BND

Throwawaymoneytalk19

I have BND and it does what a bond fund is meant to do- not much. About 10% of my portfolio is split between BND and BNDX. The point is that it’s low risk so if everything else is down they should be ok. But they aren’t going to grow much either. 

shane1955

This might help. Step 1: Define Your Investment Policy (IPS) Before buying anything, answer these questions: \-Time Horizon: When do I need this money? (5, 10, 20+ years) \- Risk Tolerance: Can I stomach a 30% drop without panic selling? \-Goals: Retirement? House down payment? Financial independence? The 4 Rules That Never Change  1.          Keep Costs Low — Every 1% in fees costs you \~25% of your wealth over 30 years 2.           Stay Diversified — No single stock should be more than 5% of your portfolio 3.           Rebalance Systematically — Emotions are the enemy; rules are your friend 4.           Know What You Own — If you can’t explain it, you shouldn’t own it “The Simple Three”    Fund                                Allocation                        Purpose Total US Stock (VTI)                  60%      US market exposure Total International (VXUS)      25%      Global diversification Total Bond (BND)                      15%     Stability    \*\*Short-Term Conditions (Next 3–6 Months):\*\* Consider what the economy and markets may look like in the near term—not to time the market, but to plan for volatility and stay disciplined. If you’re uneasy about short-term swings, consider \*\*adding to BND first\*\* to increase stability and reduce the risk of panic-selling. Then, \*\*rotate from BND into equities gradually\*\* (e.g., on a monthly schedule) until you reach your target allocation. This keeps you invested, lowers “all-at-once” timing risk, and maintains a rules-based process.

ConcentrateOk523

BND and BNDX have been dogging it the last ten years.

The_Quibbler

The US is a shitshow with new and potentially volatile developments every waking day? Pardon the snark, but a legit question I have as a total rookie. When BND and BNDX have been dogging it all year, what's a boy to think?

Digital-Doc-777

[https://imgur.com/a/FDBAdZp](https://imgur.com/a/FDBAdZp) If we look at the total return, across 13 years (or so), we can see the performance of VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market Index), BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market Index), and VTIP (Vanguard Short Term Inflation Protected Index). The stocks will perform much better over the long term. The bonds should be used for current income, once retired.

One_Talk_3410

VT and have a higher portion in BND than usual. 60/40 portfolio. Shift cash to equities on sell offs. Rotate back into bonds and treasuries after recovery, repeat.

MateoHardini

Agree with the others, but you don’t need BND either. You’re 38 and you said you’ve got a 20 year horizon, VTI and VXUS is all you need and maybe pivot to BND when you get closer to your horizon

koushikrish

Thank you for feedback! probably leaning towards VTI, VXUS and BND then!

kiseki1107

VOO and VTI overlap with VTI holding 3000+ US companies and VOO holding only 500+ companies. If you want foreign exposure outside US, then VXUS is a good one. A dividend-focused one would be like SCHD. VGIT, BND, SGOV are all like investing in fixed income/bonds/HYSA so I would put a few percentage there for a safety net. Overall, if your goals are aggressive, I’d put like 50% in either just VOO or VTI. Split the remaining 50% among foreign exposure like VXUS, dividend exposure like SCHD, and fixed-income exposure like VGIT.

pbmadman1994

You have the right idea and simple ETF investing will get you better results than 95%+ of people. Good tax efficiency too. I would avoid overlap though as others have said. Also consider some high yield cash equivalents while stocks are so high. For now I’d go with a stock market portfolio of 40% VTI 20% VT (global) and 40%SGOV until S&P PE for next years earnings is under 20. Then just 75% VTI and 25% VT when market corrects. When you reach 40yo, put 10% of your total portfolio in BND for bonds and increase 1% of your bond portion every birthday. Keep the stock portion with the same weighting. I got this strategy from Brinkeradvisor.com and have been following him with great success and returns for over 30 years.

