# BND ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What BND holds, its 0.03% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

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](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.03% a year (about $3 on $10,000).
- Started trading on April 3, 2007.
- Last close: $70.82 on October 16, 2026.
- Return over the last year: −1.7%.
- Worst drop since 2007: −18.6%.
- 6 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## 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 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 (part) | 0.2% | 1.6% | −1.7% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.3% | −1.3% | 0.4% | −2.5% | 1.3% |  |  | −1.5% |
| 2025 | 0.6% | 2.2% | 0.0% | 0.4% | −0.7% | 1.5% | −0.3% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 0.6% | 0.6% | −0.3% | 7.1% |
| 2024 | −0.2% | −1.4% | 0.9% | −2.4% | 1.7% | 0.9% | 2.4% | 1.5% | 1.3% | −2.5% | 1.1% | −1.7% | 1.4% |
| 2023 | 3.3% | −2.7% | 2.7% | 0.6% | −1.2% | −0.2% | −0.1% | −0.7% | −2.5% | −1.5% | 4.5% | 3.6% | 5.7% |
| 2022 | −2.1% | −1.1% | −2.8% | −4.0% | 0.8% | −1.7% | 2.4% | −2.8% | −4.2% | −1.2% | 3.7% | −0.8% | −13.1% |
| 2021 | −0.9% | −1.6% | −1.3% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 0.9% | 1.2% | −0.2% | −1.0% | 0.1% | 0.2% | −0.3% | −1.9% |
| 2020 | 2.0% | 1.7% | −1.4% | 2.8% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 1.5% | −0.9% | −0.1% | −0.6% | 1.2% | 0.1% | 7.7% |
| 2019 | 1.1% | −0.1% | 1.9% | 0.0% | 1.8% | 1.3% | 0.1% | 2.8% | −0.6% | 0.3% | 0.0% | −0.1% | 8.8% |
| 2018 | −1.2% | −1.0% | 0.7% | −0.9% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.7% | −0.5% | −0.9% | 0.6% | 1.9% | 0.1% |
| 2017 | 0.2% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 1.1% | −0.5% | 0.0% | −0.1% | 0.5% | 4.0% |
| 2016 | 1.2% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 2.0% | 0.6% | −0.3% | 0.1% | −0.9% | −2.6% | 0.3% | 2.5% |
| 2015 | 2.4% | −1.3% | 0.5% | −0.3% | −0.5% | −1.1% | 0.9% | −0.3% | 0.8% | 0.0% | −0.4% | −0.2% | 0.6% |
| 2014 | 1.6% | 0.5% | −0.2% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 0.1% | −0.3% | 1.1% | −0.6% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 5.8% |
| 2013 | −0.7% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 1.0% | −1.9% | −1.7% | 0.4% | −0.9% | 1.1% | 0.9% | −0.3% | −0.6% | −2.1% |
| 2012 | 0.6% | 0.0% | −0.5% | 1.1% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 1.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | −0.1% | 0.1% | −0.9% | 2.9% |
| 2011 | 0.1% | 0.3% | −0.1% | 1.5% | 1.2% | −0.4% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 0.7% | 0.1% | −0.1% | 1.2% | 7.9% |
| 2010 | 1.3% | 0.3% | −0.2% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 0.9% | 1.6% | 0.0% | 0.3% | −0.7% | −1.0% | 6.2% |
| 2009 | −2.1% | −0.6% | 1.1% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 1.3% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.3% | 1.3% | −1.5% | 3.6% |
| 2008 | 1.3% | 0.1% | 0.4% | −0.4% | −1.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.8% | −0.5% | −2.9% | 3.9% | 5.1% | 6.9% |
| 2007 (part) |  |  |  | 0.3% | −0.8% | −0.3% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 2.0% | 0.9% | 6.1% |

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.

- Its 50-day average is 1.1% below its 200-day average.
- It closed 3.2% below its highest close of the last 52 weeks.

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as [the 10-month moving average strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/faber-10-month-moving-average.md) hold a fund only while it is above one. You can [build that rule for BND](https://tactfolio.com/builder) 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 | Started | Bottom | Back to the high | Fall took | Recovery took |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −18.6% | Aug 6, 2020 | Oct 20, 2022 | Not yet | 2.2 years | n/a |
| −9.3% | Sep 15, 2008 | Oct 10, 2008 | Dec 15, 2008 | 25 days | 2 months |
| −8.7% | Mar 6, 2020 | Mar 12, 2020 | May 21, 2020 | 6 days | 2 months |
| −5.2% | May 2, 2013 | Sep 5, 2013 | May 14, 2014 | 4 months | 8 months |
| −4.8% | Jul 8, 2016 | Dec 15, 2016 | Aug 23, 2017 | 5 months | 8 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.

| Fact | BND |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF |
| Issuer | Vanguard |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% a year |
| Started trading | April 3, 2007 |
| Tracks | Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index |
| Type | US bonds, ETF |
| Holdings | 11,434 holdings as of September 30, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the [Vanguard fund page](https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/bnd) |

## 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)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/bold-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller, 2022
- [Defensive Asset Allocation (DAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/defensive-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2018
- [Bold Asset Allocation G4 (BAA aggressive)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/bold-asset-allocation-g4.md), by Wouter Keller, 2022
- [Kipnis Defensive Adaptive Asset Allocation (KDA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/kipnis-defensive-asset-allocation.md), by Ilya Kipnis, 2019
- [Three-Fund Portfolio (Taylor Larimore, Bogleheads)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/three-fund-portfolio.md), by Taylor Larimore, 2018
- [Resilient Asset Allocation (Keller’s RAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/resilient-asset-allocation.md), 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](https://tactfolio.com/etf-comparisons/AGG-vs-BND.md): two total US bond market funds.

Funds that can stand in for BND:

- [AGG](https://tactfolio.com/etf/AGG.md): iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, 0.03% a year
- [SCHZ](https://tactfolio.com/etf/SCHZ.md): Schwab U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, 0.03% a year
- [IUSB](https://tactfolio.com/etf/IUSB.md): iShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF, 0.06% a year
- [VGIT](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VGIT.md): Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF, 0.03% a year

See [all 7 BND alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/BND.md), 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](https://tactfolio.com/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](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [Portfolio rebalancing](https://tactfolio.com/learn/portfolio-rebalancing): What portfolio rebalancing is, why a 60/40 mix drifts, calendar vs threshold methods, and how taxes and costs fit in.
- [Risk parity](https://tactfolio.com/learn/risk-parity): Risk parity balances risk instead of dollars. See a simple stock and bond example, why funds use leverage, and what went wrong in 2022.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.
- [Backtesting](https://tactfolio.com/backtesting): Free backtesting software for stocks, ETFs, and crypto perps.

## 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).

## Sources

- [Vanguard: Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF fund page](https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/bnd)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.