VALLEY FORGE, PA — Vanguard recently announced plans to merge Vanguard Managed Allocation Fund into Vanguard LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund and to liquidate Vanguard Alternative Strategies Fund. The merger and liquidation are expected to take place in the second quarter of 2023.
“We strive to offer a broad lineup of investment solutions that meets the long-term needs of Vanguard’s diverse investor base,” said Dan Reyes, head of Vanguard Portfolio Review Department. “We continually monitor our funds to ensure that they’re serving our clients well, and we refine and evolve our lineup to better position investors to succeed.”
In light of limited investor demand and the opportunity to consolidate two funds with similar investment objectives, the Managed Allocation Fund will be merged into the LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund. The Managed Allocation Fund and the LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund have similar asset class exposure with comparable asset allocations and similar risk profiles, while the LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund has a lower expense ratio.1 Shareholders of the Managed Allocation Fund do not need to take any action in advance of the merger.
The merger itself is expected to be a tax-free event. However, to prepare the Managed Allocation Fund for the merger, a portion of the fund’s assets will be sold, which will have tax consequences for certain shareholders of the Managed Allocation Fund depending on their individual tax situation. This includes the liquidation of the Alternative Strategies Fund (see below for details), which is an underlying investment of the Managed Allocation Fund. Any realized capital gains, including those resulting from shareholder redemptions, will be distributed to the shareholders of the Managed Allocation Fund prior to the merger.
Vanguard Alternative Strategies Fund was launched in 2015 to help investors further diversify beyond traditional asset classes with the potential to lower a portfolio’s overall volatility. The fund, however, has not gained broad acceptance among investors. Shareholders are being notified and will have the opportunity to exchange into another Vanguard fund or redeem shares prior to the liquidation date, at which time the fund’s assets will be sold and the proceeds distributed to any remaining shareholders. The liquidation may have tax consequences for certain investors depending on their individual tax situation.
1 The effective dates for the expense ratios are 2/25/2022 for the LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund and 4/29/2022 for the Managed Allocation Fund. The LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund has an expense ratio of 0.13% compared with 0.31% for the Managed Allocation Fund. Excluding borrowing and dividend expenses on securities sold short by certain underlying funds, the Managed Allocation Fund’s total annual fund operating expenses are 0.18%.
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