First_Bother_4177

Keep some percent bonds (BND for example) as there is no guarantee stocks will out perform bonds even over 50 year saving time horizon

DiegoMilan

Lol this reads like some kind of zen koan. To elaborate OP, VTI already contains all the S&P 500 names in VOO plus thousands of mid and small caps, so the overlap is huge and performance ends up almost identical most of the time. All you really do by owning both is add complexity (more tickers to track, messier allocation) without meaningful extra diversification If you want to diversify, go international with an ETF like VXUS, or just go all in on VTI until you get near retirement and allocate some to bonds, I believe the ticker is BND

therossboss

dang, 36% short on BND is wild

Cold-Ear2167

I have BND,BNDX,VTI,and VXUS in etfs

tinydisaster

Serious? Split it in two. Dump 1k into something like vanguard, 1/3 into VT or VTI, 1/6 in BND, 1/6 in GLDM, and leave the remainder in JAAA as a cash like position at 5.48% APY. Ignore it for as long as you can. Have fun with the other 1k. Whatever that means.

Kitchen-Safety4218

Institutional wisdom favors the "Three-Fund Portfolio" for a reason. VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market) VXUS (Vanguard Total International Stock) BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market) Efficiency dictates this VTI, VXUS, and BND allocation. VTI captures the entire domestic engine. VXUS provides the necessary global hedge against a weakening dollar. BND offers the ballast needed when equity volatility spikes. It's the same structural integrity that saved disciplined portfolios during the 1970s stagflation. Which is why sophisticated capital favors this triad. Because simplicity is the highest form of risk management.

SirGlass

>Also what is the maximum amount I should have in a single index? I mean the advise is to be diversified; you do not need to collect a bunch of ETFs to be diversified. Its completely reasonable to have 100% allocation to a broad fund like VT (all world stock fund) Now you would have no bond allocation so if you want bonds to lower risk you would have to add one. However you can have a "Diversified" portfolio simply by holding VT/BND or something

mrdungbeetle

The goal is to eventually simplify it more than it is. Its a work in progress of rebalancing from a riskier and more complex portfolio. For stocks, I wanted to be able to make gradual tweaks to the weighting between megacap, growth, dividends, value, small cap, international etc. I don't have that flexibility with just VT. I don't really like bond funds like BND because you can lose a ton of money if you have to sell it down in a rising interest environment. That hurt me in 2022. Now, anything I plan to sell in the next decade is in bond ladders or iBonds so that I can plan for the face value on a specific maturity date.

One_Talk_3410

Why not just invest in VT/BND to simplify your portfolio. 

SnooConfections5135

Never seen spyi or qqqi I’ll have to check them out thx! BND also has some treasuries within but mixes it up with some corporate and municipal bonds as well if you like a teeny-weeny-lil-bitty risk and variety.

ConcentrateOk523

Not well 15 percent. Own BND, BNDX and VBR.

ConcentrateOk523

In this environment there is nothing to make stocks go down. Any time stocks decline a couple percent they go right back up. April decline lasted like a month. Valuations do not matter. Every analyst is bullish. I wish 2000-2010 was as good as last 10 years. I am 20 percent bonds with BND and BNDX and regret owning them.

Trevor4032

Need advice. Have been maxing out my Roth IRA for several years, and now finished grad school and have a job where I have enough to also invest in a brokerage account. I invest in VOO, VXUS, and BND for my Roth, and will likely do mainly VOO, VXUS, and maybe QQQ for brokerage (still researching). I have around $30k I want to pull from savings to invest as well. Should I lump sum invest all of it now, or spread out throughout the year (e.g., invest weekly/monthly)? Will also be investing a portion of my income monthly into the brokerage as well. Does anyone have any advice? What are some great ETFs to invest in for a brokerage account? General pointers/advice appreciated as well. (27 years old, employed with $110k salary, not super risk-seeking, and looking for medium/long term).

