.3m	114	Quarterly	4 Stars	Recommended	Recommended (Upper)
Vanguard® Global Infrastructure Fund (Hedged)	A customised Index, the Vanguard Global Infrastructure Index in $A (Hedged)	0.52% p.a	0.40%/ 0.40%	$49.3m	114	Quarterly	4 Stars	Recommended	Recommended (Upper)
Vanguard® Sustainability Leaders International Shares Fund	MSCI World ex-Australia Index	0.52% p.a	0.30%/ 0.30%	$153.7m	277	Quarterly	-	-	-

Diversified Diversified funds invest in a blend of Vanguard index funds covering cash, fixed interest, property and shares.

	Index/ Benchmark	Management Costs	Buy/Sell Spreads	Fund Size	No. of Securities in a fund	Income Distributions	Ratings and Recommendations
	Index/ Benchmark	Management Costs	Buy/Sell Spreads	Fund Size	No. of Securities in a fund	Income Distributions	Standard & Poors	Morningstar	Lonsec
Vanguard ® Conservative Index Fund	30% growth and 70% income (Weighted average of target indexes of Vanguard Index Funds)	0.33% p.a	0.15%/ 0.10%	$71.1	n/a	Quarterly	4 Stars	Highly Recommended	Recommended
Vanguard® Balanced Index Fund	50% growth and 50% income (Weighted average of target indexes of Vanguard Index Funds)	0.34% p.a	0.20%/ 0.15%	$74.6m	n/a	Quarterly	4 Stars	Highly Recommended	Recommended
Vanguard® Growth Index Fund	70% growth and 30% income (Weighted average of target indexes of Vanguard Index Funds)	0.36% p.a	0.25%/ 0.15%	$94.4m	n/a	Quarterly	4 Stars	Highly Recommended	Recommended
Vanguard® High Growth Index Fund	90% growth and 10% income (Weighted average of target indexes of Vanguard Index Funds)	0.37% p.a	0.30%/-0.20%	$49.6m	n/a	Quarterly	4 Stars	Highly Recommended	Recommended

* Information correct as of June 1 2009.