Vanguard has closed one fund to new accounts and raised the minimum investment for two others, the company announced Thursday. Each of the three funds -- two of which are among Vanguard's largest -- has experienced sustained inflows of cash and strong market appreciation, said a press release.

Effective immediately, the $6.9 billion Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund is closed to new accounts. This, Vanguard's third fund closure in 2006, brings the total of closed Vanguard funds to seven.

Meanwhile, also effective immediately, minimum initial investments for the $41 billion Vanguard Wellington Fund and the $44 billion Vanguard Windsor II Fund, which is Vanguard's largest actively managed stock fund, have been raised from $3,000 to $10,000. Shareholders of these funds will be limited to $25,000 in annual purchases per fund account.

“We will continue to employ these types of cash-flow management measures when we believe they are in the best interests of the funds’ existing shareholders,” said Vanguard CEO John Brennan in a statement.

On the same day, the firm announced the start of a subscription period for its Strategic Small-Cap Equity Fund. Though the new fund will, like the Strategic Equity Fund, be quantitatively managed, Brennan cautioned investors against substituting it for the closed product, saying the two funds have a different risk/reward profile.  

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