Vanguard lowered the expense ratio for the Target Retirement Fund Series Funds on February 11, 2022. The new expense ratio is an annual 0.08% (8 basis points) effective as of market close on February 11, 2022. (the prior annual fund expense ratio was 0.09%*)
If you are invested in a Vanguard Target Retirement Fund, you will notice that your fund name no longer has the word “institutional” in the name. That is because Vanguard merged the Vanguard Target Institutional Funds in the Vanguard Target Retirement Funds at the same time as lowering the fees on February 11th. For example, if you were invested in the Vanguard Institutional Target Retirement Fund 2020, the new name is Vanguard Target Retirement Fund 2020. It is the same fund with a different name and a lower fee.
*Vanguard’s average fund expense ratio in 2020 was 0.09%, less than one-fifth that of the 0.54% industry average. Source: Vanguard and Morningstar as of 12/31/20. What Drove Jack Bogle To Upend Investing, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 18, 2019.