# BWX ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What BWX holds, its 0.35% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

State Street SPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETF (BWX) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by SPDR (State Street). This fund owns government bonds from countries outside the US with good credit ratings. It charges 0.35% a year. From October 2007 to October 2026 it returned about 0.4% a year, and its worst drop was −34.0%.

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: 0.35% a year (about $35 on $10,000).
- Started trading on October 2, 2007.
- Last close: $21.31 on October 16, 2026.
- Return over the last year: −5.3%.
- Worst drop since 2007: −34.0%.
- 5 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## How has BWX done since 2007?

From October 2007 to October 2026, BWX returned about 0.4% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 10.7% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $10,794 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Period | BWX | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month | −0.5% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | −0.7% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | −3.1% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | −3.7% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | −5.3% | 16.8% |
| 3 years, per year | 2.4% | 22.0% |
| 5 years, per year | −4.0% | 12.8% |
| 10 years, per year | −1.3% | 15.4% |
| Since 2007, per year | 0.4% | 10.7% |

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.

## BWX returns by month and year

BWX rose in 128 of its 229 months (56%). Its best month was December 2008, at 8.6%. Its worst was April 2022, at −7.0%.

| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 (part) | 1.4% | 1.0% | −4.5% | 1.7% | −0.3% | −2.0% | 0.4% | 0.7% | −2.7% | 0.8% |  |  | −3.7% |
| 2025 | 0.1% | 1.4% | 1.0% | 5.8% | −0.5% | 2.6% | −3.7% | 2.1% | 0.2% | −1.0% | −0.6% | 0.3% | 7.7% |
| 2024 | −3.1% | −1.1% | 0.4% | −3.6% | 1.4% | −0.9% | 3.9% | 3.0% | 2.4% | −4.9% | 0.2% | −3.4% | −5.9% |
| 2023 | 3.6% | −4.7% | 4.7% | −0.3% | −2.6% | 0.8% | 1.0% | −2.4% | −4.0% | −1.4% | 6.1% | 4.9% | 5.1% |
| 2022 | −2.6% | −1.1% | −4.2% | −7.0% | 0.5% | −4.6% | 2.0% | −5.6% | −6.3% | 0.2% | 8.1% | −0.2% | −19.7% |
| 2021 | −1.3% | −2.7% | −2.8% | 1.7% | 1.0% | −1.7% | 1.4% | −0.9% | −2.4% | −0.4% | −0.6% | −0.2% | −8.6% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | 0.0% | −3.8% | 1.5% | 0.9% | 1.8% | 3.7% | 0.4% | −1.2% | 1.0% | 2.1% | 2.4% | 9.5% |
| 2019 | 1.4% | −1.1% | 0.9% | −0.5% | 1.1% | 3.4% | −1.3% | 1.8% | −1.0% | 0.9% | −1.5% | 1.4% | 5.6% |
| 2018 | 2.9% | −0.8% | 1.8% | −2.8% | −2.0% | −1.0% | 0.3% | −0.6% | −0.7% | −1.7% | 0.9% | 2.1% | −1.8% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | 0.3% | 0.8% | 1.4% | 1.9% | 0.3% | 2.9% | 0.7% | −1.9% | −0.8% | 2.1% | 0.3% | 9.9% |
| 2016 | 0.3% | 3.3% | 4.2% | 1.5% | −2.7% | 3.8% | 1.1% | −1.1% | 1.0% | −4.2% | −5.7% | −0.3% | 0.6% |
| 2015 | −1.6% | −1.1% | −1.4% | 2.0% | −3.2% | −0.7% | −0.2% | −0.2% | 0.5% | 0.4% | −2.4% | 1.2% | −6.7% |
| 2014 | 0.4% | 2.2% | 0.3% | 1.0% | 0.1% | 1.6% | −1.4% | 0.2% | −4.3% | −0.3% | −1.4% | −1.1% | −2.5% |
| 2013 | −0.9% | −2.4% | −0.4% | 2.7% | −4.3% | −1.7% | 2.4% | −1.1% | 2.8% | 1.3% | −1.4% | −0.2% | −3.6% |
| 2012 | 2.7% | 0.3% | −0.8% | 1.1% | −2.9% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 2.0% | −0.4% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 5.7% |
| 2011 | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 4.9% | −1.4% | 0.0% | 1.7% | 1.1% | −4.3% | 2.1% | −2.8% | 0.6% | 4.0% |
| 2010 | −1.5% | 0.2% | 0.0% | −1.5% | −3.6% | 1.1% | 6.1% | 1.7% | 3.4% | 2.1% | −6.8% | 3.1% | 3.8% |
| 2009 | −6.7% | −3.3% | 4.8% | 0.9% | 5.4% | 0.5% | 3.1% | 0.8% | 2.9% | 0.1% | 3.0% | −5.3% | 5.4% |
| 2008 | 2.1% | 3.1% | 2.8% | −2.3% | −1.5% | −0.4% | 1.5% | −4.3% | −2.3% | −5.0% | 2.6% | 8.6% | 4.2% |
| 2007 (part) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2.1% | 1.7% | 0.1% | 4.0% |

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

## How risky is BWX compared with the S&P 500?

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

- **Beta 0.15.** When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, BWX tended to move about 0.15%.
- **Correlation 0.27.** BWX moved mostly on its own, apart from the S&P 500.
- **Up and down months.** In months the S&P 500 rose, BWX rose 24% as much on average. In months it fell, BWX fell 67% as much.

| Measure | BWX | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Return per year | −4.0% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 9.8% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −28.7% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.37 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | -0.53 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | -0.14 | 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 BWX above its 200-day average?

