Vanguard Global Bd Idx EUR H Acc

Analyst Report
Morningstar's Take
|10/12/2024

by Jose Garcia-Zarate
The global multisector nature of Vanguard Global Bond can make it work as the central fixed-income element in a portfolio. The strategy tracks an index with returns hedged to multiple currencies. The low ongoing charges levied by all share classes are a strong point in its favor.

The fund offers significantly lower exposure to China than its passive competitors. This is because Vanguard made an active decision to slow down and eventually stop the inclusion of Chinese onshore debt undertaken by Bloomberg back in 2019. Vanguard argues that there remain issues that prevent access to China and specifically point to the ability to efficiently handle the hedging of yuan exposure. Other passive fund providers do not share this view. This has translated into a significant divergence in China exposure between this fund and competitors tracking the standard Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index. This can work for or against this strategy, depending on the performance of Chinese bonds.

Irrespective of differences in China exposure, the trade-off of adopting a passive approach to global-bond exposure is the lack of flexibility in country, sector, and duration calls relative to active funds that can substantially alter the portfolio distribution. This can also increase the chances of making mistakes over the long term, particularly in relation to the credit bucket. The steady approach of an index fund may help to iron these out, not least considering the substantial price advantage. But overall, an index-tracking approach to the global aggregate bond market remains something of a blunt investment proposal. It is good enough for uncomplicated beta but leaves room to add value.

Overall, this index strategy has points in its favor, most notably its low fees. Investors seeking a well-managed one-stop-shop fund for broad global-bond market exposure and specifically eyeing limited exposure to China should find that this fund fits the bill.
 
Morningstar Medalist Rating™Low-cost exposure to the global-bond market with a minimal allocation to China.
To find out how Morningstar rates a fund click here.
Morningstar Pillars
PeopleAbove Average
ParentHigh
ProcessAverage
 
Morningstar Medalist RatingMorningstar assigns the Medalist Rating to funds that are qualitatively and quantitatively assessed through manager research and algorithmic processes. The assessment turns on three key “pillars” – People, Process, and Parent – that yield an estimate of how well a fund will perform before fees but after adjusting for risk.
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