Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF
$63.08+0.12 (+0.19%)
- 0.03%
- $8.3B
- −7.3%
- 5.23%
- 0.7M sh
- $62.92
- low $61.78high $72.63
The ETF.net BLV Grade
A
Score 73 out of 100
- 24 of 117
Score 73 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.A84 out of 100Rank 81 of 101Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.F19 out of 100Rank 113 of 116Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B62 out of 100Rank 32 of 117Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.B68 out of 100Rank 39 of 116Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A91 out of 100Rank 8 of 117
Our read on BLV
AMost bond ETFs spread across every maturity. BLV camps at the long end, tracking an index of long-dated Treasuries and investment-grade corporates for 0.03% a year. Maximum interest-rate sensitivity, minimum price tag.
The fund seeks to track a market-weighted index of long-term, dollar-denominated bonds through an indexing approach. It invests at least 80% of assets in securities represented by the target index and uses sampling.
Why people hold it
- Costs 0.03% a year against a 0.36% median for its bond peer group. In indexed bonds, where everyone owns roughly the same paper, the fee gap is most of the difference.
- Not a Treasuries-only long bond fund. The Bloomberg U.S. Long Government/Credit Float Adjusted Index blends long government bonds with investment-grade corporate credit.
- Running since 2007 and now a multibillion-dollar fund that trades actively, so entering and exiting rarely means paying up on the spread.
- Pays monthly, and sits inside Vanguard's index bond lineup alongside BND, one of the strongest cost profiles in a 187-fund field.
Worth knowing
- Long maturities are the point, and they cut both ways: prices move sharply when long-term rates move. This is the twitchiest corner of the investment-grade bond market.
- The corporate side brings credit risk that a Treasury-only long fund does not carry.
- Vanguard samples the index rather than owning every bond in it, holding roughly 170 issues, so returns can diverge slightly from the benchmark.
BLV Holdings
- Bonds
- 2,935
- 11%
- United States Treasury Note/Bond 5.00% 05/15/2056
Sectors
- Financials100.0%
Geography
- United States93.40%
- Mexico1.06%
- United Kingdom0.92%
- Canada0.91%
- Belgium0.49%
- Philippines0.29%
- Japan0.28%
- Panama0.24%
- 2.41%
BLV Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
BLV$9,266
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 | BLV |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −6.1% |
| 1 month | −2.5% |
| 3 months | −5.5% |
| 1 year | −7.3% |
| 3 years | +3.5% |
| 5 years | −5.1% |
| 10 years | +0.1% |
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 | BLV |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −6.1% | |
| 2025 | +6.4% | |
| 2024 | −3.7% | |
| 2023 | +7.4% | |
| 2022 | −27.0% | |
| 2021 | −2.9% | |
| 2020 | +15.8% |
BLV in the news
BLV Dividends
- 5.23%
- $3.29
- $0.27 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
BLV Risk
- 11.9%
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.
- −0.11
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.
- −36.3%
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.
- 1.94
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
BLV Cost
0.03%
BLV0.03%
- The middle half of US Aggregate Bond funds
- Median 0.34%
No US Aggregate Bond fund charges less.
Other funds in US Aggregate Bond
- AEUSBiShares ESG Advanced Universal USD Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.12%1 year return −1.6%
- AVPLSVanguard Core-Plus Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.20%1 year return −1.3%
- ACGCBCapital Group Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.27%1 year return −2.2%
- AIMTBiShares Core 5-10 Year USD Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.07%1 year return −2.0%
- ANUBDNuveen ESG U.S. Aggregate BondExpense ratio 0.12%1 year return −2.1%