ETFs / BND
What If You Had Invested in BND 10 Years Ago?
Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) with real monthly prices, dividends reinvested, through November 2026.
BND $71.65 ▲ +0.21% last close, Nov 05, 2026
If you had invested $1,000 in BND in November 2016, today it would be worth
$1,190
Same $1,000 in the S&P 500 (SPY): $3,895
If you had put $500 a month into BND since November 2016, your $60,500 would be worth today
$64,745
Same plan in the S&P 500 (SPY): $128,888
More options in the What If calculator.
BND live price chart
BND returns by period
| Period | Total return | Per year | $1,000 became | SPY per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 01, 2026 | $0.2530 | +0.4% | ||
| Aug 03, 2026 | $0.2520 | +3.3% | ||
| Jul 01, 2026 | $0.2440 | -1.2% | ||
| Jun 01, 2026 | $0.2470 | +2.1% | ||
| May 01, 2026 | $0.2420 | -3.2% | ||
| Apr 01, 2026 | $0.2500 | +9.6% | ||
| Mar 02, 2026 | $0.2280 | -6.9% | ||
| Feb 02, 2026 | $0.2450 | -0.8% | ||
| Dec 18, 2025 | $0.2470 | +3.3% | ||
| Dec 01, 2025 | $0.2390 | -2.0% | ||
| Nov 03, 2025 | $0.2440 | +3.0% | ||
| Oct 01, 2025 | $0.2370 | — |
BND year by year
Best full year: 2019 (+8.8%). Worst: 2022 (-13.1%).
| Year | BND | SPY | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | -0.6% | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | +7.1% | +17.7% | |
| 2024 | +1.4% | +24.9% | |
| 2023 | +5.7% | +26.2% | |
| 2022 | -13.1% | -18.2% | The fastest rise in interest rates in decades gave the U.S. bond market its worst year on record. |
| 2021 | -1.9% | +28.7% | |
| 2020 | +7.7% | +18.3% | |
| 2019 | +8.8% | +31.2% | |
| 2018 | +0.1% | -4.6% | |
| 2017 | +4.0% | +21.7% | |
| 2016 | +2.5% | +12.0% | |
| 2015 | +0.6% | +1.2% | |
| 2014 | +5.8% | +13.5% | |
| 2013 | -2.1% | +32.3% | |
| 2012 | +2.9% | +16.0% | |
| 2011 | +7.9% | +1.9% | |
| 2010 | +6.2% | +15.1% | |
| 2009 | +3.6% | +26.4% | |
| 2008 | +6.9% | -36.8% | While stocks crashed, high-quality bonds held their value, which is the job they are meant to do in a portfolio. |
BND: all at once or every month?
Take $12,000: all of it on day one, or $1,000 a month for a year. Across every starting month since 2007 (224 of them), the lump sum was ahead after 12 months in 165 (74%). The lump sum usually won, but roughly one start in 4 favored spreading it out. The best case for monthly investing was a start in December 2021, when it finished the year 9% ahead.
Worst drop
BND's worst fall in this history was -17.3%, milder than the worst falls of most stock funds, from July 2020 to October 2022. It is still below that high today, 6.3 years later. $1,000 invested at that peak shrank to about $827 at the low.
BND dividends
BND paid $2.45 per share over the last 12 months, monthly. At $71.65 that is 3.42%, a moderate yield. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly payout grew +6.4% a year, steadily. The yearly total fell in 2019, 2020, 2021. Fund payouts move around with what the holdings pay, so a lower year is not a cut in the usual sense.
| Year | Dividends / share | Change | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $2.86 | +8.3% | 3.86% |
| 2024 | $2.64 | +16.3% | 3.67% |
| 2023 | $2.27 | +21.6% | 3.09% |
| 2022 | $1.87 | +3.8% | 2.60% |
| 2021 | $1.80 | -14.3% | 2.12% |
| 2020 | $2.10 | -7.9% | 2.38% |
| 2019 | $2.28 | -5.5% | 2.72% |
| 2018 | $2.41 | -0.1% | 3.05% |
| 2017 | $2.42 | +19.0% | 2.96% |
| 2016 | $2.03 | -2.4% | 2.51% |
Yield = each year’s dividends divided by the price at the end of the year.
BND dividend history: last 12 payments
| Ex-dividend date | Amount | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 01, 2026 | $0.2530 | +0.4% |
| Aug 03, 2026 | $0.2520 | +3.3% |
| Jul 01, 2026 | $0.2440 | -1.2% |
| Jun 01, 2026 | $0.2470 | +2.1% |
| May 01, 2026 | $0.2420 | -3.2% |
| Apr 01, 2026 | $0.2500 | +9.6% |
| Mar 02, 2026 | $0.2280 | -6.9% |
| Feb 02, 2026 | $0.2450 | -0.8% |
| Dec 18, 2025 | $0.2470 | +3.3% |
| Dec 01, 2025 | $0.2390 | -2.0% |
| Nov 03, 2025 | $0.2440 | +3.0% |
| Oct 01, 2025 | $0.2370 | — |
About BND
| Issuer | Vanguard |
| Launched | April 2007 |
| Tracks | Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% |
| Holdings | About 11,000 U.S. investment-grade bonds |
Fund details as of 2025. Check the issuer for the current expense ratio and holdings.
BND owns the whole U.S. investment-grade bond market: Treasuries, mortgage-backed securities and corporate bonds. It pays interest monthly and is meant to be the steady part of a portfolio.
Bonds lose value when interest rates rise. In 2022, when rates jumped, BND had its worst year on record. It then pays more interest going forward, which slowly makes up the loss.
BND or AGG?
BND and AGG track nearly the same index of U.S. investment-grade bonds and have charged the same low fee, so their returns have been almost identical. BND's index is 'float adjusted', which leaves out bonds held by the Federal Reserve, a difference that matters only at the margins. If one is already in your account or your plan, there is no reason to switch.
Why it fell so far in 2022
BND's worst drop shown above is not about defaults. When interest rates jump, existing bonds paying lower rates become worth less, and in 2022 rates rose faster than in any year in decades. The fund then reinvested at the new, higher yields, which is why its monthly income has been rising since. That slow recovery is the normal way a bond fund heals.
Questions about BND
How much would $10,000 invested in BND 15 years ago be worth today?
About $13,194 with dividends reinvested, invested at the November 2011 close: 31.9% in total, or 1.9% a year.
When does BND pay dividends?
In the last 12 months the payments went out every month, $2.45 per share in total.
Did BND beat the S&P 500?
No. Over the last 10 years it trailed by 12.8 percentage points a year: +1.8% a year for BND against +14.6% for SPY, dividends reinvested. Its worst fall was milder than SPY's over the same history (-17.3% against -50.8%).