Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND)
$70.82+0.01%close of Oct 16, 2026
Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by Vanguard. This fund owns thousands of US bonds, which are loans that pay interest. It charges 0.03% a year. From April 2007 to October 2026 it returned about 2.9% a year, and its worst drop was −18.6%.
Written by the Tactfolio research team. Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.
- Yearly fee
- 0.03%
- about $3 on $10,000
- 1-year return
- −1.7%
- to Oct 16, 2026
- Return per year
- 2.9%
- since April 2007
- Worst drop
- −18.6%
- since 2007
- Below its high
- −4.0%
- now
- Volatility
- 5.2%
- yearly swings
- Issuer
- Vanguard
- Tracks
- Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index
- Started trading
- April 3, 2007
- Type
- US bonds, ETF
- Holdings
- 11,434 holdings as of September 30, 2026
- Expense ratio
- 0.03% a year
How has BND done since 2007?#
From April 2007 to October 2026, BND returned about 2.9% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 10.9% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $17,421 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.
| Period | BND | S&P 500 (SPY) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 month | −0.1% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | −1.7% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | −2.0% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | −1.5% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | −1.7% | 16.8% |
| 3 years per year | 4.7% | 22.0% |
| 5 years per year | −0.4% | 12.8% |
| 10 years per year | 1.4% | 15.4% |
| Since 2007 per year | 2.9% | 10.9% |
Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.
BND returns by month and year#
BND rose in 144 of its 235 months (61%). Its best month was December 2008, at 5.1%. Its worst was September 2022, at −4.2%.
| Year | Total | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | −1.5% | 0.2 | 1.6 | −1.7 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | −1.3 | 0.4 | −2.5 | 1.3 | ||
| 2025 | 7.1% | 0.6 | 2.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | −0.7 | 1.5 | −0.3 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 | −0.3 |
| 2024 | 1.4% | −0.2 | −1.4 | 0.9 | −2.4 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 1.3 | −2.5 | 1.1 | −1.7 |
| 2023 | 5.7% | 3.3 | −2.7 | 2.7 | 0.6 | −1.2 | −0.2 | −0.1 | −0.7 | −2.5 | −1.5 | 4.5 | 3.6 |
| 2022 | −13.1% | −2.1 | −1.1 | −2.7 | −4.0 | 0.8 | −1.7 | 2.4 | −2.8 | −4.2 | −1.2 | 3.7 | −0.8 |
| 2021 | −1.9% | −0.9 | −1.5 | −1.3 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1.2 | −0.2 | −1.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | −0.3 |
| 2020 | 7.7% | 2.0 | 1.7 | −1.4 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.5 | −0.9 | −0.1 | −0.6 | 1.2 | 0.2 |
| 2019 | 8.8% | 1.1 | −0.1 | 1.9 | 0.0 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 2.8 | −0.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 | −0.1 |
| 2018 | 0.1% | −1.2 | −1.0 | 0.7 | −0.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.7 | −0.5 | −0.9 | 0.6 | 1.9 |
| 2017 | 4.0% | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.1 | −0.5 | 0.0 | −0.1 | 0.5 |
| 2016 | 2.5% | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.6 | −0.3 | 0.1 | −0.9 | −2.6 | 0.3 |
| 2015 | 0.6% | 2.4 | −1.3 | 0.6 | −0.3 | −0.5 | −1.1 | 0.9 | −0.2 | 0.8 | 0.0 | −0.4 | −0.2 |
| 2014 | 5.8% | 1.6 | 0.5 | −0.2 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.1 | −0.3 | 1.1 | −0.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| 2013 | −2.1% | −0.7 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.0 | −1.9 | −1.6 | 0.4 | −0.9 | 1.1 | 0.9 | −0.3 | −0.6 |
| 2012 | 2.9% | 0.6 | 0.0 | −0.5 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | −0.1 | 0.1 | −0.9 |
| 2011 | 7.9% | 0.1 | 0.3 | −0.1 | 1.5 | 1.2 | −0.4 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.1 | −0.1 | 1.2 |
| 2010 | 6.2% | 1.3 | 0.3 | −0.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 0.3 | −0.7 | −1.0 |
| 2009 | 3.6% | −2.1 | −0.6 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | −1.4 |
| 2008 | 6.9% | 1.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 | −0.3 | −1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | −0.5 | −2.9 | 3.9 | 5.1 |
| 2007 | 6.1% | 0.3 | −0.8 | −0.3 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 0.9 |
Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.
