Vanguard's BND and VGIT ETFs offer a trade-off between yield and stability
LS
Lyra St. James
Vanguard · Apr 11, 2026
Source: The Digital Ledger Data Terminal
Investors choosing between Vanguard's BND and VGIT ETFs can expect a 3.9% dividend yield from BND and a 3.8% dividend yield from VGIT. BND delivers a higher one-year return of 5.5% versus 4.6% for VGIT. This higher yield is driven by BND's broader investment mandate, which includes corporate and mortgage-backed bonds alongside U.S. Treasuries. BND manages $387.46 billion in assets under management.
VGIT focuses exclusively on intermediate-term U.S. Treasury bonds. This concentration in government debt reduces volatility relative to the BND. VGIT has a 0.80 beta relative to the S&P 500, while BND's beta is 0.98. Over the last five years, VGIT's maximum drawdown was 15.03%, compared to 17.93% for BND.
Vanguard
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