Trevor4032

Need advice. Have been maxing out my Roth IRA for several years, and now finished grad school and have a job where I have enough to also invest in a brokerage account. I invest in VOO, VXUS, and BND for my Roth, and will likely do mainly VOO, VXUS, and maybe QQQ for brokerage (still researching). I have around $30k I want to pull from savings to invest as well. Should I lump sum invest all of it now, or spread out throughout the year (e.g., invest weekly/monthly)? Will also be investing a portion of my income monthly into the brokerage as well. Does anyone have any advice? What are some great ETFs to invest in for a brokerage account? General pointers/advice appreciated as well. (27 years old, no debt, employed with $110k income, not super risk-seeking, and looking for medium/long term).

Complex_Mention_8495

Thx. I have a nice explanation from Gemini. # 1. The "Zig-Zag" (Sawtooth) Pattern This pattern represents the monthly lifecycle of the ETF's dividend distribution: * **The Upward Slope:** T-bills are sold at a discount and "pull to par" (increase in value) as they approach maturity. As the bills inside the fund get closer to their payday, the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the ETF steadily climbs. This represents the **accrued interest** being earned by the fund. * **The Sharp Drop:** This happens on the **Ex-Dividend Date** (usually the first business day of the month). On this day, the fund "cleans its books" to pay out the interest it earned to shareholders. The share price drops by the exact amount of the dividend to reflect that the cash is no longer held within the fund but is instead being sent to you. # 2. The Pronounced Yearly Drops (Special Distributions) If the arrows you highlighted are at the very end of December or early January, you are likely looking at **Year-End Capital Gains or Excise Tax Distributions.** While $BIL primarily pays out interest, it sometimes realizes small capital gains from trading bills or needs to make a "catch-up" distribution to meet IRS requirements for ETFs before the year ends. * In December, $BIL often has a **second distribution** (sometimes called a "Potential Excise Distribution"). * This creates a "double drop" or a much larger single drop than a typical month because it may include the regular December interest plus any extra gains realized throughout the year. # Why don't other Bond ETFs look like this? If you look at a chart for **$TLT** (20+ Year Treasuries) or **$BND** (Total Bond Market), you won't see this clean zig-zag. This is because those funds hold long-term bonds that fluctuate wildly in price based on interest rate changes. That "market noise" is so loud that it completely drowns out the small monthly dividend drop. Because $BIL has a very short **duration** (approx. 0.09 years), it has almost no price risk, making the dividend cycle the only thing left for the chart to show.

jreadersmith

VXUS is the standard international diversification. AVUV and AVDV are the small value funds for the US and international developed markets which are less correlated with bigger companies. BND, and IEF are solid bond funds for uncorrelated assets.

gmredand

How is this "voo and chill" advise? Is there a downside to 100 VOO or 90/10 VOO/BND?

SprinklesMany2038

You could do 60%VT and 40%BND Target date will adjust each year.  Also consider taxes in a brokerage too. 

ordle

Regarding your wealth accumulation, that's great to hear, but imho, you don't need a financial advisor at all. See r/Bogleheads or just put it into a couple well known, low cost index funds like Vanguard VOO, VTI and/or BND.

SISU-MO

All the above. Check out; BND, JEPI, BAGIX, SCHD, etc

1kpointsoflight

I’m not the richest person in the world and you probably aren’t either. Holding 35% VT and 15% VXUS and 40% in BND and 10% in cash and rebalancing that yearly has been working superbly for me in retirement. Holding 100% S&P until 5 years out worked superbly too. Paying 20k a year for that is stupid imho.

infrastructure

Vanguard. Funds. VT/BND split like 70/30 or even 80/20 for your age. But this is WSB so really what you should do is just yolo it all on 0dte options for a company you can randomly pick off a dart board

ConcentrateOk523

Every analyst on CNN says market higher in 2026 so sit tight. I would have over 4 million if I did not listen to a Vanguard advisor and buy BND and BNDX in July 2016 with 20% of portfolio. Currently have a little over 3 million.

