Checking your retirement account and seeing the Vanguard 2035 stock price wiggle around every day can be kinda stressful. Honestly, though, most people look at that number all wrong. They treat it like a regular stock—like Apple or Tesla—when it’s actually a complex "fund of funds" that's basically a living, breathing machine designed to get more boring as you get older.
Right now, as of mid-January 2026, the Net Asset Value (NAV) for the Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund (VTTHX) is sitting around $27.93.
It’s up from where it was a year ago, but if you look at the charts, you’ll see it dropped recently. Why? Well, in late December 2025, the fund paid out a dividend of about $0.67 and some capital gains. When a mutual fund pays you that cash, the "price" of the share drops by that exact amount. It's not a "loss" in the traditional sense; the money just moved from the fund's pocket into your reinvestment account.
The 2035 Glide Path: It’s Getting Conservative (Sorta)
We are officially less than a decade away from 2035. That matters.
The Vanguard 2035 fund doesn't just sit there. It follows a "glide path." When you first bought it, it was probably 90% stocks. Now? It’s holding roughly 67% to 68% stocks and about 31% to 32% bonds.
- Total Stock Market Index Fund: About 40.5%
- Total International Stock Index Fund: Roughly 26.8%
- Total Bond Market II Index Fund: Around 19.4%
- Total International Bond II Index Fund: About 10.1%
See how that works? You've got a massive chunk in the U.S. market, but nearly a third of your equity is overseas. This is why the Vanguard 2035 stock price doesn't just mimic the S&P 500. If the dollar is strong or Europe is having a bad week, the fund might lag behind the "Main Street" news you hear on TV.
Why the Price Fluctuates So Much Lately
If you’ve noticed the price jumping around more than usual lately, blame the Federal Reserve.
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Interest rates are the kryptonite of bond prices. Since this fund is now holding over 30% bonds, it's becoming more sensitive to what the Fed says about rate cuts (or lack thereof) in 2026. When rates stay high, those older bonds in the portfolio lose value, dragging down the NAV.
But there’s a silver lining.
Newer bonds being bought by the fund managers are yielding more. The 30-day SEC yield is currently around 2.63%. That’s the "income" part of the "capital appreciation and income" goal listed in the prospectus. You’re getting paid to wait.
Comparing the "Select" vs "Investor" Shares
If you’re lucky enough to have this in a big corporate 401(k), you might not be looking at the $27.93 price. You might be looking at the "Trust Select" version, which trades at a completely different NAV—around **$72.12** lately.
The price difference doesn't mean one is "better" or "more expensive." It's just a different pool of money. The Select version usually has a lower expense ratio—about 0.045% compared to the 0.08% for the standard VTTHX shares. Over twenty years, that tiny difference actually saves you thousands of dollars.
Real-World Performance: The 1-Year Reality Check
Over the last year, the fund has been a bit of a rockstar, returning roughly 17.54%.
That sounds amazing, and it is. But context is everything. The benchmark for this category did basically the same thing. Vanguard isn't trying to "beat" the market; they are trying to be the market. They use index funds to keep costs low, which is why Morningstar gives them a "Low" rating for expenses.
If you compare it to a pure S&P 500 fund, you might feel like you're missing out on the tech rallies. For instance, the S&P 500 TR has nearly quadrupled a $10,000 investment over the last decade, while the 2035 fund has roughly doubled it (to about $24,548).
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That’s the trade-off. You're trading the potential for massive "Moon" gains for the security of not losing 50% of your net worth right before you want to buy a beach house in 2035.
What to Actually Do Right Now
The Vanguard 2035 stock price is a "set it and forget it" number, but that doesn't mean you should be totally blind.
First, check your fees. If you aren't in a 401(k) and you're buying this in a brokerage account, make sure you aren't paying a "transaction fee." Some platforms charge $100 just to buy the fund, which is insane. Stick to Vanguard's own platform or a fee-free broker like Schwab or Fidelity.
Second, re-evaluate your retirement date. If you've decided to work until 2045, this fund is probably getting too "safe" for you too early. You might want to swap to the 2045 fund to keep that 90% stock exposure for longer.
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Finally, stop checking the price every day. Target-date funds are designed for people who have better things to do than watch tickers. The managers are already doing the rebalancing for you—selling the winners and buying the losers—so you don't have to.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Verify your Expense Ratio in your current plan; if it’s higher than 0.08%, look for a "Collective Investment Trust" (CIT) version of the same fund.
- Review your reinvestment settings to ensure year-end dividends are automatically buying more shares rather than sitting in cash.
- Compare your projected retirement date with the 2035 glide path to see if the current ~32% bond allocation matches your actual risk tolerance for the next nine years.