Bondsavvy's Corporate Bond Returns

Bondsavvy vs. iShares Bond ETF Performance

All Exited
Recommendations
Through May 30,
2025

Bondsavvy Wins
iShares Bond ETF Wins

# Bondsavvy Wins

51 (69%)
74 Exited Bond Picks
23 (31%)

# Wins by Over 10 Percentage Pts

22
4

Our corporate bond returns have been beating the world’s largest bond funds and ETFs:

What our numbers tell you

  • Our corporate bond recommendations seek to maximize income and total returns
  • We've exited 74 of our prior 137 bond recommendations and have beaten the leading iShares corporate bond ETFs 69% of the time
  • In 22 of our 74 exited recommendations, we have beaten the iShares corporate bond ETFs by at least 10 points
  • In only 4 of 74 exited recommendations did iShares outperform Bondsavvy by at least 10 points

Bondsavvy’s Corporate Bond Returns Explained:

Bondsavvy provides corporate bond recommendations subscribers use to make investment decisions for their own accounts. Our investment newsletter subscribers are either individual investors or financial advisors acting on behalf of individual investors.

This page compares the corporate bond returns achieved by Bondsavvy’s recommendations to those of the iShares LQD and HYG bond ETFs:

Performance of Sold Investment Recommendations
For our exited recommendations

We show the name of the recommended bond; its CUSIP; pick and sell dates; and the return vs. the benchmark iShares bond ETF

Performance of Current Investment Recommendations
For our current recommendations

Those still rated buy or hold – we show the pick date; pick date price; current price; and the return our recommendation has achieved vs. the benchmark iShares bond ETF

Bond investing education
Below our returns tables

We show a case study on Verizon bonds and Albertsons bonds, which explains the key drivers of these recommendations’ performance

Our Corporate Bond Returns vs. iShares Bond ETFs

Corporate Bond Returns of Exited Recommendations

Recommended Corporate Bonds
Bondsavvy Investment Returns
Bond ETF Returns (6)
Pick Date
Sell Date
Total Return (3)
%
10-bond $
Return
iShares
LQD / SLQD
iShares
HYG / SHYG
Beat Benchmark
iShares
Bond ETF

