# ETFIQ US Bonds: weights, rule and returns

> ETFIQ US Bonds holds 100% BND and AGG. Over 10 years to Sep 30, 2026, it had a total return of +1.11% a year, hypothetical.

Data as of Oct 7, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.

Rebuilt every trading night. Figures as of Oct 7, 2026; trailing windows end at the last month end, Sep 30, 2026.

## ETFIQ US Bonds benchmark

A benchmark for one model category, “Taxable fixed income”: 100% US bonds (BND and AGG in equal parts), rebalanced on the last trading day of each month. A yardstick, not a recommendation.

−1.85% Total return, 1 year

+1.11% Total return a year, 10 years

Over 10 years to Sep 30, 2026, ETFIQ US Bonds had a total return of +1.11% a year, hypothetical.

Launched on Oct 3, 2026, when ETFIQ froze its rule. Figures before Oct 5, 2026 are hypothetical: today’s rule and funds applied to earlier prices, which is look-ahead. From Oct 5, 2026 the record is tracked, and a window that starts before it is hypothetical as a whole.

### Total return by calendar year

- 2011: +7.81% total return, hypothetical

- 2012: +3.80% total return, hypothetical

- 2013: −2.04% total return, hypothetical

- 2014: +5.91% total return, hypothetical

- 2015: +0.52% total return, hypothetical

- 2016: +2.47% total return, hypothetical

- 2017: +3.56% total return, hypothetical

- 2018: −0.01% total return, hypothetical

- 2019: +8.65% total return, hypothetical

- 2020: +7.60% total return, hypothetical

- 2021: −1.82% total return, hypothetical

- 2022: −13.07% total return, hypothetical

- 2023: +5.65% total return, hypothetical

- 2024: +1.34% total return, hypothetical

- 2025: +7.14% total return, hypothetical

- 2026 to Oct 7, 2026: −2.63% total return, hypothetical

### Other strategic benchmarks

### The rule

The rule: 100% US bonds (BND and AGG in equal parts), rebalanced on the last trading day of each month. The strategic family’s rule, as the method states it: “x% VT, (100 - x)% the US bonds sleeve (BND and AGG in equal parts).” Methodology version 1.3; launched on Oct 3, 2026, when ETFIQ froze the family’s rule. Every weight follows from the rule and public facts; the funds are chosen by the rules in the method .

### What it holds

The weights the rule sets at each rebalance, in force since Jan 4, 2010. Each fund’s expense ratio is from its prospectus, as of Apr 28, 2026 and Jun 18, 2026.

| Ticker | Fund | Sleeve | Weight | Expense ratio |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AGG | iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF | US bonds | 50% | 0.03% |
| BND | Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | US bonds | 50% | 0.03% |

Weighted expense ratio 0.03%, each weight times its fund’s expense ratio. It is already inside the returns below.

### Total return by window

Trailing windows end at the last month end; the window since the start runs to the last close. A year is the annualised rate over whole months. Data sourced by Tiingo .

| Window | From | To | Total return | A year | Basis | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 year | Sep 30, 2025 | Sep 30, 2026 | −1.85% | −1.85% | Hypothetical | |
| 3 years | Sep 29, 2023 | Sep 30, 2026 | +12.64% | +4.05% | Hypothetical | |
| 5 years | Sep 30, 2021 | Sep 30, 2026 | −3.09% | −0.63% | Hypothetical | |
| 10 years | Sep 30, 2016 | Sep 30, 2026 | +11.64% | +1.11% | Hypothetical | |
| Since Jan 4, 2010 | Jan 4, 2010 | Oct 7, 2026 | +46.51% | +2.24% | Hypothetical | A year over whole months, Jan 29, 2010 to Sep 30, 2026 |

### Total return by calendar year

Each year from the last close of one December to the next; the current year runs to the last close. Data sourced by Tiingo .

| Year | Total return | Basis | Why not published |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 to Oct 7, 2026 | −2.63% | Hypothetical | |
| 2025 | +7.14% | Hypothetical | |
| 2024 | +1.34% | Hypothetical | |
| 2023 | +5.65% | Hypothetical | |
| 2022 | −13.07% | Hypothetical | |
| 2021 | −1.82% | Hypothetical | |
| 2020 | +7.60% | Hypothetical | |
| 2019 | +8.65% | Hypothetical | |
| 2018 | −0.01% | Hypothetical | |
| 2017 | +3.56% | Hypothetical | |
| 2016 | +2.47% | Hypothetical | |
| 2015 | +0.52% | Hypothetical | |
| 2014 | +5.91% | Hypothetical | |
| 2013 | −2.04% | Hypothetical | |
| 2012 | +3.80% | Hypothetical | |
| 2011 | +7.81% | Hypothetical | |
| 2010 | not published | not published | the history starts 2010-01-04, after the last close of December 2009 |

### Risk, cost and turnover

Volatility and the Sharpe ratio need 36 monthly returns; a figure with fewer is not published and says why. Data sourced by Tiingo .

