UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT

OF

REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number: 811-07239

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (610) 669-1000

Date of fiscal year end: September 30

Date of reporting period: October 1, 2019—September 30, 2020

Item 1: Reports to Shareholders

Important information about access to shareholder reports

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of your fund’s annual and semiannual shareholder reports will no longer be sent to you by mail, unless you specifically request them. Instead, you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted on the website and will be provided with a link to access the report.

If you have already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and do not need to take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the fund electronically by contacting your financial intermediary (such as a broker-dealer or bank) or, if you invest directly with the fund, by calling Vanguard at one of the phone numbers on the back cover of this report or by logging on to vanguard.com.

You may elect to receive paper copies of all future shareholder reports free of charge. If you invest through a financial intermediary, you can contact the intermediary to request that you continue to receive paper copies. If you invest directly with the fund, you can call Vanguard at one of the phone numbers on the back cover of this report or log on to vanguard.com. Your election to receive paper copies will apply to all the funds you hold through an intermediary or directly with Vanguard.

Please note: The opinions expressed in this report are just that—informed opinions. They should not be considered promises or advice. Also, please keep in mind that the information and opinions cover the period through the date on the front of this report. Of course, the risks of investing in your fund are spelled out in the prospectus.

Your Fund’s Performance at a Glance

·    For the 12 months ended September 30, 2020, Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund returned –2.09%. It lagged its benchmark, the MSCI US Small + Mid Cap 2200 Index, which returned 3.87%. The broad U.S. stock market as measured by the Russell 3000 Index returned 15.00% for the period.

·    After a sharp, pandemic-related decline earlier in 2020, global stocks began a rebound in March that continued into the third quarter. Massive fiscal and monetary support from governments and central banks, signs of economic healing, and reported progress toward a COVID-19 vaccine all buoyed the markets until September, when investor sentiment soured a little.

·    The fund’s relative performance was hurt most by stock selection in health care and industrials; it was helped most by selection in energy and consumer discretionary.

·    For the ten years ended September 30, the fund posted an average annual return of 11.42%. This result was slightly below that of its benchmark index.

Advisor’s Report

For the 12 months ended September 30, 2020, Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund returned –2.09%. It lagged its benchmark, the MSCI US Small + Mid Cap 2200 Index, which returned 3.87%.

Investment environment

After a sharp, pandemic-related decline earlier in 2020, global stocks began a rebound in March that continued into the third quarter. Massive fiscal and monetary support from governments and central banks, signs of economic healing, and reported progress toward a COVID-19 vaccine all buoyed the markets. Investor sentiment soured and volatility returned in September, though, amid stretched valuations in the technology sector, a resurgence in coronavirus infections in some regions, and dimmer chances of a new government aid package in the U.S.

In the United States, where the fund concentrates its investments, large-capitalization stocks outpaced mid- and small-caps, and growth stocks returned more than value stocks.

The pandemic led to a wave of issuance in the global bond market, which drove up supply, but demand held up fairly well. Yields ended the quarter little changed.

Investment objective and strategy

Although it’s important to understand how overall performance is affected by macro factors, our approach to investing focuses on specific fundamentals. We compare mid- and small-capitalization U.S. stocks within the same industry group to identify those with characteristics that we believe will outperform over time.

To do this, we use a strict quantitative approach to evaluate a stock’s attractiveness based on five characteristics: high quality—healthy balance sheets and steady cash-flow generation; management decisions—sound investment policies that favor internal over external funding; consistent earnings growth—the ability to grow earnings year after year; strong market sentiment—market confirmation of our view; and reasonable valuation—we strive to avoid overpriced stocks.

Using these five themes, we generate a daily composite stock ranking as we seek to capitalize on market inefficiencies. We then monitor our portfolio based on those rankings and adjust when appropriate to maximize expected returns while minimizing exposure to risks that our research indicates don’t improve returns (such as industry selection and other risks relative to our benchmark).

Our successes and shortfalls

The fund’s tilt toward attractively valued companies relative to the benchmark held back performance. Our momentum and growth models aided relative performance, but our quality, valuation, and management decision models more than offset those advantages. Six of the fund’s 11 industry sectors detracted on a relative basis.

Our stock selection in energy, consumer discretionary, and communication services did best; selections in health care, industrials, and real estate were the biggest detractors.

At the individual holding level, the portfolio benefited from Five9, Advanced Micro Devices, Cadence Design Systems, and Fortinet in information technology, and Veeva Systems in health care. The greatest shortfalls came from Service Properties Trust and Brixmor Property Group in real estate, Spirit AeroSystems Holdings in industrials, Ally Financial in financials, and Plains GP Holdings in energy.