Emotional-Power-7242

The benefit to using a target date fund is your can't mess it up. If you instead buy a global index fund like VT and a bond index fund like BND you could decide on the wrong ratio of stocks to bonds. If you split VT into a US index fund like VTI and an international index fund like VXUS you could decide on the wrong ratio of US to international. Every choice you add is another opportunity to make the wrong choice, and many investors will make the wrong choice. Nobody in this sub knows what they're talking about so don't worry if they say bonds are bad. Bonds are necessary. Young investors don't all need bonds, which is why a target date fund has you in a low percentage while youre young. Market cap weighted just means you buy more of the companies worth the most and less of the companies worth the least. You weight the index based on how much the companies are worth. Diversification means you invest across a wide spectrum of industries, countries, values, so that if say the US market ranks your entire portfolio doesn't tank with it because it isn't 100% in US stocks. Your target date fund (or global index fund like VT) also has stocks from the UK, Japan, China, Africa, etc.

AnselmoHatesFascists

I used to swing trade and far prefer holding VTI, the only thing I’d consider adding is some VXUS for international exposure and maybe a tiny bit of bond fund like BND, especially if you’re older.

KawaiiGeorgiaPeach

25yo student with no job. I have had a portfolio since 2023. I was given most of this by my father and don’t know where to start looking for advice. I bought VTI, VXUS, and BND after reading about 3 fund portfolios. What do I move around? Need to maximize growth so I can afford food while in school. Can’t afford much risk now. KO 2 shares SLV 1 share PFE 50 shares bought by grandfather in the 1960s SPYM 3 shares since I can’t buy fractional VOO VOO 38 shares BND 2 shares have not made money VXUS 2 shares VTI 3 shares

Wah_Day

I'm 32 and just started a new job, that offers a pension, and a 457b account, and looking for some advice on how to best approach all of this, and also kind of a sanity check. I currently don't plan to retire early, so planning on whatever the new age goal is. I have an old "Retirement Account" and an ESOP from my previous employer, which equals about $250k combined. I also have a Roth IRA with $25k in it. The "Retirement Account" has both pre-tax and after-tax funds, not effected by Roth contributions limits. My current plan is as follows: * Currently putting 5.5% pre-tax into Pension, company is also contributing 5.5% * Currently putting 5% after tax into 457b account, 100% into a 2065 TDF. Auto increase 1% every year. * Build up 1-year emergency fund, currently 3-months. * Max out Roth IRA, and diversify a bit more. Currently 70% VTI/30% VXUS, thinking of moving into 40% VTI, 32% VXUS, 20% BND, and 8% VNQ * Roll over ESOP account into a tax deferred account, IRA * Withdraw the full after-tax portion from the "Retirement Account" and roll that portion into the Roth IRA, the gains would roll over into the tax deferred account mentioned above. * Leave pre-tax alone, and let it grow. Diversified into Large, Mid, Small cap * Build a small vacation fund, $2,500 * Start building an investment account, no idea on what to invest in just yet. With all that said, does all this make sense and look like a good path to retirement? Are things I should reevaluate? Never though about having a pension so it is kind of making me rethink how to handle/approach retirement.

ConcentrateOk523

I check it everyday hoping for a big decline in stocks so I can get out of BND and BNDX and buy more VTI and VXUS.

gravyluvr

Use momentum when it comes to investing. Keep trying to increase your salary and don't let lifestyle creep increase your living expenses. Start with what you can and learn to live on 2-3% less of your salary every year until you get to a comfortable place. Early increases in savings translate to more compounding in the future. Try to find ways to make your money make money. Low expense ETFs and/or Mutual Funds are the best bets. Using Vanguard ETFs You can do a 50/30/15/5 mix of VTI/VXUS/BND/BNDX ETFs which gives you all the publicly traded stocks and bonds in the world with a 65/35 US/Intl and an 80/20 Stocks/Bonds ratio. Rebalance every year on your birthday. You can also find similar holdings at Fidelity and Schwab.

sithie_12

I'd keep 10-15k liquid for emergencies/opportunities, then yeah, boring ETFs are your friend. Maybe 70% VTI (total market), 20% international (VXUS), 10% bonds (BND) if you want to be extra safe. Set it and forget it. The temptation to YOLO into meme stocks will be real, but that money compound growth over the next 10+ years will make you stupid rich if you just stay boring.