How risky is BND compared with the S&P 500?#
Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.
- Beta 0.08. When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, BND tended to move about 0.08%.
- Correlation 0.22. BND moved mostly on its own, apart from the S&P 500.
- Up and down months. In months the S&P 500 rose, BND rose 20% as much on average. In months it fell, BND fell 38% as much.
| Measure | BND | S&P 500 (SPY) |
|---|---|---|
| Return per year | −0.4% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 6.1% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −17.4% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.03 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | -0.04 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | -0.02 | 0.52 |
Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.
Is BND above its 200-day average?#
BND closed 1.4% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds BND only above that average would be out of it today.
- vs 200-day average
- −1.4%
- below it
- 50-day vs 200-day
- −1.1%
- trend falling
- vs 52-week high
- −3.2%
- high of $73.17
A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as the 10-month moving average strategy hold a fund only while it is above one. You can build that rule for BND and backtest it in a minute.
What was BND’s worst drop?#
A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. BND’s worst fall was −18.6%, from August 6, 2020 to October 20, 2022. By October 16, 2026 it had not yet climbed back to that high. On October 16, 2026 it was 4.0% below its highest close.
| Drop | From the high | To the bottom | Back to the high |
|---|---|---|---|
| −18.6% | Aug 6, 2020 | Oct 20, 20222.2 years | Not yet |
| −9.3% | Sep 15, 2008 | Oct 10, 200825 days | Dec 15, 20082 months |
| −8.7% | Mar 6, 2020 | Mar 12, 20206 days | May 21, 20202 months |
| −5.2% | May 2, 2013 | Sep 5, 20134 months | May 14, 20148 months |
| −4.8% | Jul 8, 2016 | Dec 15, 20165 months | Aug 23, 20178 months |
Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.
What does BND hold?#
This fund owns thousands of US bonds, which are loans that pay interest. They include bonds from the US government, bonds backed by home loans, and bonds from companies, all rated investment grade. Bond prices usually fall when interest rates rise and rise when interest rates fall.
It tracks the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index. It had 11,434 holdings as of September 30, 2026, according to Vanguard.
What is the BND expense ratio?#
BND charges 0.03% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.03% fee comes to about $3 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 85% charge more.
You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.
Which Tactfolio strategies hold BND?#
6 classic strategies hold BND at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.
- Bold Asset Allocation (BAA), by Wouter Keller, 2022
- Defensive Asset Allocation (DAA), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2018
- Bold Asset Allocation G4 (BAA aggressive), by Wouter Keller, 2022
- Kipnis Defensive Adaptive Asset Allocation (KDA), by Ilya Kipnis, 2019
- Three-Fund Portfolio (Taylor Larimore, Bogleheads), by Taylor Larimore, 2018
- Resilient Asset Allocation (Keller’s RAA), by Wouter J. Keller, 2020
How does BND compare with similar ETFs?#
Side-by-side pages measure both funds over the same dates:
- AGG vs BND: two total US bond market funds.
Funds that can stand in for BND:
- AGG: iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, 0.03% a year
- SCHZ: Schwab U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, 0.03% a year
- IUSB: iShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF, 0.06% a year
- VGIT: Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF, 0.03% a year
See all 7 BND alternatives, compared on the same dates as BND.
Test BND in your own rules#
Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the builder, add BND, and see how a rule such as “hold it only above its 200-day average” would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.
The details#
Prices come from Tactfolio’s stored daily prices for BND and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.
Fund facts come from Vanguard. We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read what a backtest simulates and how to read drawdown and CAGR for more on these measures.
Common questions#
What is the expense ratio of BND?#
BND charges 0.03% a year, according to Vanguard as of October 16, 2026. That is about $3 a year for every $10,000 you hold.
When did BND start trading?#
BND started trading on April 3, 2007. It is run by Vanguard.
What does BND track?#
BND tracks the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index. This fund owns thousands of US bonds, which are loans that pay interest.
How much has BND returned per year?#
From April 2007 to October 2026, BND returned about 2.9% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −18.6%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.
Is BND above its 200-day moving average?#
On October 16, 2026, BND closed 1.4% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.
Which strategies use BND?#
6 of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold BND, including Bold Asset Allocation (BAA), Defensive Asset Allocation (DAA), Bold Asset Allocation G4 (BAA aggressive).