We continue to believe that constructing a portfolio focused on fundamentals will benefit investors over the long term, although we recognize that the market can reward or punish us in the near term. We feel the fund offers a strong mix of stocks with attractive valuations and growth characteristics.

We thank you for your investment and look forward to the coming fiscal year.

Portfolio Managers:

James P. Stetler

Binbin Guo, Principal, Head of Alpha Equity Investments

Vanguard Quantitative Equity Group

October 15, 2020

About Your Fund’s Expenses

As a shareholder of the fund, you incur ongoing costs, which include costs for portfolio management, administrative services, and shareholder reports (like this one), among others. Operating expenses, which are deducted from a fund’s gross income, directly reduce the investment return of the fund.

A fund’s expenses are expressed as a percentage of its average net assets. This figure is known as the expense ratio. The following examples are intended to help you understand the ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in your fund and to compare these costs with those of other mutual funds. The examples are based on an investment of $1,000 made at the beginning of the period shown and held for the entire period.

The accompanying table illustrates your fund’s costs in two ways:

·  Based on actual fund return. This section helps you to estimate the actual expenses that you paid over the period. The ”Ending Account Value“ shown is derived from the fund‘s actual return, and the third column shows the dollar amount that would have been paid by an investor who started with $1,000 in the fund. You may use the information here, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period.

To do so, simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number given for your fund under the heading ”Expenses Paid During Period.“

·  Based on hypothetical 5% yearly return. This section is intended to help you compare your fund‘s costs with those of other mutual funds. It assumes that the fund had a yearly return of 5% before expenses, but that the expense ratio is unchanged. In this case—because the return used is not the fund’s actual return—the results do not apply to your investment. The example is useful in making comparisons because the Securities and Exchange Commission requires all mutual funds to calculate expenses based on a 5% return. You can assess your fund’s costs by comparing this hypothetical example with the hypothetical examples that appear in shareholder reports of other funds.

Note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight and help you compare ongoing costs only and do not reflect transaction costs incurred by the fund for buying and selling securities. Further, the expenses do not include any purchase, redemption, or account service fees described in the fund prospectus. If such fees were applied to your account, your costs would be higher. Your fund does not carry a “sales load.”

The calculations assume no shares were bought or sold during the period. Your actual costs may have been higher or lower, depending on the amount of your investment and the timing of any purchases or redemptions.

You can find more information about the fund’s expenses, including annual expense ratios, in the Financial Statements section of this report. For additional information on operating expenses and other shareholder costs, please refer to your fund’s current prospectus.

Six Months Ended September 30, 2020

The calculations are based on expenses incurred in the most recent six-month period. The fund’s annualized six-month expense ratio for that period is 0.17%. The dollar amounts shown as “Expenses Paid” are equal to the annualized expense ratio multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent six-month period, then divided by the number of days in the most recent 12-month period (183/366).

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Performance Summary

All of the returns in this report represent past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results that may be achieved by the fund. (Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data cited. For performance data current to the most recent month-end, visit our website at vanguard.com/performance.) Note, too, that both investment returns and principal value can fluctuate widely, so an investor’s shares, when sold, could be worth more or less than their original cost. The returns shown do not reflect taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or on the sale of fund shares.

Cumulative Performance: September 30, 2010, Through September 30, 2020

Initial Investment of $10,000

				Average Annual Total Returns
				Periods Ended September 30, 2020
										Final Value
				One		Five		Ten		of a $10,000
				Year		Years		Years		Investment
		Strategic Equity Fund		-2.09%		6.93%		11.42%		$29,483
		MSCI US Small + Mid Cap 2200 Index		3.87		9.84		11.60		29,962
		Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Float Adjusted Index		14.77		13.60		13.43		35,263

See Financial Highlights for dividend and capital gains information.

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Fund Allocation

As of September 30, 2020

The table reflects the fund's investments, except for short-term investments and derivatives. Sector categories are based on the Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”), except for the “Other” category (if applicable), which includes securities that have not been provided a GICS classification as of the effective reporting period.

The Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”) was developed by and is the exclusive property and a service mark of MSCI Inc. (“MSCI”) and Standard and Poor’s, a division of McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“S&P”), and is licensed for use by Vanguard. Neither MSCI, S&P nor any third party involved in making or compiling the GICS or any GICS classification makes any express or implied warranties or representations with respect to such standard or classification (or the results to be obtained by the use thereof), and all such parties hereby expressly disclaim all warranties of originality, accuracy, completeness, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to any such standard or classification. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall MSCI, S&P, any of its affiliates or any third party involved in making or compiling the GICS or any GICS classification have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential or any other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

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Financial Statements

Schedule of Investments

As of September 30, 2020

The fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to its reports on Form N-PORT. The fund’s Form N-PORT reports are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

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Cost is in $000.

