Vanguard World Fund

11/22/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/22/2024 08:19

Summary Prospectus by Investment Company - Form 497K

SP 3138 Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF
Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF
Summary Prospectus
 November 22, 2024
Exchange-traded fund shares that are not individually redeemable and are listed on NYSE Arca
Vanguard Mega Cap Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (MGK)
 The Fund's statutory Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated November 22, 2024, as may be amended or supplemented, are incorporated into and made part of this Summary Prospectus by reference.
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's Prospectus and other information about the Fund online at www.vanguard.com/prospectus and http://personal.vanguard.com/us/literature/reports/ETFs. You can also obtain this information at no cost by calling 866-499-8473 or by sending an email request to [email protected].
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of large-capitalization growth stocks in the United States.
Fees and Expenses
The following tables describe the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell ETF Shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and example below.
Shareholder Fees
(Fees paid directly from your investment) 
Transaction Fee on Purchases and Sales
None*
Transaction Fee on Reinvested Dividends
None*
Transaction Fee on Conversion to ETF Shares
None*
*
None through Vanguard (Broker fees vary)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) 
Management Fees
0.06
%
12b-1 Distribution Fee
None
Other Expenses
0.01
%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.07
%
Example
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund's ETF Shares with the cost of investing in other funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you were to invest $10,000 in the Fund's shares. This example assumes that the shares provide a return of 5% each year and that total annual fund operating expenses remain as stated in the preceding table. You would incur these hypothetical expenses whether or not you were to sell your shares at the end of the given period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: 
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
$7
$23
$40
$90
1
This example does not include the brokerage commissions that you may pay to buy and sell ETF Shares of the Fund.
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in more taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the previous expense example, reduce the Fund's performance. During the fiscal period ended September 30, 2024, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 21% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the CRSP US Mega Cap Growth Index (the Index), which represents the growth companies as determined by the index provider, of the CRSP US Mega Cap Index. The Index is a float-adjusted, market-capitalization-weighted index designed to measure equity market performance of mega-capitalization growth stocks in the United States. The Fund attempts to replicate the target index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the stocks that make up the Index, holding each stock in approximately the same proportion as its weighting in the Index. The Fund may become nondiversified, as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the Index.
Principal Risks
An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or long periods of time. You should expect the Fund's share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range. The Fund is subject to the following risks, which could affect the Fund's performance:
• Stock market risk, which is the chance that stock prices overall will decline. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices. The Fund's target index tracks a subset of the U.S. stock market, which could cause the Fund to perform differently from the overall stock market. In addition, the Fund's target index may, at times, become focused in stocks of a particular market sector, which would subject the Fund to proportionately higher exposure to the risks of that sector.
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• Asset concentration risk, which is the chance that, because the Fund tends to invest a high percentage of assets in its ten largest holdings, the Fund's performance may be hurt disproportionately by the poor performance of relatively few stocks.
• Investment style risk, which is the chance that returns from large-capitalization growth stocks in which the Fund invests will trail returns from the overall stock market. Large-cap stocks and growth stocks tend to go through cycles of doing better or worse than other segments of the stock market or the stock market in general. These periods have, in the past, lasted for as long as several years.
• Index-related risks. The Fund is subject to risks associated with index investing, which include passive management risk, tracking error risk, and index provider risk. Passive management risk is the chance that the Fund's use of an indexing strategy will negatively impact the Fund's performance. Because the Fund seeks to track the performance of its target index regardless of how that index is performing, the Fund's performance may be lower than it would be if the Fund were actively managed. Tracking error risk is the chance that the Fund's performance will deviate from the performance of its target index. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or under other unusual market conditions. Index provider risk is the chance that the Fund will be negatively impacted by changes or errors made by the index provider. Any gains, losses, or costs associated with or resulting from an error made by the index provider will generally be borne by the Fund and, as a result, the Fund's shareholders.
• Index replicating risk, which is the chance that the Fund may be prevented from holding one or more securities in the same proportion as in its target index.
• Nondiversification risk. Because the Fund seeks to closely track the composition of the Fund's target index, from time to time, more than 25% of the Fund's total assets may be invested in issuers representing more than 5% of the Fund's total assets due to an index rebalance or market movement, which would result in the Fund being nondiversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund's performance may be hurt disproportionately by the poor performance of relatively few stocks, or even a single stock, and the Fund's shares may experience significant fluctuations in value.
