Now that bonds offer decent yields, investors have been barreling into fixed-income mutual and exchange-traded funds. Taxable bond funds and ETFs pulled in net inflows (the sum of money deposited minus money that’s withdrawn) of $143 billion over the first three months of 2024, a near-record.
But the array of bond fund yields can be confusing for investors trying to add a fund to their portfolio. In late March, for instance, the Schwab 1-5 Year Corporate Bond ETF (symbol SCHJ) boasted a 30-day SEC yield of 5.11%, a trailing 12- month or distribution yield of 3.16%, and a 5.28% yield to maturity. “If you look at all three, they can help create an overall picture of a bond fund,” says D.J. Tierney, a senior investment portfolio strategist at Charles Schwab Asset Management.
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