Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) Return Calculator

Over the last 15 years, BND has returned about 1.9% a year, compounded, with dividends reinvested. Over 10 years, it's 1.5% a year. Those figures run through November 2026 and leave out taxes and fees. An average like this smooths out large swings, so your own experience could be very different, depending on the dates you bought and sold.

About $11,549, assuming dividends were reinvested and ignoring taxes and fees. That's a total return of 15.5%. The table above shows the same figure for other periods, and the calculator can run any amount and date range. Results use month-end prices, so buying on a different day of the month would change the answer a little.

About $1,325, based on adjusted month-end prices through November 2026. That covers 15 years of price changes and reinvested dividends, before tax. It's easy to look back at a result like this, but much harder to hold through the falls along the way, including the 17.3% drop described above.

In our data, the best full calendar year was 2019, with a return of 8.8%, including reinvested dividends. Calendar-year figures use the last month-end price of each year. The table above lists up to 15 recent years. One strong year can account for a large share of a long-term return, which is why leaving during a downturn can be so costly.

The worst full calendar year in our data was 2022, with a return of -13.1%, including dividends. A drop can also run across calendar years, so the largest fall we measured is 17.3%, from July 2020 to October 2022. Before investing, it's worth asking whether you could hold through a similar fall without selling.

BND finished higher in 14 of the 18 full calendar years in our data, or 78% of the time. That doesn't tell you the odds for next year. It's a description of what happened in this period. Markets can go several years without a gain, so the time you plan to stay invested matters a great deal.

Over the last 10 years, BND returned 1.5% a year, and SPY, an S&P 500 fund, returned 15.3% a year, so BND fell behind over this period. The result can change with the dates you choose. Use the calculator to run the same dates for both, and remember that a higher return can come with larger swings.

At its 10 years pace of 1.5% a year, money would double in about 48.1 years. The rule of 72 gives a similar answer: 72 divided by the yearly return. That's only arithmetic on past results. The real path won't be smooth, and a future return may look very different.

Yes. We use prices adjusted for splits and dividends, which assumes every dividend was reinvested on its payment date. That's why our figures can run higher than a plain price chart, especially for companies and funds that pay out a lot. They leave out brokerage fees and taxes, and any tax you'd owe on those dividends in a regular account.

In a taxable US account, you owe capital gains tax when you sell the ETF at a profit. Holdings kept for more than a year usually qualify for long-term rates of 0%, 15% or 20%, depending on your income. Dividends are usually taxed in the year you receive them. In a Roth IRA or 401(k), different rules apply. Check IRS guidance or ask a tax professional about your own situation.

We can't say whether it's right for you, and past returns can't answer that alone. Look at what you own already, how long you can leave the money invested and how you'd handle a drop like the 17.3% fall shown above. For a fund, read its prospectus, and check its fees and holdings. Nothing here is investment advice.