Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as an open-end investment company, or mutual fund. The fund offers four classes of shares: Investor Shares, ETF Shares, Admiral Shares, and Institutional Shares. Each of the share classes has different eligibility and minimum purchase requirements, and is designed for different types of investors. ETF Shares are listed for trading on Nasdaq; they can be purchased and sold through a broker. Since inception, the fund has not issued any Institutional Select Shares and in March 2024, the board of trustees approved the closure of the Share Class effective March 21, 2024.
| A. | The following significant accounting policies conform to generally accepted accounting principles for U.S. investment companies. The fund consistently follows such policies in preparing its financial statements. |
1. Security Valuation: Securities are valued as of the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time) on the valuation date. Bonds and other temporary cash investments are valued using the latest bid prices or using valuations based on a matrix system (which considers such factors as security prices, yields, maturities, and ratings), both as furnished by independent pricing services. Structured debt securities, including mortgages and asset-backed securities, are valued using the latest bid prices or using valuations based on a matrix system that considers such factors as issuer, tranche, nominal or option-adjusted spreads, weighted average coupon, weighted average maturity, credit enhancements, and collateral, as furnished by independent pricing services. Investments in Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund are valued at that fund's net asset value. Securities for which market quotations are not readily available, or whose values have been affected by events occurring before the fund’s pricing time but after the close of the securities’ primary markets, are valued by methods deemed by the valuation designee to represent fair value and subject to oversight by the board of trustees. These procedures include obtaining quotations from an independent pricing service, monitoring news to identify significant market- or security-specific events, and evaluating changes in the values of foreign market proxies (for example, fixed income benchmark curves, foreign exchange rates, futures contracts, or exchange-traded funds), between the time the foreign markets close and the fund’s pricing time.
2. Foreign Currency: Securities and other assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars using exchange rates obtained from an independent third party as of the fund’s pricing time on the valuation date. Realized gains (losses) and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investment securities include the effects of changes in exchange rates since the securities were purchased, combined with the effects of changes in security prices. Fluctuations in the value of other assets and liabilities resulting from changes in exchange rates are recorded as unrealized foreign currency gains (losses) until the assets or liabilities are settled in cash, at which time they are recorded as realized foreign currency gains (losses).
3. Futures Contracts: The fund uses futures contracts to invest in fixed income asset classes with greater efficiency and lower cost than is possible through direct investment, to add value when these instruments are attractively priced, or to adjust sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are imperfect correlation between changes in market values of bonds held by the fund and the prices of futures contracts, and the possibility of an illiquid market. Counterparty risk involving futures is mitigated because a regulated clearinghouse is the counterparty instead of the clearing broker. To further mitigate counterparty risk, the fund trades futures contracts on an exchange, monitors the financial strength of its clearing brokers and clearinghouse, and has entered into clearing agreements with its clearing brokers. The clearinghouse imposes initial margin requirements to secure the fund’s performance and requires daily settlement of variation margin representing changes in the market value of each contract. Any securities pledged as initial margin for open contracts are noted in the Schedule of Investments.
Futures contracts are valued at their quoted daily settlement prices. The notional amounts of the contracts are not recorded in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Fluctuations in the value of the contracts are recorded in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as an asset (liability) and in the Statement of Operations as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) until the contracts are closed, when they are recorded as realized gains (losses) on futures contracts.
During the year ended October 31, 2024, the fund’s average investments in long and short futures contracts represented 1% and less than 1% of net assets, respectively, based on the average of the notional amounts at each quarter-end during the period.
4. Forward Currency Contracts: The fund enters into forward currency contracts to protect the value of securities and related receivables and payables against changes in future foreign exchange rates. The fund enters into centrally cleared non-deliverable forward currency contracts to achieve the same objective specified with respect to the equivalent over-the-counter forward currency contracts; rather than physical delivery of the two currencies at maturity, a net cash settlement is made by one party to the other in accordance with contract terms. Additionally, there is less counterparty risk because a regulated clearinghouse is the counterparty instead of the clearing broker or executing broker. The clearinghouse imposes initial margin requirements to secure the fund’s performance, and requires daily settlement of variation margin representing changes in the market value of each contract. To further mitigate counterparty risk, the fund trades with a diverse group of prequalified executing brokers; monitors the financial strength of its clearing brokers, executing brokers, and clearinghouse; and has entered into agreements with its clearing brokers and executing brokers. Risks associated with all types of forward currency contracts include movement in the values of the foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar and the ability of the counterparties to fulfill their obligations under the contracts. The fund mitigates its counterparty risk by entering into forward currency contracts only with a diverse group of prequalified counterparties, monitoring their financial strength, entering into master netting arrangements with its counterparties, and requiring its counterparties to transfer collateral as security for their performance. In the absence of a default, the collateral pledged or received by the fund cannot be repledged, rehypothecated or (under master netting agreements) resold. The master netting arrangements provide that, in the event of a counterparty’s default (including bankruptcy), the fund may terminate the forward currency contracts, determine the net amount owed by either party in accordance with its master netting arrangements, and sell or retain any collateral held up to the net amount owed to the fund under the master netting arrangements. The forward currency contracts contain provisions whereby a counterparty may terminate open contracts if the fund’s net assets decline below a certain level, triggering a payment by the fund if the fund is in a net liability position at the time of the termination. The payment amount would be reduced by any collateral the fund has pledged. Any securities pledged as collateral for open contracts are noted in the Schedule of Investments. The value of collateral received or pledged is compared daily to the value of the forward currency contracts exposure with each counterparty, and any difference, if in excess of a specified minimum transfer amount, is adjusted and settled within two business days.
