More or less equivalent? Perhaps, but with a duration of 2.6, you would still see around a 2.6% NAV loss with a rate hike of 1%.What I don't understand are bond funds. I have heard people say that a bond fund is like a bond ladder of the same maturity but I don't see how.
For a comparison with a fund that generally holds to maturity, I'll use the short term TIPS fund (VTAPX). In this case the fund would be more or less equivalent to you buying a 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 year TIPS. When the 1 year matures, you buy another 5 year, repeat each year.
For an equivalent 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 year TIPs ladder, you'd spend from the 1 year upon maturity and not have a potential NAV loss.
There has been so much angst and anger at Bogleheads over bond losses in the recent rate hikes and accusations that nobody explained bond funds clearly that I feel compelled to mention this difference. I think it comes down to people misunderstanding the wording in the wiki that says "In real life, people should hold bond funds (high grade, short or intermediate term, and a mix of nominal and inflation-adjusted), and just ignore the NAV. All that matters is total return, and if you hold the fund longer than the duration, your total return will be just fine".
Statistics: Posted by typical.investor — Thu Aug 29, 2024 7:48 pm — Replies 3 — Views 270