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Derivative Financial Instruments Outstanding as of Period End

Futures Contracts

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

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Statement of Assets and Liabilities

As of September 30, 2020

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

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Statement of Operations

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

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Statement of Changes in Net Assets

1 Certain prior-period numbers have been reclassified to conform with the current-period presentation.

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

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Financial Highlights

See accompanying Notes, which are an integral part of the Financial Statements.

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Notes to Financial Statements

Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as an open-end investment company, or mutual fund. Market disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have had a global impact, and uncertainty exists as to the long-term implications. Such disruptions can adversely affect assets of the fund and thus fund performance.

A. The following significant accounting policies conform to generally accepted accounting principles for U.S. investment companies. The fund consistently follows such policies in preparing its financial statements.

1. Security Valuation: Securities are valued as of the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time) on the valuation date. Equity securities are valued at the latest quoted sales prices or official closing prices taken from the primary market in which each security trades; such securities not traded on the valuation date are valued at the mean of the latest quoted bid and asked prices. Securities for which market quotations are not readily available, or whose values have been materially affected by events occurring before the fund’s pricing time but after the close of the securities’ primary markets, are valued by methods deemed by the board of trustees to represent fair value. Investments in Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund are valued at that fund’s net asset value. Temporary cash investments are valued using the latest bid prices or using valuations based on a matrix system (which considers such factors as security prices, yields, maturities, and ratings), both as furnished by independent pricing services.

2. Futures Contracts: The fund uses index futures contracts to a limited extent, with the objective of maintaining full exposure to the stock market while maintaining liquidity. The fund may purchase or sell futures contracts to achieve a desired level of investment, whether to accommodate portfolio turnover or cash flows from capital share transactions. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are imperfect correlation between changes in market values of stocks held by the fund and the prices of futures contracts, and the possibility of an illiquid market. Counterparty risk involving futures is mitigated because a regulated clearinghouse is the counterparty instead of the clearing broker. To further mitigate counterparty risk, the fund trades futures contracts on an exchange, monitors the financial strength of its clearing brokers and clearinghouse, and has entered into clearing agreements with its clearing brokers. The clearinghouse imposes initial margin requirements to secure the fund’s performance and requires daily settlement of variation margin representing changes in the market value of each contract. Any securities pledged as initial margin for open contracts are noted in the Schedule of Investments.

Futures contracts are valued at their quoted daily settlement prices. The notional amounts of the contracts are not recorded in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Fluctuations in the value of the contracts are recorded in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as an asset (liability) and in the Statement of Operations as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) until the contracts are closed, when they are recorded as realized gains (losses) on futures contracts.

During the year ended September 30, 2020, the fund’s average investments in long and short futures contracts represented less than 1% and 0% of net assets, respectively, based on the average of the notional amounts at each quarter-end during the period.

3. Federal Income Taxes: The fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company and distribute all of its taxable income. The fund’s tax returns are open to examination by the relevant tax authorities until expiration of the applicable statute of limitations, which is generally

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three years after the filing of the tax return. Management has analyzed the fund’s tax positions taken for all open federal and state income tax years, and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the fund’s financial statements.

4. Distributions: Distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Distributions are determined on a tax basis at the fiscal year-end and may differ from net investment income and realized capital gains for financial reporting purposes.

5. Securities Lending: To earn additional income, the fund lends its securities to qualified institutional borrowers. Security loans are subject to termination by the fund at any time, and are required to be secured at all times by collateral in an amount at least equal to the market value of securities loaned. Daily market fluctuations could cause the value of loaned securities to be more or less than the value of the collateral received. When this occurs, the collateral is adjusted and settled before the opening of the market on the next business day. The fund further mitigates its counterparty risk by entering into securities lending transactions only with a diverse group of prequalified counterparties, monitoring their financial strength, and entering into master securities lending agreements with its counterparties. The master securities lending agreements provide that, in the event of a counterparty’s default (including bankruptcy), the fund may terminate any loans with that borrower, determine the net amount owed, and sell or retain the collateral up to the net amount owed to the fund; however, such actions may be subject to legal proceedings. While collateral mitigates counterparty risk, in the event of a default, the fund may experience delays and costs in recovering the securities loaned. The fund invests cash collateral received in Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund, and records a liability in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities for the return of the collateral, during the period the securities are on loan. Collateral investments in Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund are subject to market appreciation or depreciation. Securities lending income represents fees charged to borrowers plus income earned on invested cash collateral, less expenses associated with the loan. During the term of the loan, the fund is entitled to all distributions made on or in respect of the loaned securities.