| Figure | Value | Dates | Basis | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Volatility, since the start | 4.43% | Jan 29, 2010 to Sep 30, 2026 | Hypothetical | |
| Volatility, 10 years | 5.23% | Sep 30, 2016 to Sep 30, 2026 | Hypothetical | |
| Volatility, 5 years | 6.50% | Sep 30, 2021 to Sep 30, 2026 | Hypothetical | |
| Volatility, 3 years | 5.55% | Sep 29, 2023 to Sep 30, 2026 | Hypothetical | |
| Maximum drawdown, since the start | −18.50% | Jan 4, 2010 to Oct 7, 2026 | Hypothetical | from a peak on Aug 4, 2020 to a low on Oct 20, 2022; not back at the peak yet |
| Maximum drawdown, 1 year | −4.51% | Sep 30, 2025 to Sep 30, 2026 | Hypothetical | from a peak on Feb 27, 2026 to a low on Sep 30, 2026; not back at the peak yet |
| Sharpe ratio, since the start | 0.17 | Jan 29, 2010 to Sep 30, 2026 | Hypothetical | return over the Treasury 13-week bill rate, per unit of volatility, monthly |
| Sharpe ratio, 10 years | −0.24 | Sep 30, 2016 to Sep 30, 2026 | Hypothetical | return over the Treasury 13-week bill rate, per unit of volatility, monthly |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | −0.67 | Sep 30, 2021 to Sep 30, 2026 | Hypothetical | return over the Treasury 13-week bill rate, per unit of volatility, monthly |
| Turnover, since the start | 0.26% a year | Jan 29, 2010 to Sep 30, 2026 | Hypothetical | the share of the benchmark its rebalances traded, a year |
| Factor loadings, since the start | Mkt-RF 0.08; SMB 0.00; HML −0.11; RMW 0.05; CMA 0.02; Mom −0.02 | Jan 29, 2010 to Aug 31, 2026 | Hypothetical | monthly excess return on the six factors, by least squares; each factor on its own row below |
| Factor loading, market (Mkt-RF), since the start | 0.08 | Jan 29, 2010 to Aug 31, 2026 | Hypothetical | t statistic 3.49 |
| Factor loading, size (SMB), since the start | 0.00 | Jan 29, 2010 to Aug 31, 2026 | Hypothetical | t statistic −0.01 |
| Factor loading, value (HML), since the start | −0.11 | Jan 29, 2010 to Aug 31, 2026 | Hypothetical | t statistic −2.94 |
| Factor loading, profitability (RMW), since the start | 0.05 | Jan 29, 2010 to Aug 31, 2026 | Hypothetical | t statistic 1.12 |
| Factor loading, investment (CMA), since the start | 0.02 | Jan 29, 2010 to Aug 31, 2026 | Hypothetical | t statistic 0.36 |
| Factor loading, momentum (Mom), since the start | −0.02 | Jan 29, 2010 to Aug 31, 2026 | Hypothetical | t statistic −0.82 |
| Level, from 100 at the start | 146.51 | Jan 4, 2010 to Oct 7, 2026 | Hypothetical | the benchmark’s value on Oct 7, 2026, from a base of 100 on Jan 4, 2010 |
| Weighted expense ratio | 0.03% | Oct 7, 2026 | Tracked | each weight times its fund’s expense ratio; already inside the returns |

### Questions people ask

What is ETFIQ US Bonds? A rules-based benchmark: 100% US bonds (BND and AGG in equal parts), rebalanced on the last trading day of each month. ETFIQ publishes it to measure strategic and target-risk allocation models that hold only bonds. It is not a fund and cannot be bought. Is ETFIQ US Bonds a recommendation? No. It is a yardstick, the same for everyone, and every weight follows from a written rule and public facts. ETFIQ publishes no trades for it and takes no payment from the issuer of any fund it holds. Why are some of its returns hypothetical? ETFIQ froze the rule on Oct 3, 2026. Returns before Oct 5, 2026 apply today’s rule and funds to earlier prices, which is look-ahead; returns from that date are tracked. The price source does not carry funds that closed before 2016, so nothing here is free of survivorship bias. Total returns are market price with distributions reinvested, net of each fund’s own fees, with nothing else deducted. The price source does not carry funds that closed before 2016, so nothing here is free of survivorship bias. Data sourced by Tiingo .

### Where these figures came from

### Where to next

ETFIQ is an independent publisher of exchange-traded fund data. It is not a fund issuer, broker-dealer or investment adviser, takes no payment from issuers, and makes no recommendations.

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Source: ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.
Cite: ETFIQ, ETFIQ US Bonds: weights, rule and returns, data as of Oct 7, 2026. https://etfiq.com/benchmarks/us-bonds/
Licence: https://etfiq.com/license/ Figures ETFIQ computes are free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.
HTML: https://etfiq.com/benchmarks/us-bonds/