Vanguard Offers 3 New Index Funds

Vanguard Group, the nation’s leading marketer of “index” mutual funds, is introducing three funds that will mimic the stock index performance of small and medium-sized companies.

The Valley Forge, Pa.-based company said it opened funds to track the Standard & Poor’s mid-cap 400 index, the S&P; small-cap 600/Barra value index and the S&P; small-cap 600/Barra growth index.

The offerings come about 22 years after Vanguard founder John Bogle introduced the industry’s first stock mutual fund to mimic the S&P; 500 index. Vanguard manages 20 stock index funds with aggregate assets of more than $115 billion. It is the nation’s second-biggest fund company, with more than $375 billion in assets.