The largest US bond ETFs grouped by their job in a retirement portfolio, with each fund’s maturity, income, cost and how it held up in the 2008 crash and the 2022 rate shock.
87funds compared
8groups, by job
Oct 27, 2026data as of
Bonds do different jobs in a retirement portfolio. Some are a parking place for the next year or two of spending money. Some cushion the portfolio when stocks crash. Some protect against inflation, and some exist mainly to pay income. No single bond fund does all of these well, which is why this page groups funds by the job they do rather than by issuer or index.
Two columns tell most of the story. The 2008 column shows which funds held up when stocks fell hardest; the 2022 column shows what happened when interest rates rose fast, the opposite kind of trouble. Average maturity explains much of the difference: the longer a fund’s bonds take to mature, the more its price moves when rates change.
Core bond funds
One fund that owns a broad slice of the investment-grade US bond market: Treasuries, mortgage bonds and corporate bonds. The usual bond half of a balanced retirement portfolio.
The 12 largest of 31 funds, with average stated maturities from 7.5 to 24.2 years.
In the 2022 rate shock they returned between -17.1% (DFCF) and -9.4% (JPIE), while US stocks lost 24.5%.
All 4 funds old enough to have lived through the 2008 crash gained while stocks fell 55.2%.
Lowest cost: BND at 0.03%. Highest trailing yield: PYLD at 6.57%.
Bonds that mature within a few years. Their prices move less when interest rates change, so they suit money you expect to spend in the next several years.
The 12 largest of 14 funds, with average stated maturities from 1.9 to 4.3 years.
In the 2022 rate shock they returned between -9.5% (GVI) and -1.1% (VNLA), while US stocks lost 24.5%.
All 4 funds old enough to have lived through the 2008 crash gained while stocks fell 55.2%.
Lowest cost: BSV at 0.03%. Highest trailing yield: VNLA at 4.72%.
Treasury bills, floating-rate notes and other very short-term debt. Close to cash: small price swings, with income that follows short-term interest rates. A common home for a year or two of spending money.
The 12 largest of 21 funds, with average stated maturities from 0.1 to 8.8 years.
In the 2022 rate shock they returned between -1.9% (MINT) and +1.1% (USFR), while US stocks lost 24.5%.
Both funds old enough to have lived through the 2008 crash gained while stocks fell 55.2%.
Lowest cost: ICSH at 0.08%. Highest trailing yield: PULS at 4.41%.
Bonds backed by the US government, so no credit risk. The longer the maturity, the harder the price swings with interest rates, in both directions: up in a crash, down when rates rise.
13 funds, with average stated maturities from 4.7 to 27.2 years.
In the 2022 rate shock they returned between -38.1% (ZROZ) and -10.3% (IEI), while US stocks lost 24.5%.
The pattern is clear: the longer a fund’s maturity, the more it lost when rates rose.
All 4 funds old enough to have lived through the 2008 crash gained while stocks fell 55.2%.
Lowest cost: VGIT at 0.03%. Highest trailing yield: EDV at 5.37%.
Treasury bonds whose principal rises with consumer prices. The most direct protection for a retiree’s spending power, though their prices still move with interest rates.
6 funds, with average stated maturities from 2.4 to 7.2 years.
In the 2022 rate shock they returned between -12.7% (TIP) and -3.4% (STIP), while US stocks lost 24.5%.
The pattern is clear: the longer a fund’s maturity, the more it lost when rates rose.
The one fund old enough to have lived through the 2008 crash gained while stocks fell 55.2%.
Lowest cost: VTIP at 0.03%. Highest trailing yield: TIPX at 5.14%.
Bonds from states and cities whose interest is generally free of federal income tax. Most useful in taxable accounts for people in higher tax brackets; no advantage inside an IRA.
The 10 largest of 15 funds, with average stated maturities from 2.7 to 22.5 years.
In the 2022 rate shock they returned between -17.2% (HYD) and -0.9% (JMST), while US stocks lost 24.5%.
The pattern is clear: the longer a fund’s maturity, the more it lost when rates rose.
All 3 funds old enough to have lived through the 2008 crash gained while stocks fell 55.2%.
