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Data last updated: Sep 21, 2026
Snapshot (as of Sep 21, 2026): Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares (VFSTX) pays a $0.48 annual dividend ($0.04 monthly), yielding 4.71% at $10.21/share. Next ex-dividend date 2026-08-31. Source: Yahoo Finance, aggregated by MerryDiv.
Dividend Yield: 4.71%
Annual Dividend: $0.48 per share
Ex-Dividend Date: 2026-08-31
Dividend Frequency: monthly
Sector: Financial Services
Years of Dividend History: 45
Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares dividend comes from a portfolio of investment-grade corporate debt, securitized consumer credit, and U.S. government bonds with short durations. The fund currently yields 4.67%, paying $0.4813 per share over the trailing twelve months. VFSTX pays monthly, with the next ex-dividend date on August 31, 2026, and a last dividend amount of $0.0412 per share. With a beta of 0.4, this fund suits income-focused investors who want monthly cash flow with below-average price swings.
Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares pays out dividends as a pass-through of interest income from its bond holdings, making a traditional payout ratio not applicable (fund/ETF). Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares dividend safety is directly tied to the interest income generated by its portfolio of investment-grade corporate debt, securitized consumer credit, and government bonds. The most significant pressure point is interest rate risk: rising rates reduce the value of existing bonds in the portfolio, which can compress both share price and the income available for distribution.
Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares dividend history shows a CAGR of 1.1% per year from 2005 to 2025. Per-share payments moved from $0.3810 to $0.4711 over that period (2026 is a partial year and excluded from this calculation). The largest annual increase in the window was 62.9% in 2023, but the data also contains at least one year-over-year decline exceeding 5%, so growth has been far from linear. At 1.1% annually, dividend growth is slow and has not kept pace with typical inflation rates, which limits the real purchasing power of income over time.
| Period | CAGR | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Year | +34.9% | $0.19 (2022) | $0.47 (2025) |
| 5-Year | +13.8% | $0.25 (2020) | $0.47 (2025) |
| 10-Year | +8.4% | $0.21 (2015) | $0.47 (2025) |
VFSTX fits income-focused investors who want monthly distributions from a diversified investment-grade bond portfolio and can accept some principal volatility. The current yield is classified as high (above 4%), and at 4.67% it sits well above the fund's own 5-year average of 3.09%, meaning today's income level is elevated relative to recent history. The trade-off is clear: dividend growth has averaged just 1.1% per year over two decades, so the fund delivers income now rather than growing income over time. Rising interest rates remain the primary risk to both share price and distribution levels.
| Payment Date | Amount per Share |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-31 | $0.0412 |
| 2026-07-31 | $0.0412 |
| 2026-06-30 | $0.0408 |
| 2026-05-29 | $0.0408 |
| 2026-04-30 | $0.0406 |
| 2026-03-31 | $0.0402 |
| 2026-02-27 | $0.0389 |
| 2026-01-30 | $0.0394 |
| 2025-12-31 | $0.0395 |
| 2025-11-28 | $0.0393 |
| Year | Total Dividends |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $0.3231 |
| 2025 | $0.4711 |
| 2024 | $0.4176 |
| 2023 | $0.3123 |
| 2022 | $0.1917 |
Project income from VFSTX with the VFSTX dividend calculator or track your full portfolio with the dividend tracker.