Investment-Grade Corporate Bonds

Alphabet 1.998% 8/15/26 CUSIP 02079KAC1
3/8/18
4/1/19
5.66%
$526
5.58%
NA
Apple 3.45% 2/9/45 CUSIP 037833BA7
12/13/17
8/9/19
13.10%
$1,262
10.53%
NA
Bed Bath & Beyond 3.749% 8/1/24 CUSIP 075896AA8
5/2/18
10/7/19
20.73%
$1,780
17.34%
NA
BNSF 3.90% 8/1/46 CUSIP 12189LAZ4
3/15/19
10/7/19
17.18%
$1,674
11.62%
NA
Brunswick Corp. 4.40% 9/15/32 CUSIP 117043AU3
6/22/23
9/5/24
14.68%
$1,267
10.58%
NA
CSX 3.80% 11/1/46 CUSIP 126408HF3
3/26/20
11/24/20
24.96%
$2,464
19.71%
NA
CSX Corp. 3.25% 6/1/27 CUSIP 126408HH9
3/26/20
8/12/20
12.60%
$1,282
18.78%
NA
--
eBay 4.00% 7/15/42 CUSIP 278642AF0
12/13/17
12/4/21
42.16%
$3,890
25.21%
NA
eBay 4.00% 7/15/42 CUSIP 278642AF0
11/19/18
12/4/21
66.80%
$5,103
31.24%
NA
E*TRADE 3.80% 8/24/27 CUSIP 269246BQ6
3/26/20
9/10/20
22.35%
$2,072
17.39%
NA
Expedia 3.800% 2/15/28 CUSIP 30212PAP0
3/25/20
6/19/20
31.55%
$2,370
18.42%
NA
FedEx 3.400% 2/15/28 CUSIP 31428XBP0
3/30/20
9/10/20
13.50%
$1,345
12.16%
NA
HP Inc. 6.000% 9/15/41 CUSIP 428236BR3
12/13/17
1/23/20
19.22%
$2,064
15.43%
NA
Kirby Corp. 4.20% 3/1/28 CUSIP 497266AC0
6/5/20
3/25/21
16.12%
$1,559
2.05%
NA
Kyndryl Holdings 3.15% 10/15/31 CUSIP 50155QAL4
6/22/23
9/5/24
20.81%
$1,569
10.58%
NA
Lazard Group LLC 3.625% 3/1/27 CUSIP 52107QAH8
8/14/18
8/9/19
11.81%
$1,123
13.39%
NA
--
Macy's Retail Hldgs 4.50% 12/15/34 CUSIP 55616XAM9
12/12/18
5/30/24
37.28%
$2,981
12.86%
NA
Marriott Int'l 3.125% 6/15/26 CUSIP 571903AS2
12/12/18
5/21/19
8.89%
$808
7.60%
NA
Marriott Int'l 4.00% 4/15/28 CUSIP 571903AY9
11/16/22
9/5/24
13.61%
$1,268
11.23%
NA
Nutrien Ltd. 4.00% 12/15/26 CUSIP 67077MAE8
6/16/22
5/30/24
5.66%
$559
7.60%
NA
--
PepsiCo 3.00% 10/15/27 CUSIP 713448DY1
3/26/20
6/19/20
8.02%
$834
15.46%
NA
--
RPM Int'l 4.550% 3/1/29 CUSIP 749685AX1
6/5/20
3/25/21
5.41%
$605
2.05%
NA
Southwest Airlines 3.00% 11/15/26 CUSIP 844741BC1
3/26/20
11/24/20
15.29%
$1,400
19.71%
NA
--
Southwest Airlines 2.625% 2/10/30 CUSIP 844741BF4
3/26/20
11/24/20
19.05%
$1,618
19.71%
NA
--
Teck Resources 6.25% 7/15/41 CUSIP 878742AW5
9/5/19
9/10/20
4.18%
$476
8.28%
NA
--
Tiffany 4.900% 10/1/44 CUSIP 886546AD2
9/5/19
1/23/20
26.08%
$2,687
2.03%
NA
Verizon 3.85% 11/1/42 CUSIP 92343VBG8
9/26/17
9/9/19
27.01%
$2,423
12.53%
NA

High-Yield Corporate Bonds

AECOM 5.125% 3/15/27 CUSIP 00774CAB3
3/8/18
6/3/21
30.44%
$2,965
NA
19.84%
Albertsons 7.45% 8/1/2029 CUSIP 013104AF1
9/26/17
3/24/22
79.52%
$6,243
NA
15.18%
AMC Networks 4.750% 8/1/25 CUSIP 00164VAE3
8/14/18
2/19/21
18.88%
$1,818
NA
16.21%
AMC Networks 4.750% 8/1/25 CUSIP 00164VAE3
3/25/20
2/19/21
18.68%
$1,681
NA
28.06%
--
American Axle 6.500% 4/1/27 CUSIP 02406PAU4
11/19/18
9/10/20
23.96%
$2,170
NA
11.74%
American Axle 6.500% 4/1/27 CUSIP 02406PAU4
8/14/18
9/10/20
14.45%
$1,449
NA
9.79%
Beazer Homes 7.25% 10/15/29 CUSIP 07556QBT1
3/8/23
9/5/24
23.23%
$2,128
NA
17.05%
CF Industries 4.95% 6/1/43 CUSIP 12527GAD5
5/31/19
11/24/20
49.55%
$4,291
NA
8.79%
Citrix Systems 4.50% 12/1/27 CUSIP 177376AE0
11/19/18
1/23/20
20.45%
$1,939
NA
12.62%
Citrix Systems 4.50% 12/1/27 CUSIP 177376AE0
5/31/18
1/23/20
18.63%
$1,827
NA
12.71%
Commercial Metals 4.125% 1/15/30 CUSIP 201723AQ6
4/6/22
3/26/25
12.25%
$1,153
NA
15.45%
--
Commercial Metals 3.875% 2/15/31 CUSIP 201723AP8
4/6/22
3/26/25
9.76%
$894
NA
15.45%
--
Consolidated Comms 6.5% 10/1/22 CUSIP 20903XAE3
8/14/18
10/2/20
22.11%
$2,062
NA
8.60%
CoreCivic 4.75% 10/15/27 CUSIP 21871NAA9
12/11/19
9/5/24
40.52%
$3,371
NA
16.29%
DISH DBS 7.750% 7/1/26 CUSIP 25470XAY1
5/31/18
5/28/19
12.82%
$1,109
NA
6.04%
DISH DBS 5.125% 6/1/2029 CUSIP 25470XBD6
1/12/22
10/7/24
-12.21%
-$1,131
NA
7.43%
--
EQT Corp. 3.900% 10/1/27 CUSIP 26884LAF6
9/23/20
6/3/21
19.52%
$1,790
NA
7.68%
Expedia 3.800% 2/15/28 CUSIP 30212PAP0
3/8/18
6/19/20
13.85%
$1,296
NA
8.82%
Exterran Energy 8.125% 5/1/25 CUSIP 30227KAE9
1/12/22
10/21/22
14.36%
$1,360
NA
-13.51%
H&E Equipment 5.625% 9/1/25 CUSIP 404030AH1
3/15/19
11/24/20
13.06%
$1,305
NA
9.76%
JCPenney 5.65% 6/1/20 CUSIP 708130AD1
4/4/20
12/17/20
-100.00%
($5,477)
NA
21.13%
--
JCPenney 6.375% 10/15/36 CUSIP 708130AC3
12/13/17
12/17/20
-80.77%
($4,174)
NA
16.96%
--
JCPenney 5.65% 6/1/20 CUSIP 708130AD1
11/19/18
5/28/19
7.25%
$595
NA
6.07%
JCPenney 5.65% 6/1/20 CUSIP 708130AD1
9/10/18
5/28/19
-3.96%
($368)
NA
3.80%
--
Lennar 4.750% 5/30/25 CUSIP 526057BV5
3/8/18
11/24/20
27.18%
$2,700
NA
15.67%
Mercer International 5.125% 2/1/29 CUSIP 588056BB6
3/8/23
7/13/23
-0.73%
($61)
NA
4.00%
--
Mercer International 5.50% 1/15/26 CUSIP 588056AW1
9/5/19
5/18/20
-9.42%
($933)
NA
-5.18%
--
M/I Homes 5.625% 8/1/25 CUSIP 55305BAQ4
3/15/19
1/11/21
18.20%
$1,746
NA
11.66%
Monitronics 9.125% 4/1/20 CUSIP 609453AG0
9/26/17
9/14/18
-7.13%
($642)
NA
2.59%
--
Park-Ohio Industries 6.625% 4/15/27 CUSIP 700677AR8
5/31/19
3/25/21
14.25%
$1,417
NA
12.31%
PBF Holding Co LLC 6.00% 2/15/28 CUSIP 69318FAJ7
1/11/24
12/12/24
5.67%
$552
NA
9.04%
--
Penske Automotive 3.75% 6/15/29 CUSIP 70959WAK9
1/12/22
3/26/25
5.96%
$585
NA
9.68%
--
Pitney Bowes 4.625% 3/15/24 CUSIP 724479AJ9
5/31/18
5/15/19
10.66%
$912
NA
5.90%
Quad / Graphics 7.000% 5/1/22 CUSIP 747301AC3
12/12/19
4/29/22
26.03%
$2,410
NA
0.59%
QVC 5.95% 3/15/43 CUSIP 747262AM5
12/16/20
12/12/24
-18.30%
-$1,866
NA
13.28%
--
Steelcase 5.125% 1/18/29 CUSIP 858155AE4
11/16/22
9/5/24
23.50%
$2,039
NA
19.07%
Tennant Company 5.625% 5/1/25 CUSIP 880345AB9
12/12/18
11/24/20
17.99%
$1,753
NA
14.72%
Teleflex Inc. 4.625% 11/15/27 CUSIP 879369AF3
1/11/24
3/26/25
6.08%
$591
NA
9.84%
--
Titan Int'l 7.00% 4/30/28 CUSIP 88830MAM4
6/22/23
12/12/25
16.50%
$1,545
NA
17.35%
--
TransAlta 4.500% 11/15/22 CUSIP 89346DAF4
6/5/20
3/25/21
5.42%
$550
NA
9.25%
--
TransAlta 6.50% 3/15/40 CUSIP 89346DAE7
6/5/20
3/7/24
27.15%
$2,629
NA
12.37%
Tupperware Brands 4.75% 6/1/21 CUSIP 899896AC8
12/12/19
12/3/20
7.30%
$725
NA
4.40%
US Cellular 6.700% 12/15/33 CUSIP 911684AD0
3/8/23
5/30/24
26.17%
$2,331
NA
11.19%
US Concrete 6.375% 6/1/24 CUSIP 90333LAP7
12/12/18
3/25/21
21.45%
$2,057
NA
18.43%
US Steel 6.65% 6/1/37 CUSIP 912909AD0
9/9/21
3/26/25
11.72%
$1,288
NA
9.21%
Vital Energy 9.500% 1/15/25 CUSIP 516806AF3
12/18/20
3/24/22
31.71%
$2,786
NA
-0.93%
Vital Energy 10.125% 1/15/28 CUSIP 516806AG1
12/17/20
3/29/24
66.49%
$5,525
NA
5.68%
51 of 74
(69%)
Get Started

Corporate Bond Returns of Current Recommendations

Recommendations by Pick Date Subscribe to learn bond names and CUSIPs
Bondsavvy Investment Returns
Bond ETF Returns (6)
Pick Date
Offer Price (1)
June 25, 2025
Bid Price (2)
Total
Return (3)
iShares
LQD / SLQD
iShares
HYG / SHYG
Beat Benchmark
iShares
Bond ETF
Mar 06, 2025
High Yield Bond 1
102.65
88.18
-11.88%
--
1.04%
--
Investment Grade Bond 1
99.49
98.19
-0.02%
0.02%
--
--
Investment Grade Bond 2
97.88
99.09
2.48%
0.02%
--
Investment Grade Bond 3
98.94
97.68
0.02%
0.02%
--
--
Nov 14, 2024
Investment Grade Bond 1
88.83
84.53
-1.99%
1.74%
--
--
High Yield Bond 1
89.10
82.68
-3.35%
--
2.89%
--
Investment Grade Bond 2
104.74
105.12
3.39%
1.74%
--
Investment Grade Bond 3
97.00
96.34
2.10%
1.74%
Jul 11, 2024
Investment Grade Bond 1
80.76
75.84
-1.30%
2.78%
--
--
Investment Grade Bond 2
73.05
68.55
-1.19%
2.78%
--
--
High Yield Bond 1
102.84
102.66
5.74%
6.70%
--
High Yield Bond 2
103.61
102.33
4.32%
7.32%
--
Apr 04, 2024
Investment Grade Bond 1
102.64
104.93
9.37%
4.93%
High Yield Bond 1
98.33
99.82
7.85%
9.94%
--
Investment Grade Bond 2
104.40
105.89
8.39%
4.93%
High Yield Bond 2
104.03
101.77
5.45%
9.94%
--
Jan 11, 2024
Two other picks previously exited
High Yield Bond 1
99.84
99.67
7.73%
11.29%
--
Investment Grade Bond 1
98.43
97.04
5.83%
3.81%
Oct 05, 2023
High Yield Bond 1
91.43
99.38
18.19%
20.37%
--
Investment Grade Bond 1
96.35
101.57
13.65%
15.14%
--
High Yield Bond 2
83.75
95.35
22.97%
20.37%
High Yield Bond 3
97.83
104.72
19.28%
20.37%
--
Jun 22, 2023
Three other picks previously exited
High Yield Bond 1
95.35
98.68
15.70%
19.76%
--
Mar 08, 2023
Three other picks previously exited
High Yield Bond 4
85.00
93.59
17.98%
22.06%
--
Nov 16, 2022
Two other picks previously exited
Short Term Investment Grade Bond 1
101.20
99.94
11.17%
14.73%
--
Long Term Investment Grade Bond 1
103.91
102.90
11.84%
12.97%
--
High Yield Bond 2
96.85
100.70
22.97%
24.16%
--
Jun 16, 2022
One other pick previously exited
Short Term Investment Grade Bond 2
97.22
99.10
13.34%
11.28%
Short Term Investment Grade Bond 3
101.37
99.93
11.71%
14.78%
--
Short Term Investment Grade Bond 4
100.19
99.84
11.15%
14.78%
--
Apr 06, 2022
Two other picks previously exited
High Yield Bond 3
94.57
98.65
20.81%
16.97%
High Yield Bond 4
89.04
92.06
17.37%
16.97%
High Yield Bond 5
88.78
87.01
8.65%
16.97%
--
High Yield Bond 6
92.35
76.92
2.57%
16.97%
--
Jan 12, 2022
Three other picks previously exited
Investment Grade Bond 1
85.66
50.50
-31.18%
-5.47%
--
Sep 09, 2021
One other pick previously exited
Investment Grade Bond 1
89.85
53.40
-32.28%
-8.70%
--
Investment Grade Bond 2
104.48
74.26
-19.31%
-8.70%
--
High Yield Bond 1
100.22
90.91
9.28%
10.65%
--
Investment Grade Bond 3
93.46
56.23
-29.87%
-8.70%
--
May 20, 2021
High Yield Bond 1
98.60
76.76
-4.78%
13.43%
--
Investment Grade Bond 1
92.52
60.83
-21.40%
-4.82%
--
Investment Grade Bond 2
87.12
54.71
-26.22%
-4.82%
--
High Yield Bond 2
97.17
90.77
7.41%
13.43%
--
Mar 11, 2021
High Yield Bond 1
101.35
100.20
25.42%
14.51%
High Yield Bond 2
103.35
101.25
26.77%
14.51%
High Yield Bond 3
113.60
97.84
11.67%
14.51%
--
High Yield Bond 4
118.10
47.00
-31.62%
14.51%
--
Investment Grade Bond 1
90.07
58.80
-23.00%
-3.87%
--
Investment Grade Bond 2
85.32
55.34
-24.00%
-3.87%
--
Dec 17, 2020
Three other picks previously exited
Investment Grade Bond 1
96.30
52.19
-35.39%
-8.22%
--
Investment Grade Bond 2
98.55
57.57
-30.28%
-8.22%
--
Sep 23, 2020
One other pick previously exited
Investment Grade Bond 1
110.86
87.65
1.26%
-6.52%
High-Yield Bond 1 (split-rated)
94.34
80.64
9.08%
21.37%
--
Investment Grade Bond 2
96.04
57.41
-26.56%
-6.52%
--
Jun 05, 2020
Four other picks previously exited
Investment Grade Bond 2
95.56
81.49
7.46%
-2.67%
Dec 12, 2019
Three other picks previously exited
High-Yield Bond 2 (split-rated)
88.85
75.15
13.83%
21.13%
--
Sep 05, 2019
Three other picks previously exited
High Yield Bond 1
99.48
102.50
41.69%
23.22%
May 31, 2019
Two other picks previously exited
Investment Grade Bond 1
91.43
71.51
4.81%
9.77%
--
Investment Grade Bond 2
86.54
73.70
12.05%
9.77%
Mar 15, 2019
Three other picks previously exited
Investment Grade Bond 1
87.95
69.94
14.87%
14.19%
May 31, 2018
Two other picks previously exited
High Yield Bond 1
91.66
100.71
62.42%
34.52%
May 02, 2018
One other pick previously exited
Investment Grade Bond 1
76.60
-
-69.46%
12.22%
--
Sep 26, 2017
Three other picks previously exited
Investment Grade Bond 1
86.86 (5)
-
-68.17%
8.25%
--
Get Started

How We Maximize Investment Returns

Many investors believe corporate bond returns are limited to a bond's yield. They build ill-conceived bond ladders, hold bonds to maturity, and then do it all over again. Investors who build bond ladders and hold bonds to maturity will never achieve a return higher than a bond's yield to maturity.

Luckily, there is a better way, which can drive higher returns for bond investors.

Through our investment analysis, we identify corporate bonds that are undervalued relative to other bonds in the marketplace. These bonds pay coupons higher than other corporate bonds with similar risk and have an opportunity to increase in price and drive investment returns that have beaten the world's most popular bond funds and ETFs.

What Corporate Bond Returns Do We Seek To Achieve?

While annual total returns can vary year to year, our goal is to recommend bonds that can achieve annualized total returns in excess of 10%. We recommend both investment grade corporate bonds and high yield corporate bonds, and we have shown that high returns are not only the domain of the riskiest bonds.

As we show on our corporate bond returns page, many of our highest-returning bonds were rated investment grade. Since bond ratings are biased toward large companies and generally ignore a bond's price, yield, liquidity, maturity date vs. bonds issued by the same company, and interest-rate sensitivity, we find them to have limited use for the serious corporate bond investor.

How Do We Maximize Corporate Bond Returns?

There are three key components to how we maximize corporate bond returns:

1) Be Selective: On any given day, there are 9,000 individual corporate bonds available to individual investors. BondSavvy's Job #1 for our fixed income newsletter subscribers is to narrow the corporate bond universe to a select number of corporate bonds that can beat the market. Our comprehensive investment analysis is at the center of identifying corporate bonds with strong upside with a reasonable level of risk. Selectivity is one of the biggest advantages of owning individual corporate bonds vs. bond funds, as we can focus on investments with the best risk/reward opportunities. Our investment analysis is a big step up from the old way of bond selection, where investors would simply look at a bond's rating and its YTM and buy bonds.

2) Carefully Monitor Financial Performance of Issuing Companies: BondSavvy makes 20+ initial buy recommendations each year. We make an initial recommendation based on where we find value on each new bond recommendation date. Over time, the recommended bond's price will move, and the financial performance of the issuing company could either improve or worsen. As a result of these changes, BondSavvy updates its corporate bond recommendations following company quarterly earnings releases during The Super Bondcast. During this subscriber webcast, we update subscribers on the financial performance of each company and whether our previously recommended bonds are buys, sells, or holds.

In addition to The Super Bondcast, we provide our bond newsletter subscribers email updates on whether our corporate bond recommendations change in between editions of The Super Bondcast.

3) Sell Bonds To Maximize Returns When Upside Wanes: Since our goal is to maximize total returns and achieve returns higher than a corporate bond's YTM, we typically sell bonds before maturity. Corporate bonds do have ceilings and cannot increase without limit like stocks. Given the favorable tax treatment of capital gains, after tax, one dollar of capital gain is worth more than one dollar of interest income. We are, therefore, vigilant when monitoring our corporate bond recommendations so we can protect our capital gains and maximize returns.

A Word About Corporate Bond Returns Shown in Your Brokerage Account

When evaluating investment performance, investors should be wary of the prices they see on their brokerage statements, which do not show the bond's total return and often undervalue the bond held. The price shown on an investor's statement is called "an evaluated price," which is an estimated price at which a large institutional money manager could sell the bond. Investors owning smaller quantities can often achieve better price execution than investors needing to sell $1 million plus of bonds, so always check a bond's depth of book when investing in bonds online to see what the current market price of your corporate bond is.

In addition, brokerages typically only show the bond's capital gain/loss when showing its return. Most do not show a bond's total return, which includes interest income received and accrued plus capital appreciation / loss. When we calculate our investment returns, we show total returns and compare these to leading corporate bond ETFs.

Get Started

Investment Returns Table Footnotes

We compare our high-yield corporate bond returns with the iShares high-yield corporate bond ETF ("HYG") and our investment-grade corporate bond returns with the iShares investment-grade ("LQD") corporate bond ETF. The benchmark ETF is based on the Moody's and S&P rating of our recommended bond on the recommendation date. Split-rated bonds are compared to the HYG ETF. "NA" means "not applicable," as the bond shown is being compared to the other benchmark ETF. Please read additional disclosures provided in the footnotes below.

PAST PERFORMANCE DOES NOT GUARANTEE FUTURE RESULTS. ACTUAL RESULTS MAY VARY BASED ON WHEN SUBSCRIBERS BOUGHT AND SOLD BONDS WE RECOMMENDED BUYING AND SELLING, THE BROKERAGE FIRMS THROUGH WHICH SUBSCRIBERS TRANSACT, BROKERAGE COMMISSIONS PAID, AND MARKET VOLATILITY.

* Source of bond price charts: FINRA market data. Total returns calculated by BondSavvy. Returns are not annualized.

(1) Prior to our March 11, 2021 recommendations, the pick date price is the top-of-book offer price shown on Fidelity.com the trading day prior to the pick date. Price assumes a $1/bond (0.1 points) mark-up on the quoted offer price. On March 11, 2021, we began hosting The Bondcast at 5:00pm EDT, so the pick date price for all recommendations beginning this date is the top of book price with at least 100 bonds in quantity shown on Fidelity.com the afternoon of the pick date.

