You Own Wall Street › Voting choice › Vanguard Investor Choice › Fund Proxy Policy
Vanguard Fund Proxy Policy: the default in Investor Choice
The fund's own policy, adopted by its trustees. If an investor does not select a voting policy option, the participating fund will continue to vote the investor’s share of the fund based on the Fund Proxy Policy.
(Vanguard Investor Choice) Who writes it: the fund's trustees.
Keep it, or choose another policy
Hold a listed Vanguard fund in a brokerage account or IRA?
Set your policy on Vanguard’s or Broadridge’s site. Your voting policy selection can be made or updated at any time.
(Vanguard Investor Choice)
Vanguard brokerage account → Any other broker, via ProxyVote →
Vanguard says a choice made through ProxyVote may not apply if Broadridge, which runs it, cannot see your Vanguard fund holdings.
Hold it through your employer’s 401(k)?
The plan sponsor makes this choice for the whole plan. Nearly 80 retirement plan sponsors now take part, for more than one million plan participants (Vanguard, September 29, 2026). Ask yours:
Draft the letter to my plan →It opens in your own email. Send it to your HR or benefits team.
What it does, in its own words
- If you choose nothing
The proportionate share of any shareholder in a participating fund who has not selected a voting policy will continue to be voted by the Fund in accordance with the respective Fund Proxy Policy.
- Switching back
If you choose a policy other than the Fund Proxy Policy, you may change your selection at any time to the Fund Proxy Policy.
SourceVanguard Investor Choice
The policy itself: Vanguard Capital Management (VCM) Funds Proxy Voting Policy and Vanguard Portfolio Management (VPM) Funds Proxy Voting Policy, as each fund’s trustees adopted it.
How Vanguard describes it
The proportionate shares of participating investors that select the Fund Proxy Policy will be voted in accordance with the proxy voting policy that has been adopted by the Fund’s Trustees. These policies seek to maximize long-term shareholder returns by focusing on certain principles of good corporate governance associated with long-term shareholder returns.
SourceVanguard Investor Choice
How the default voted in 2026
A fund’s own vote is cast under this policy, and it votes the share of every holder who chose nothing. Each figure below counts the fund’s own vote, the block carrying most of its shares; the smaller blocks it cast another way for holders who chose another policy are left out of the count.
| Fund | Listed by Vanguard | Climate | Workers | Pay equity | Exec pay backed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Growth Index FundVUG · files as Vanguard Morningstar Growth Index Fund | October 21, 2025 | 0 of 18 | 0 of 9 | 0 of 3 | 94.2% |
| Vanguard Value Index FundVTV · files as Vanguard Morningstar Value Index Fund | October 21, 2025 | 0 of 44 | 0 of 12 | 0 of 2 | 98.1% |
| Vanguard Mid-Cap Index FundVO · files as Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap Index Fund | October 21, 2025 | 0 of 13 | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 97.6% |
| Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index FundVOOG | October 21, 2025 | 0 of 23 | 0 of 10 | 0 of 2 | 96.7% |
| Vanguard Mega Cap Index FundMGC · files as Vanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Index Fund | October 21, 2025 | 0 of 49 | 0 of 18 | 0 of 3 | 95.7% |
| Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index FundVIG | October 21, 2025 | 0 of 30 | 0 of 6 | 0 of 2 | 98.8% |
| Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index FundVYM | October 21, 2025 | 0 of 48 | 0 of 6 | 0 of 3 | 97.6% |
| Vanguard 500 Index FundVOO | October 21, 2025 | 0 of 66 | 0 of 20 | 0 of 6 | 98.1% |
| Vanguard Extended Market Index FundVXF | October 21, 2025 | 0 of 12 | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 | 96.4% |
| Vanguard Institutional Index FundVINIX | October 21, 2025 | 0 of 66 | 0 of 20 | 0 of 6 | 97.8% |
| Vanguard Consumer Staples Index FundVDC | February 25, 2026 | 0 of 18 | 0 of 4 | 0 of 2 | 93.6% |
| Vanguard Health Care Index FundVHT | February 25, 2026 | 0 of 3 | — | 0 of 1 | 95.5% |
| Vanguard Information Technology Index FundVGT | February 25, 2026 | 0 of 7 | 0 of 8 | 0 of 2 | 96% |
| Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Index FundIVOO | February 25, 2026 | 0 of 10 | 0 of 1 | 0 of 2 | 98.2% |
How to read itListed Vanguard funds on this site. For each issue, the figure is how many shareholder proposals the fund backed out of those it voted on; exec pay is how often it backed management’s executive-pay resolutions. Every figure comes from the fund’s own 2026 SEC filing of its proxy votes, Form N-PX, linked from the fund’s page.
The other policies
- Company Board-Aligned Policy: Votes your share the way each company's board recommends.
- Egan-Jones Wealth-Focused Policy: Follows proxy adviser Egan-Jones; by rule it rejects environmental, social or political proposals unless they directly add to the company's revenue.
- Glass Lewis ESG Policy: Follows proxy adviser Glass Lewis, on the view that more disclosure on environmental, social and governance issues can reduce company risks.
- Mirror Voting Policy: Votes your share in about the same proportions as the other shareholders voting at each meeting.
We quote each policy’s publishers; we don’t recommend one. How Vanguard Investor Choice works.
The funds where you can choose it
Every share class of Vanguard Growth Index Fund (VUG), Vanguard Value Index Fund (VTV), Vanguard Large-Cap Index Fund (VV), Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Fund (VO), Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund (VOOG), Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (ESGV), Vanguard Russell 1000 Index Fund (VONE), Vanguard Mega Cap Index Fund (MGC), Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund (VIG), Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Fund (VYM), Vanguard Tax-Managed Capital Appreciation Fund (VTCLX), Vanguard Tax-Managed Small-Cap Fund (VTMSX), Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VOO), Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund (VXF), Vanguard Institutional Index Fund (VINIX), Vanguard Energy Index Fund (VDE), Vanguard Materials Index Fund (VAW), Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS), Vanguard Consumer Discretionary Index Fund (VCR), Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund (VDC), Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT), Vanguard Financials Index Fund (VFH), Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund (VGT), Vanguard Communication Services Index Fund (VOX), Vanguard Utilities Index Fund (VPU), Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Index Fund (IVOO), Vanguard S&P 500 Value Index Fund (VOOV), Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth Index Fund (IVOG), Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value Index Fund (IVOV), Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Index Fund (VIOO), Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Value Index Fund (VIOV), Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (VIOG).