Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF surpasses $100 billion in assets

VALLEY FORGE, PA –

The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (NYSEARCA:BND) has reached a significant achievement by amassing over $100 billion in assets, a milestone that marks it as the first fixed-income ETF to accomplish this feat. The accomplishment comes after a year of notable inflows, with BND capturing $15.9 billion in 2023, bolstered by a bond rally spurred by the Federal Reserve’s potential pause in interest rate hikes.

This influx of investments has contributed to Vanguard’s broader success, as the company earlier celebrated exceeding $2 trillion in U.S.-listed ETF assets under management. BND’s strategy aims to replicate the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index, providing investors with broad access to various taxable investment-grade bonds across the United States. It intentionally excludes inflation-protected and tax-exempt bonds and consists of securities with maturities of more than one year.

With over 10,000 bonds and an effective duration of 6.10 years, BND has become a go-to tool for advisors seeking to leverage ETFs for asset allocation due to their low-cost structure and comprehensive market coverage. Amid peak treasury yields and a growing preference for lower-cost ETFs over traditional mutual funds, BND has maintained its status as the most actively traded bond ETF. It boasts an average daily volume of 7.2 million shares and has sustained monthly capital inflows since May 2022.

Despite challenging market conditions earlier in the year, BND has recorded a year-to-date gain of 3.4%, all while keeping investor expenses minimal with an annual fee of just 0.03%. This positions it competitively against BlackRock (NYSE:)’s iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG), which offers a similar range of debt securities at equally low fees.

Vanguard’s CEO underscored the company’s commitment to providing top-performing funds through an efficient digital platform, complemented by cost-effective advisory services, as part of their ongoing strategy to meet investor needs in the evolving financial landscape.

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