Core bond funds have made money for investors, but it has been anything but an effortless ride.
When seen from a distance, core bond funds lately have had the deceptive appearance of ducks serenely gliding along the waters’ surface.
They’ve made money for investors. The largest bond mutual fund and exchange-traded fund — the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund and the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond E.T.F. — both gained more than 2 percent for the first three months of the year.
But that belies a two-week period in March when every corner of the bond market was furiously paddling to stay afloat. It’s worth looking closely at what happened, to be prepared for the possibility of further shocks in the future.
The New York Times
By Carla Fried
April 16, 2020