Jakesta7

What about 5-10% in BND as well?

PomegranateEasy5816

I (37M in US) recently inherited roughly $300K and am not sure what to do with it. I feel kind of behind on saving for retirement (\~$100K in IRA mainly in $VTI/$VXUS/$BND/$VNQ, small positions in $KO, $HD, $DE, $MSFT), \~$50K in a taxable account that's mostly in $AAPL). I don't own a home but don't feel like this is a great time to be getting into the market as a first time buyer. I wouldn't necessarily need to use the money any time soon, but it would be nice to be able to use some of it for a down payment if an opportunity to buy a house came up. No debt - no mortgage, car is paid for, and student loans were paid off some time ago.

BigWater7673

This is why just keeping a diverse portfolio if you're a long term investor is the best advice. 50% VTI 15% VXUS 10% AVUV 15% BND 10% Cash for dry powder

KING-TIP9292

100% BND

Curlymoeonwater

At 73, I am looking to rebalance/simplify my own portfolio which is a bit equity heavy. I've come to the conclusion that with bonds active management may be a plus for some portion. Vanguard has several actively managed bond etfs that look pretty interesting - core, core plus, core tax exempt and other categories- that I plan to use to augment BND..

gIIimmerpuff

your 70/20/10 allocation is totally solid, but don't be afraid to adjust that 10% bonds. If you are still 10 or 15 years from needing the money, you could easily drop the BND allocation down or cut it completely for growth.

welshwelsh

Index funds. Easy and hard to beat the returns. Don't mess with real estate or individual stocks, not worth the trouble. 40% US stocks + 40% intl stocks + 20% bonds. So VTI + VXUS + BND and you're covered. Set it and forget it. For passive income it's safe to assume a 4% withdrawal rate so about $6,400 per year for what you're investing.

AlbanySteamedHams

I had a conversation last week with a relative who works on building out data centers for a FAANG company and brought up the topic of depreciation schedules and productive life. His take was almost exactly the same as yours. I'm not really making this comment to you, but for anyone reading your comment, this is probably a grounded and well-informed take that doesn't align with the doom. My default posture is doom, so it's hard for me to internalize this perspective, in all honesty. Given the pace of innovation in the last 3 years, my brain finds it hard to accept that the next 3 years won't yield accelerating change that throws a wrench in the projected payoff period of these datacenters. Given all the uncertainty, I sure as shit wouldn't place a bet on it and just continue to buy VT + BND like an old man.

desidevil

Why BND jus looked up BND and its negative for past 5 years . Maybe I don’t understand something

taplar

A diversified index fund like VT would get you equities. If you are more risk averse, you could throw in some SGOV/BND for a typically less volatile bond holding. Pick whatever ratio you feel you could stick with should the equities decline significantly for a period of time.

Fabulous-Transition7

15% BND in my long-term portfolio 30% TLT in my investment portfolio to hedge against the margin that I'm using

CynicalSage-

My 1st Portfolio I’m 30 and new to investing, and I’ve been literally overwhelmed by all the options that are available for me to invest in. After a lot of research i have decided to stick to ETFs for the moment.. Please help me analyze my portfolio.. My monthly DCA budget would be 200 USD (300 usd exceptional case) . Portfolio X 1. VOO 2. VXUS 3. BND 4. GLDM 5. SMH I want to include QQQM and SCHD too but I’m not sure because of the overlap..

NetZeroSun

Stupid question. In actual retirement, how would BRK.B be as a bonds replacement? So i really won't sell it unless a bear and to avoid sequence of returns, I could perhaps sell BRK.B for the 4% SWR instead of the typical broad markets which would be temporarily hammered (1-6 years) in a bad bear market. Such as 70% VT, 30% BRK.B instead of BND, then have some HYSA on the side for emergency.