6. Credit Facilities and Interfund Lending Program: The fund and certain other funds managed by The Vanguard Group (“Vanguard”) participate in a $4.3 billion committed credit facility provided by a syndicate of lenders pursuant to a credit agreement and an uncommitted credit facility provided by Vanguard. Both facilities may be renewed annually. Each fund is individually liable for its borrowings, if any, under the credit facilities. Borrowings may be utilized for temporary or emergency purposes, subject to the fund’s regulatory and contractual borrowing restrictions. With respect to the committed credit facility, the participating funds are charged administrative fees and an annual commitment fee of 0.10% of the undrawn committed amount of the facility; these fees are allocated to the funds based on a method approved by the fund’s board of trustees and included in Management and Administrative expenses on the fund’s Statement of Operations. Any borrowings under either facility bear interest at a rate based upon the higher of the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (or an acceptable alternate rate, if necessary), federal funds effective rate, or overnight bank funding rate plus an agreed-upon spread, except that borrowings under the uncommitted credit facility may bear interest based upon an alternative rate agreed to by the fund and Vanguard.

In accordance with an exemptive order (the “Order”) from the SEC, the fund may participate in a joint lending and borrowing program that allows registered open-end Vanguard funds to borrow money from and lend money to each other for temporary or emergency purposes (the “Interfund

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Lending Program”), subject to compliance with the terms and conditions of the Order, and to the extent permitted by the fund’s investment objective and investment policies. Interfund loans and borrowings normally extend overnight, but can have a maximum duration of seven days. Loans may be called on one business day’s notice. The interest rate to be charged is governed by the conditions of the Order and internal procedures adopted by the board of trustees. The board of trustees is responsible for overseeing the Interfund Lending Program.

For the year ended September 30, 2020, the fund did not utilize the credit facilities or the Interfund Lending Program.

7. Other: Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Interest income includes income distributions received from Vanguard Market Liquidity Fund and is accrued daily. Premiums and discounts on debt securities are amortized and accreted, respectively, to interest income over the lives of the respective securities, except for premiums on certain callable debt securities that are amortized to the earliest call date. Security transactions are accounted for on the date securities are bought or sold. Costs used to determine realized gains (losses) on the sale of investment securities are those of the specific securities sold.

B. In accordance with the terms of a Funds’ Service Agreement (the “FSA”) between Vanguard and the fund, Vanguard furnishes to the fund investment advisory, corporate management, administrative, marketing, and distribution services at Vanguard’s cost of operations (as defined by the FSA). These costs of operations are allocated to the fund based on methods and guidelines approved by the board of trustees and are generally settled twice a month.

Upon the request of Vanguard, the fund may invest up to 0.40% of its net assets as capital in Vanguard. At September 30, 2020, the fund had contributed to Vanguard capital in the amount of $250,000, representing less than 0.01% of the fund’s net assets and 0.10% of Vanguard’s capital received pursuant to the FSA. The fund’s trustees and officers are also directors and employees, respectively, of Vanguard.

C. Various inputs may be used to determine the value of the fund’s investments and derivatives. These inputs are summarized in three broad levels for financial statement purposes. The inputs or methodologies used to value securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

Level 1—Quoted prices in active markets for identical securities. 

Level 2—Other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.). 

Level 3—Significant unobservable inputs (including the fund’s own assumptions used to determine the fair value of investments). Any investments and derivatives valued with significant unobservable inputs are noted on the Schedule of Investments.

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The following table summarizes the market value of the fund’s investments and derivatives as of September 30, 2020, based on the inputs used to value them

D. Permanent differences between book-basis and tax-basis components of net assets, if any, are reclassified among capital accounts in the financial statements to reflect their tax character. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset value per share.

Temporary differences between book-basis and tax-basis components of total distributable earnings (loss) arise when certain items of income, gain, or loss are recognized in different periods for financial statement and tax purposes; these differences will reverse at some time in the future. The differences are primarily related to the deferral of losses from wash sales; the recognition of unrealized gains or losses from certain derivative contracts; and the deferral of qualified late-year losses. As of period end, the tax-basis components of total distributable earnings (loss) are detailed in the table as follows:

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The tax character of distributions paid was as follows:

*Includes short-term capital gains, if any.

As of September 30, 2020, gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation for investments and derivatives based on cost for U.S. federal income tax purposes were as follows:

E.   During the year ended September 30, 2020, the fund purchased $3,862,095,000 of investment securities and sold $4,848,075,000 of investment securities, other than temporary cash investments.

F.    Capital shares issued and redeemed were: