The Best Performing Bond ETFs over the Last 10 Years

Updated as of: September 12, 2025

Bonds are often a dependable option for clients who prefer the relative safety of fixed income over an equity-focused investment strategy.

For advisors looking to gain their clients exposure to the bond market, bond ETFs offer a convenient and cost-effective method to achieve a diversified fixed income tilt for any portfolio.

Many types of bond ETFs are available on the open market, including those by issuer (ex. treasury bond ETFs, corporate bond ETFs, municipal bond ETFs), maturity (ex. short-term, intermediate-term and long-term bond ETFs), and credit quality (investment-grade and high-yield “junk” bond ETFs). 

This article contains the best-performing bond ETFs from the last year all the way back to the past decade, with data routinely updated by YCharts.

To create this list, we analyzed the entire ETF universe using the YCharts Fund Screener to find the best-performing US-domiciled fixed income ETFs on a 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year basis. (ETFs with leveraged or inverse attributes as well as those in the alternative currency strategy and options arbitrage strategy peer groups were excluded to focus on long-term investment vehicles that align with broader financial planning goals)

Click to jump to a section:

• Best-Performing Bond ETFs in the Last Year
• Best-Performing Bond ETFs in the Last 3 Years
• Best-Performing Bond ETFs in the Last 5 Years
• Best-Performing Bond ETFs in the Last 10 Years
• What Was the Growth of $10,000 Over the Last 10 Years?

Best Performing Bond ETFs in the Last Year

These are the top-performing bond ETFs over the past year, as of August 31, 2025.

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Best Performing Bond ETFs in the Last 3 Years

These are the top-performing bond ETFs on an annualized basis between September 1st, 2022 and August 31, 2025.

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Best Performing Bond ETFs in the Last 5 Years

These are the top-performing ETFs on an annualized basis between September 1, 2020 and August 31, 2025.

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Best Performing Dividend ETFs in the Last 10 Years

These are the top-performing dividend ETFs on an annualized basis between September 1, 2015 and August 31, 2025.

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What Was the Growth of $10,000 in the Top Bond ETFs Over the Last 10 Years?

The best-performing bond ETF in the last ten years was the VanEck Fallen Angel High Yield Bond ETF (ANGL). A $10,000 investment into ANGL 10 years ago would be worth $19,160 today, netting a 6.7% annualized total return. Right behind it was the Principal Active High Yield ETF (YLD); investing $10,000 into YLD back in 2015 would’ve turned into $17,660, a 5.9% annualized return assuming dividend reinvestment.

The ten best-performing bond ETFs over the last ten years successfully beat inflation during that timespan. By contrast, investing $10,000 into a benchmark bond index such as the Bloomberg US Aggregate index netted a total return of just 19.5% over the last ten years, or 1.8% on an annualized basis, which fell short of beating inflation over the last decade.

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