• Sector risk, which is the chance that significant problems will affect a particular sector, or that returns from that sector will trail returns from the overall stock market. Daily fluctuations in specific market sectors are often more extreme or volatile than fluctuations in the overall market. Because a significant portion of the Fund's assets are invested in the information technology sector, the Fund's performance is impacted by the general condition of that sector. Companies in the information technology sector could be affected by, among other things, overall economic conditions, short product cycles, rapid obsolescence of
3
products, competition, and government regulation. Sector risk is expected to be high for the Fund.
Because ETF Shares are traded on an exchange, they are subject to additional risks:
• The Fund's ETF Shares are listed for trading on NYSE Arca and are bought and sold on the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of an ETF Share typically will approximate its net asset value (NAV), there may be times when the market price and the NAV differ significantly. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy ETF Shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares.
• Although the Fund's ETF Shares are listed for trading on NYSE Arca, it is possible that an active trading market may not be maintained.
• Trading of the Fund's ETF Shares may be halted by the activation of individual or marketwide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage). Trading of the Fund's ETF Shares may also be halted if (1) the shares are delisted from NYSE Arca without first being listed on another exchange or (2) NYSE Arca officials determine that such action is appropriate in the interest of a fair and orderly market or for the protection of investors.
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Annual Total Returns
The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund's ETF Shares (based on NAV) has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the ETF Shares compare with those of the Fund's target index and other comparative indexes, which have investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. The Spliced Mega Cap Growth Index reflects the performance of the MSCI US Large Cap Growth Index through April 16, 2013, and the CRSP US Mega Cap Growth Index thereafter. Keep in mind that the Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance.
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Annual Total Returns - Vanguard Mega Cap Growth Index Fund ETF Shares 1  
1 The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended on September 30, 2024, was 24.49%.
During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest and lowest returns for a calendar quarter were: 
Total Return
Quarter
Highest
28.80
%
June 30, 2020
Lowest
-22.54
%
June 30, 2022
Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2023 
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Vanguard Mega Cap Growth Index Fund ETF Shares
Based on NAV
Return Before Taxes
51.56
%
20.20
%
14.75
%
Return After Taxes on Distributions
51.36
20.01
14.48
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
30.64
16.49
12.39
Based on Market Price
Return Before Taxes
51.66
20.22
14.75
Spliced Mega Cap Growth Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
51.67
%
20.28
%
14.82
%
CRSP US Mega Cap Growth Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
51.67
20.28
14.82
Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Float Adjusted Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
26.06
15.05
11.40
Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual
5
retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares may be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder.
Investment Advisor
The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard)
Portfolio Managers
Michelle Louie, CFA, Portfolio Manager and Principal of Vanguard. She has co-managed the Fund since 2021.
Gerard C. O'Reilly, Portfolio Manager and Principal of Vanguard. He has co-managed the Fund since 2015.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
ETF Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a brokerage firm. The price you pay or receive for ETF Shares will be the prevailing market price, which may be more (premium) or less (discount) than the NAV of the shares. The brokerage firm may charge you a commission to execute the transaction. Unless imposed by your brokerage firm, there is no minimum dollar amount you must invest and no minimum number of shares you must buy. ETF Shares of the Fund cannot be directly purchased from or redeemed with the Fund, except by certain authorized broker-dealers. These broker-dealers may purchase and redeem ETF Shares only in large blocks (Creation Units), typically in exchange for baskets of securities.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase ETF Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for ETF Shares (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (bid-ask spread). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available online at vanguard.com.
Tax Information
The Fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gain. If you are investing through a tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement or savings plan, special tax rules apply. You should consult your own tax advisor with respect to any particular U.S. or non-U.S. tax consequences of your investment in the Fund.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
The Fund and its investment advisor do not pay financial intermediaries for sales of Fund shares.
CFA® is a registered trademark owned by CFA Institute.
Center for Research in Security Prices, LLC (CRSP®) and its third-party suppliers have exclusive proprietary rights in the CRSP® Index Data, which has been licensed for use by Vanguard but is and shall remain valuable intellectual property owned by, and/or licensed to, CRSP®. The Vanguard Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by CRSP®, The University of Chicago, or The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and neither CRSP®, The University of Chicago, or The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in the Vanguard Funds.
Vanguard Mega Cap Growth Index Fund ETF Shares-Fund Number 3138
To request additional information about the Fund, please visit vanguard.com or contact us at 866-499-8473.
© 2024 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor.
SP 3138 112024