Lowest cost: VTEB at 0.03%. Highest trailing yield: HYD at 4.47%.
Bonds and bank loans from companies with weaker credit. The most income on this page, but they tend to fall along with stocks in a crash, when retirees most need their bonds to hold up.
The 10 largest of 19 funds, with average stated maturities from 3.1 to 8.7 years.
In the 2022 rate shock they returned between -17.7% (ANGL) and -4.7% (BKLN), while US stocks lost 24.5%.
The pattern is clear: the longer a fund’s maturity, the more it lost when rates rose.
The one fund old enough to have lived through the 2008 crash lost money while stocks fell 55.2%.
Lowest cost: SPHY at 0.05%. Highest trailing yield: SPHY at 7.41%.
Fund
Yield
Cost
Net assets
Avg. maturity
Avg. coupon
Gov.-backed
2008 crash
2022 drop
5 yr
USHY iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond E…
When interest rates rise, existing bonds lose value, and long-dated bonds lose the most because their lower payments are locked in for longer. That is why long-term funds fell hardest in 2022, and why they rise the most when rates fall.
Credit quality sets the crash behavior
In a stock market crash, investors flee to Treasuries, which tend to rise. Corporate and especially high-yield bonds are tied to the same companies as stocks, so they often fall at the same time.
Match the bonds to when you will spend
Money for the next year or two can sit in cash-like funds that barely move. Money you won’t touch for many years can take more interest rate risk in exchange for more income.
Mind the account
Interest from municipal bonds is generally free of federal income tax, which helps in a taxable account. Taxable bond and TIPS funds are often better held in an IRA or 401(k), where their interest isn’t taxed each year.
Which bonds, and how much?
ReadyAimRetire models your spending, Social Security and taxes year by year, so you can see how much of your portfolio needs to sit in safer assets, and what happens if markets fall the year you retire.
There is no single best one; it depends on the job. A broad core bond fund is the usual anchor. Short-term and cash-like funds suit money you will spend within a few years, TIPS funds protect against inflation, and municipal funds can make sense in taxable accounts for higher earners. Very long-term and high-yield funds add risks that tend to show up at the worst times.
Should retirees own long-term bond funds?
Long-term Treasury funds rose sharply in the 2008 crash but fell hard in 2022 when rates jumped. They can work as a small hedge against a stock crash, but as the main bond holding they make a retirement portfolio more volatile, not less.
Are bond ETFs safe?
Bond ETFs swing less than stock funds, but their prices do fall, sometimes for years, when interest rates rise. Unlike an individual bond held to maturity, a bond fund never matures, so there is no date when you are promised your money back. Treasury funds carry no credit risk; corporate and high-yield funds do.
How much of a retirement portfolio should be in bonds?
It depends on your spending, your other income and how much a market drop would change your plans. The research behind the 4% rule found it most reliable with roughly a quarter to a half of the portfolio in bonds. A personal plan is a better guide than any rule of thumb.
How we built this list
Which funds: US bond ETFs with at least $1 billion in net assets. Leveraged, international, emerging-market, convertible, CLO and fixed-maturity (target-year) funds are left out. The largest funds in each group are shown; click a column heading to re-sort.
Groups: assigned from each fund’s holdings report: TIPS, municipal and high-yield funds by name and holdings; then average maturity under one year (or floating-rate) as cash-like, under 4.5 years as short-term, mostly government-backed as Treasury, mostly corporate as corporate, and the rest as core.
Maturity, coupon and government share: weighted by size, from each fund’s latest N-PORT report filed with the SEC (reports dated Jun 30, 2026 or later). Maturity is the stated final maturity; mortgage bonds usually repay much sooner, so funds that hold them look longer than they behave.
Yield: distributions over the 12 months to Oct 27, 2026, divided by the price.
2008 and 2022: total returns from the stock market’s peak to its low: October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009, and January 3 to October 12, 2022. 5-year returns are annualized, with distributions reinvested, to Oct 27, 2026.
Net assets: from the N-PORT report; † marks Vanguard funds, whose reports cover all share classes, including mutual fund shares.
Figures computed Nov 3, 2026. For education only, not a recommendation to buy or sell any fund. Past results do not predict future results.
