Vipers at Vanguard will be called simply ETFs.

Byline: Benjamin Y. Lowe

Jul. 6--In the interest of greater clarity, and perhaps more investment offerings, the Vanguard Group said yesterday that it would rename its five-year-old line of exchange-traded funds.

Exchange-traded funds, a fast-growing segment of mutual-fund investing, are mutual funds that trade like stocks. They account for 25 percent of new deposits at Vanguard, a spokesman said.

Starting today, the Malvern fund family's Vipers, short for Vanguard Index Participation Equity Receipts, will now simply be called Vanguard ETFs.

"The name Viper was limiting in a sense because it signifies index and equity," said John S. Woerth, …