(2) Bond prices reflect the higher of a) the average of up to four afternoon customer sell trades reported on the period-end date and b) the best bid price on Fidelity.com on the period-end date that could fill a sell order of at least 100 bonds.

(3) Returns are calculated from the trading date immediately prior to the pick date through the end of the period shown, with the exception of recommendations beginning March 11, 2021, which are calculated beginning on the pick date. For returns calculations under "Corporate Bond Returns of Current Recommendations," the Pick Date Price and end-of-period price are calculated pursuant to footnotes 1 and 2 above. For "Corporate Bond Returns of Exited Recommendations," the Pick Date Price is calculated pursuant to footnote 1. With respect to the selling price: (i) for bonds owned by our founder Steve Shaw, the selling price comes from his trade confirmation statements; (ii) for corporate bonds not owned by Mr. Shaw, the selling price reflects the top-of-book bid price available on Fidelity.com when the sell recommendation was issued or, for sells beginning September 10, 2020, the average of the three customer sell trades, as reported to FINRA TRACE, executed immediately after such sell recommendations were made. Beginning June 3, 2021, for sells of bonds not owned by Mr. Shaw, the sell price was based on the top-of-book bid price available on Fidelity.com on the sell date that could satisfy an order of at least 250 bonds. BondSavvy believes these returns may be understated compared to the methodology of iShares returns, as (a) BondSavvy's total returns do not factor in re-investment of interest income and capital gains, which the iShares returns do include and (b) the individual bond returns reflect a purchase at the offer price and a valuation at the bid price, which can negatively impact returns from 0.25 to 0.75 percentage points on average. The iShares returns are calculated based on changes in the fund's net asset value and, therefore, aren't penalized as significantly by a bid-ask spread. Returns calculations are not annualized. BondSavvy total returns include capital gain/loss and interest accrued.

BONDSAVVY FEES ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE RETURNS CALCULATIONS. Each subscriber makes the final decision on which bonds to own and the amount to invest. We therefore, for returns calculations purposes, do not allocate a portion of our subscription fee across each bond recommendation. In addition, since Bondsavvy charges a flat fee to subscribers, the impact of our subscription fees would vary across investment size. You can see our investment newsletter fees by clicking this subscribe to Bondsavvy link.

(4) During the 11/19/18 Super Bondcast, we recommended subscribers buy additional amounts of these previous BondSavvy picks. We also updated all other prior BondSavvy corporate bond investment recommendations, other than three companies which had yet to report earnings. This was BondSavvy's first edition of The Super Bondcast, a subscriber-only webcast where we evaluate the financial performance of our issuing companies and the performance of each recommended corporate bond. In certain editions of The Super Bondcast, we may recommend buying bonds of recommendations we had previously made a 'Hold.' When we show 'Exited Recommendations,' these returns will show returns from both the initial pick date as well as from other times we recommended subscribers purchase these bonds over the course of our ownership of the bond. For simplicity, other than the 11/19/18 Super Bondcast, we only show the performance from the initial pick date for bonds listed under the heading 'Corporate Bond Returns of Current Recommendations.'

(5) BondSavvy recommended these bonds at 89.92 on September 26, 2017. The price shows the blended price Steve Shaw has acquired these bonds across four different transactions. Note that we no longer are recommending purchases of these bonds but now recommend shorter-dated bonds of the same issuer.

(6) Returns calculated based on the dates indicated in the first two sentences of Footnote 3. Source of iShares returns is the iShares website. We went to the home page for each iShares ETF, clicked "Performance" and then clicked the "View Full Chart" hyperlink under the "Growth of Hypothetical $10,000" heading. We then entered the various date ranges and recorded the investment returns shown for the specific iShares ETF. We compare our recommended short term investment grade bonds (which mature in 2028 or earlier) to iShares SLQD (the iShares short-term investment grade bond ETF) and all other investment grade corporate bonds to iShares LQD. Any time there is an "NA," it means that none of our recommended bonds on that pick date were being compared to that specific iShares ETF. For example, all of our June 16, 2022 picks were short-term investment grade bonds. Therefore, we only compared these bonds to iShares SLQD and not iShares LQD or HYG.

Get Started

Learn More About Corporate Bond Investing and Bondsavvy

Where To Buy Corporate Bonds Bondsavvy's Corporate Bond Returns How To Build a Bond Portfolio