Long term treasuries represent the subset of government bonds between 10 and 30 years maturity. They are a volatile bond option best used to complement volatile stocks.
Index Funds
United States Long Term Treasury Bonds
ETFs in the United States
| Ticker | Provider | Index | Expense Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VGLT | Vanguard | BBG US Long Treasury | 0.03 | |
ISINUS92206C8477 DividendsDistributing Notes— | ||||
| SPTL | State Street | BBG US Long Treasury | 0.03 | |
ISINUS78464A6644 DividendsDistributing Notes— | ||||
| SCHQ | Charles Schwab | BBG US Long Treasury | 0.03 | |
ISINUS8085246804 DividendsDistributing Notes— | ||||
| TLT | iShares | ICE US Treasury 20+ | 0.15 | |
ISINUS4642874329 DividendsDistributing Notes— | ||||
No funds found. See alternatives.
Notes Definitions
- +SCB — Total market fund that includes small caps (85% LCB + 15% SCB)
- +EM — Global fund that includes emerging markets (~90% DEV + 10% EM)
- -CAN — Excludes Canada (or other specified country normally in the index)
- Acc — Accumulating
- Dist — Distributing
Assume there are errors and always do your own research. No listings or links are sponsored. Because they track similar indices, all funds should have similar returns before fees.
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Alternatives
Other options when no long term bond funds are available
- Intermediate Term Treasury Bonds — Intermediate bonds are the closest option to long term bonds and are plentiful in any market.
- USA / Europe Long Term Treasury Bonds — Long term bond funds are more common in large markets.
- Directly Owned Bonds — Bonds can be directly purchased from the government. For long term treasuries, create a ladder by buying bonds with 30 years to maturity and rolling them over into new ones once they have just 10 years remaining.
Definition
The Portfolio Charts long term treasury bond data tracks the segment of the bond market with maturities between 10 years and 30 years. It also focuses exclusively on debt issued by countries, not companies. In the US they are called treasury bonds, but they may go by other names in different countries. For example, they’re called bunds in Germany and gilts in the UK.
Treasury bonds issued by the government are generally considered safer than corporate bonds issued by a company. While the data does not cover corporate bonds, the returns of treasury bonds are usually very similar investment-grade corporate bonds with a similarly high credit rating.
Long term bonds are the most volatile bond option, and their value can swing just as sharply as stocks. Investors who use bonds as safe alternatives to risky stocks will prefer short term bonds. But those interested in risk-parity portfolios with multiple uncorrelated assets will find the volatility of long term bonds to be a positive.
Articles
Insights that mention long term bonds
Portfolios
Portfolios that include long term bonds