ConcentrateOk523

I bet your portfolio does better than my portfolio of VTI, VXUS, BND and BNDX. Diversification is overrated.

baseballer213

Pick one broad index fund and eliminate the rest. VTI at 0.03% expense ratio gives you the entire U.S. market, so VOO (87% overlap) and VT (which contains VTI) are redundant. Drop the active funds entirely; American Century charges 0.29%, Putnam charges 0.56%, and they are selecting from the same mega-cap stocks already dominating your index holdings. PIMCO Income has a 0.90-1.65% expense ratio depending on share class, which is obscene for fixed income. If you want 70/30 stocks to bonds, go 70% VTI and 30% in a low-cost aggregate bond fund like BND. Drop the four individual stocks since you already own them in VTI; Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, and Berkshire are collectively over 15% of VTI’s weight, so your 16% allocation creates concentrated exposure without diversification benefit. If you insist on holding individual names, keep it under 5% total and accept that you are gambling on outperformance rather than building a balanced portfolio.

thesunriseking

Not really lol. That’s the point of VT. I do have a small position in BND, though.

saab93boi

I'm gonna buy $BND.

Particular_Sport5818

Just for fun, today I started a second RH account and threw $1000 into a completely passive portfolio -- 70/30 stocks/bonds, with stocks also split 70/30 between US and international, so $490 VTI, $210 VXUS, and $300 BND. The plan is to leave it untouched for the next year, then punch myself in the face if it ends up outperforming my active account percentage-wise. 🤣

Taught_Mose_Sex

Most of us made far dumber mistakes when we started investing, many of us lost plenty of cash as a result. Chalk this up to an expensive lesson (that you didn’t actually lose any money over) and go over to /r/personalfinance and use their flow chart to check up on your finances. Depending on your age I’d do something simple like throw 70% in VT and 30% in BND, but do a little reading to help yourself out. Don’t get down, this is hard because many people benefit when it is hard for beginners. Good luck. 

obidamnkenobi

Total bond market return over last 10 years is 20.67%, or $23,357 on your investment. So this must have been conservative indeed. But BND had a return of 2% annualized, so if Merrill took 1%/year in fees, you'd be left with about half.

Shah_an_shah

Why is BND down 1%? That’s so much.

mulberryzeke

Rates were low, verily. And we rejoiced because capital did flow. Existing bonds went up in price. BND will go up 6-7% for every 100bps rate cut by the fed.

Formal-Kale2431

An option would be to keep both, and buy in to VEU or something similar for a broader reach and balance. Also could always add in BND (depending on age and risk allocation.)

srfdriver99

VT is total stock market. While it includes international, it doesn't have a bond section. You'll want BND to go along with it. What percentage of each you want is a highly debated subject, but VT+BND is effectively the ultimate two-fund portfolio.

Mantissquirrle

For RMDs, safety is key. A bond-heavy portfolio (70-80%) with some equities is a solid foundation. Consider breaking this into: 1. Cash buffer: 1-2 years of distribution needs in money markets/HYSA/short-term CDs 2. Core portfolio: Bond ladder (individual bonds or ETFs like BND, SCHZ) plus quality dividend stocks or ETFs (VYM, SCHD) 3. Inflation protection: Small TIPS allocation and possibly I-bonds (annual limit applies) Since they have expenses covered by pensions/SS, this money can be more preservation-focused. Tax considerations are crucial - if they don't need all RMDs for expenses, consider Roth conversions or QCDs to charities to manage tax impact.

