SPDR Bloomberg Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF

SPDR Bloomberg Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF (EBND) is a State Street index fund. It holds government bonds from emerging-market countries that pay in those countries' own currencies, not in US dollars. Its 0.30% yearly fee ties for the lowest among similar funds. Because the bonds aren't in dollars, returns depend on currency moves as well as interest rates. The fund pays income monthly, with a trailing yield of 5.97% as of October 27, 2026.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, EBND returned +2.1%, 4th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +1.5% and its 10-year +1.4%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 15.1% and regained its old high 7.5 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2015 (-13.5%); its best was 2025 (+15.9%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 29.5% (May 8, 2013 to Oct 24, 2022), recovered by Feb 13, 2026.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 623 securities; the ten largest made up 6.06% of assets.

The bonds mature in 8.8 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 5.69%.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $46.6M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +2.88%, +0.69%, +0.02%.

EBND tracks the Bloomberg EM Local Currency Government Diversified Index, which Bloomberg Index Services builds and maintains. The index holds fixed-rate government bonds that emerging-market countries issue in their own currencies. Each bond must have at least one year left to maturity. Its middle rating from Moody's, S&P and Fitch must be B3/B- or higher, so the index includes both investment-grade and riskier "junk" (below investment grade) countries. Countries are weighted by the size of their bond markets, and bonds within each country by their size. The index updates on the last business day of each month and had about 714 bonds as of February 28, 2026.

The adviser, SSGA Funds Management, uses sampling. That means it can buy a representative subset of the index rather than every bond, but it must keep at least 80% of assets in index bonds or close equivalents. As of June 30, 2026, the fund held 623 securities. China (12.34%), South Korea (9.36%) and India (7.29%) were the largest countries. No single bond was much more than 0.7% of the fund. The largest were two Brazilian Notas do Tesouro Nacional Serie F issues. Average maturity was 8.8 years and the average coupon was 5.69%.

The fund may use currency forwards, swaps and futures. On June 30, 2026, its only derivatives were two tiny contracts buying Indian rupees. Returns in dollars combine bond income, bond price changes and currency moves.

• EBND charges 0.3% a year, versus an average of 0.42% for the similar funds below (1st of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $31 in the first year and $381 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It offers monthly income and exposure to non-dollar bonds, but currency swings have caused deep, slow-to-recover losses, including in years when stocks also fell.

EBND could add income and some exposure outside the US dollar. Its trailing yield was 5.97% as of October 27, 2026. It pays monthly and costs 0.30% a year. The drawback is how it held up in downturns. It fell 15.1% in March 2020 and recovered by November 2020. It fell 20.7% in 2022 and did not recover until May 2025. It launched in 2011, so it has no record from 2008. Its worst calendar year was 2015, at -13.5%. Its deepest drop, 29.5%, ran from May 2013 to October 2022, and it didn't regain that 2013 peak until February 2026. Someone who has to sell shares for spending money in a bad year could lock in losses like these. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by bond funds with the closest average maturity and issuer mix (N-PORT).