BWX closed 2.3% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds BWX only above that average would be out of it today.

- Its 50-day average is 1.2% below its 200-day average.
- It closed 6.2% 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 BWX](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and backtest it in a minute.

## What was BWX's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. BWX's worst fall was −34.0%, from January 5, 2021 to October 20, 2022. By October 16, 2026 it had not yet climbed back to that high. On October 16, 2026 it was 25.3% below its highest close.

| Drop | Started | Bottom | Back to the high | Fall took | Recovery took |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −34.0% | Jan 5, 2021 | Oct 20, 2022 | Not yet | 21 months | n/a |
| −16.9% | Mar 14, 2008 | Oct 10, 2008 | Sep 8, 2009 | 7 months | 11 months |
| −15.4% | Jun 30, 2014 | Nov 9, 2015 | Mar 3, 2020 | 16 months | 4.3 years |
| −13.4% | Mar 9, 2020 | Mar 18, 2020 | Jul 27, 2020 | 9 days | 4 months |
| −13.1% | Dec 1, 2009 | Jun 7, 2010 | Oct 1, 2010 | 6 months | 4 months |

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## What does BWX hold?

This fund owns government bonds from countries outside the US with good credit ratings. The bonds are in local currencies, so exchange rates affect its value. Bond prices also fall when interest rates rise.

It tracks the Bloomberg Global Treasury ex-US Capped Index. It had 1,440 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to SPDR (State Street).

| Fact | BWX |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | State Street SPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETF |
| Issuer | SPDR (State Street) |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% a year |
| Started trading | October 2, 2007 |
| Tracks | Bloomberg Global Treasury ex-US Capped Index |
| Type | International bonds, ETF |
| Holdings | 1,440 holdings as of October 15, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the [SPDR (State Street) fund page](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/state-street-spdr-bloomberg-international-treasury-bond-etf-bwx) |

## What is the BWX expense ratio?

BWX charges 0.35% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.35% fee comes to about $35 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 19% 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 BWX?

5 classic strategies hold BWX at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.

- [GTAA 13: Faber’s 13-asset tactical allocation](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/gtaa-13.md), by Mebane Faber, 2013
- [GTAA Aggressive 3 (Faber GTAA AGG3)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/gtaa-aggressive-3.md), by Mebane Faber, 2013
- [GTAA Aggressive 6 (Faber GTAA AGG6)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/gtaa-aggressive-6.md), by Mebane Faber, 2013
- [Trinity Portfolio (Meb Faber)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/trinity-portfolio.md), by Mebane Faber, 2016
- [Global Risk Parity Trend-Following (Clare et al.)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/global-risk-parity-trend-following.md), by Andrew Clare, James Seaton, Peter N. Smith, and Stephen Thomas, 2016

## How does BWX compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for BWX:

- [BNDX](https://tactfolio.com/etf/BNDX.md): Vanguard Total International Bond ETF, 0.07% a year
- [IGOV](https://tactfolio.com/etf/IGOV.md): iShares International Treasury Bond ETF, 0.35% a year
- [EMB](https://tactfolio.com/etf/EMB.md): iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF, 0.39% a year
- [AGG](https://tactfolio.com/etf/AGG.md): iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, 0.03% a year

See [all 7 BWX alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/BWX.md), compared on the same dates as BWX.

## Test BWX 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 BWX, 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 BWX 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 SPDR (State Street). 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 BWX?

BWX charges 0.35% a year, according to SPDR (State Street) as of October 16, 2026. That is about $35 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did BWX start trading?

BWX started trading on October 2, 2007. It is run by SPDR (State Street).

### What does BWX track?

BWX tracks the Bloomberg Global Treasury ex-US Capped Index. This fund owns government bonds from countries outside the US with good credit ratings.

### How much has BWX returned per year?

From October 2007 to October 2026, BWX returned about 0.4% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −34.0%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Is BWX above its 200-day moving average?

On October 16, 2026, BWX closed 2.3% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

### Which strategies use BWX?

5 of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold BWX, including GTAA 13: Faber’s 13-asset tactical allocation, GTAA Aggressive 3 (Faber GTAA AGG3), GTAA Aggressive 6 (Faber GTAA AGG6).

## Sources

- [SPDR (State Street): State Street SPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETF fund page](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/state-street-spdr-bloomberg-international-treasury-bond-etf-bwx)

> 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.