chut22

I created what I think is a safe and well diversified long term portfolio. Point out any flaws or oversights. || || |Asset|Percentage|Vehicle|Notes| |S&P 500|50%|$VOO|Ol' reliable| |High Dividend ETF|10%|$VYM|Value Stocks / Passive Income| |Developed Markets ETF|10%|$VEA|International Exposure| |Real Estate ETF|10%|$VNQ|Asset Diversification / Passive Income| |Gold ETF|5%|$GLD|Inflationary Hedge| |Bitcoin ETF|5%|$IBIT|Inflationary Hedge| |Speculation / Hedges|5%|Growth Stocks / $QQQ|Swing Trades / Hedges| |Cash / Bonds|5%|Cash / $BND|Cash & Cash Equivalents for buying opportunities| |Total|100%|||

chut22

I created what I think is a safe and well diversified long term portfolio. Point out any flaws or oversights. || || |Asset|Percentage|Vehicle|Notes| |S&P 500|50%|$VOO|Ol' reliable| |High Dividend ETF|10%|$VYM|Value Stocks / Passive Income| |Developed Markets ETF|10%|$VEA|International Exposure| |Real Estate ETF|10%|$VNQ|Asset Diversification / Passive Income| |Gold ETF|5%|$GLD|Inflationary Hedge| |Bitcoin ETF|5%|$IBIT|Inflationary Hedge| |Speculation / Hedges|5%|Growth Stocks / $QQQ|Swing Trades / Hedges| |Cash / Bonds|5%|Cash / $BND|Cash & Cash Equivalents for buying opportunities| |Total|100%|||

Over-Computer-6464

70-80% bonds is lower risk from variations in price but has great risk from losses from inflation over the longer term. I would recommend a more traditional split such as 60/40. 60% broad based index ETF like VTI that tracks the total US stock market. Then split the 40% allocation to fixed income between cash-like holdings such as money market funds or the SGOV 3 month Treasury bill ETF and the other half of the fixed income allocation to a broad bond ETF like BND.

thesunriseking

Not a VTI/VXUS/BND and chill guy with all dividends set to reinvest?

ComeAtMeBro9

Love watching metals moon while bogleheads scream at the sky. “It don’t produce anything.” “It’s just a speculative shiny rock.” Enjoy your BND.

SecondSt4ge

Add a little BND and that’s it? SCHD is still decent to hold due to the companies that give consistent divs. Especially when you’re about to retire, or already in retirement. These constant divs help with income.

FRNAP13

Remove SCHD, DRGO, BND. Replace by a growth fund like VUG, VGT, SPMO. At 33, it’s time to be agressive and grow your wealth.

ConcentrateOk523

More VTI. VTI carries the whole portfolio. Today VTI up 1 percent and VXUS and BND doing their usual nothing.

Hanselcj

VTI and BND can be bought this way as well. I was so happy when vanguard did this a few years ago!

Aggressive-Donkey-10

you list 5 funds that are all just levered plays on FIAT, in the four equities they all go up with increasing inflation while the BND goes down. This is a risky play, perhaps add 20-30% IAUM like Morgan Stanley is recommending now.

MaxwellSmart07

Keep VTI and buy IWY or QQQM. At very least dump BND and bury it 6-feet under so others can’t buy it.

BacktestAndChill

Even if you wanted or needed bond exposure, BND is not a good fund. SGOV beats it. Check out ANGL if you can handle a bit more volatility - that one provides a decent return even in low rate environments. 

Over-Computer-6464

Many people have an "emergency fund" of 6-18 mi the if expenses which they track separately from their portfolio. If you are including that "emergency fund" as part of your portfolio then I would use shorter term fixed income holdings like SGOV 0-3 month T bill ETF or money markets rather than the much longer duration BND ETF.

PashasMom

Chiming in with the "dump SCHD, DGRO, and BND" folks. These are not what a young person needs to grow their portfolio for retirement. I know you say you like the criteria used to pick the holdings in SCHD and DGRO and you want to favor those types of companies. That's value investing and it can be a good choice. But you have better options than SCHD and DGRO. Check out: RWL, VTV, FFLV, DVY, CGVV, and PVAL. I own PVAL and love it, but think all of these are great value funds. Also, you haven't mentioned this aspect of your plan, but if you haven't already, I would ditch Robinhood for Fidelity, Schwab, or Vanguard. Robinhood may have a great interface and some excellent features, but it also really tends to gamify investing and lure people into risky and advanced stuff that can get them into trouble.

jacobf33

That makes sense, should I consider ensuring that I have at least 2-3 years worth of expenses in BND (even if it exceeds the desired portfolio ratio) by the time I retire, to hedge against sequence of returns risk?

