Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF
$73.03+0.07 (+0.10%)
- 0.03%
- $52.1B
- −2.6%
- 4.52%
- 1.7M sh
- $72.91
- low $72.31high $79.09
The ETF.net BIV Grade
A
Score 79 out of 100
- 9 of 117
Score 79 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.A95 out of 100Rank 3 of 117Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 101Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D35 out of 100Rank 94 of 116Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A74 out of 100Rank 16 of 117Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C51 out of 100Rank 68 of 116Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A96 out of 100Rank 2 of 117
Our read on BIV
AMost bond funds hand you the entire market. BIV picks a lane: investment-grade U.S. government and corporate bonds in the 5-to-10-year band, sampled by Vanguard, priced at three basis points.
The fund seeks to track a market-weighted bond index representing the intermediate-term investment-grade U.S. bond market. It uses index sampling and normally invests at least 80% of assets in securities represented by the index.
Why people hold it
- 0.03% a year against a category median around 0.36%. In bonds, where returns are mostly coupon math, cost is one of the few levers you fully control.
- You pick the maturity band instead of inheriting it. The benchmark is a 5-10 year government/credit index: no mortgage pools, no 30-year tail dragging the duration around.vanguard.com
- Running since 2007 and among the closest index trackers in its peer group, with the trading depth that comes from a multi-billion-dollar asset base.
- Pays income monthly and spreads it across roughly 300 investment-grade bonds, so no single issuer carries the paycheck.
Worth knowing
- Intermediate duration cuts both ways. A 5-10 year portfolio reprices harder when yields move than a short-term fund does. Rate sensitivity is the main risk you are taking here.
- This is a slice, not the whole bond market. Aggregate funds at the same 0.03% (BND, SPAB, SCHZ) also carry mortgage-backed and short and long maturities that BIV leaves out.
- Investment-grade only, U.S. only. No high-yield sleeve and no foreign bonds, which is the point of the design but caps what the income stream can come from.
BIV Holdings
- Bonds
- 2,351
- 21%
- United States Treasury Note/Bond 4.00% 02/15/2034
Geography
- United States89.89%
- Supranational1.99%
- Canada1.63%
- United Kingdom1.59%
- Japan0.91%
- Mexico0.67%
- Germany0.33%
- Spain0.28%
- 2.71%
BIV Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
BIV$9,736
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | BIV |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −3.2% |
| 1 month | −1.1% |
| 3 months | −2.9% |
| 1 year | −2.6% |
| 3 years | +4.7% |
| 5 years | −0.4% |
| 10 years | +1.4% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | BIV |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −3.2% | |
| 2025 | +8.5% | |
| 2024 | +1.6% | |
| 2023 | +6.1% | |
| 2022 | −13.2% | |
| 2021 | −2.4% | |
| 2020 | +9.7% |
BIV in the news
BIV Dividends
- 4.52%
- $3.30
- $0.28 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
BIV Risk
- 5.9%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- −0.02
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −17.5%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 1.03
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
BIV Cost
0.03%
BIV0.03%
- The middle half of US Aggregate Bond funds
- Median 0.34%
No US Aggregate Bond fund charges less.
Other funds in US Aggregate Bond
- AEAGGiShares ESG Aware U.S. Aggregate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.10%1 year return −2.1%
- ABBAGJPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Aggregate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.03%1 year return −2.0%
- AAGGMiShares 1-10 Year U.S. Aggregate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.03%1 year return −2.1%
- ABNDXVanguard Total International Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.07%1 year return −0.9%
- AVCRBVanguard Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.10%1 year return −1.6%