DeeDee_Z

> I plan to increase the BND allocation by 5% every 5 years, to hit 35% when I am 55. Too much too soon. You don't need to hit 30% until you're at least 65 or 70.

Ok_Valuable1572

Dump SCHD, DRGO and BND. The first two is all you need during the accumulation phase of your investing journey. When you retire add a little of BND and then your set.

peacemi11ion

Adding to VXUS and BND

peacemi11ion

VTI/VXUS/BND and chill

peacemi11ion

VTI/BND and chill

pnw-techie

I just buy BND. It is the simplest. It has both government and corporate bonds.

EEcav

Whoops, I meant Vanguard BND.

mightyblend

One of my top three earners today is BND. So.

ConcentrateOk523

Better off without bonds. Biggest mistake of my life was putting 20 percent in BND and BNDX, cost me plenty.

easymyk12

Something like: 80% VONE 16% BND 2% GLDM 2% SMH

plasticbug

VT - indexed asset appreciation BND - some bond exposure adds stability to the portfolio SCHD - long term dividend growth

throwaway4whattt

As other people have mentioned, VOO comes with in built diversification. The two things it does not offer is diversification into non US equities (VEU) and diversification into non stock assets (BND, GLD, etc.). If might make sense to reduce your VOO and get diversified some more. But then again you really don't NEED to

Beitasitmaybe

I also recommend VTI VXUS BND + GLD + FBTC + BRKB and if feeling conservative, SCHD

Beitasitmaybe

So, don’t trade? Ok, I think I’ll trade. I am swing trading 1-2% of my portfolio daily / weekly and pulling an extra $1,000 a day/week. I do it on days I get my emails done early. I do it with shares because I’m not yet keen on options, maybe covered calls but that’s it. It’s a guessing game, maybe. But I use a little technical analysis and have a few strategies. One of the best strategies for many is to Bogle. Don’t take my word for it. That guy changed investing for many with the creation of Vanguard and the three fund portfolio: VTI VXUS BND. Hope all goes well for you.

No-Associate-6068

41 is still young enough to stay mostly in stocks, but you might want a bit more than 2% in bonds just for stability. A lot of people your age sit somewhere in the 10–25% range, depending on risk tolerance. Something simple like BND or a target-date fund works fine. What’s your comfort level with big market swings?

gggg500

I’d just go: 75% SPY, 15% BND, 10% cash. If you wanted to buy some individual companies to throw into the mix: PEP - soda and snacks giant CAT or DE - farm and heavy equipment MSFT - O/S software GOOG - search engine, Ai, maps, email, YouTube, it basically has it all. META - social media, Ai AMZN - consumer goods, web servers, Ring MMM - all kinds of materials, industrial and consumer, spun off its ear plug division which has serious legal issues BK - large integrated global bank, too big to fail PM - global tobacco manufacturer DIS - entertainment, legacy media

Remarkable-Ear-1592

do people even use "BND" anymore

Impressive-Lie-9290

thinking i'm gonna' put $10,000 into ETFs with 80% VT and 20% BND... eh?

jasonkylebates

You could put it into a three fund portfolio (55%VTI/25%VXUS/20%BND) and easily get 2% per year while maintaining good prospects for price appreciation (historically). That’s ~130k after taxes.

le_fuzz

Your portfolio shouldn’t be 100% equities even with a “time in the market” philosophy. Having a mix of equities, bonds, cash, and alternative assets allows you to weather downturns and rebalance to “buy the dip”. For example assume a 80/20 mix of VOO and BND in a 100k portfolio. In March 2020 VOO dropped 33%, BND dropped roughly 3%. That puts our portfolio value at 73k (VOO: 54, BND: 19). This means we are no at 27% bonds and we rebalance by selling some bonds and buying equities.