Investment Grade Bonds to Buy That Can Outperform Bond Funds

With select bond yields at 24- and 25-year highs, investors have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lock in high yields for the long term and to benefit from potential capital growth opportunities. As of October 8, yields to maturity ranged from 5.96% to 7.23% for Bondsavvy Basic's 13 recommended investment-grade bonds.  

When we launched the Bondsavvy Basic service, our goal was to empower investors with smaller portfolios or those new to fixed income to maximize corporate bond returns without paying hefty fees to bond funds or traditional financial advisors. 

In late September, we updated all Bondsavvy Basic recommendations with each issuing company's latest financial information and the most-recent bond prices and yields. We presented these updates during the Super Bondcast presentation, which is exclusive to Bondsavvy Basic subscribers. Join Bondsavvy Basic today to watch a recording of this exclusive webcast and to see all 13 recommended investment-grade corporate bonds. 

Preview Our Bondsavvy Basic Investment Grade Bond Recommendations

Rising US Treasury yields push investment-grade corporate bond yields higher and bond prices lower. Purchasing bonds at high historical yields enables bond investors to lock in high income and benefit from potential capital growth opportunities.

Higher US Treasury Yields Across the Curve

On October 8, longer-term US Treasury yields were reaching highs not seen in 24 to 25 years. What's more, is that, when we compare the October 8 US Treasury yield curve to those from June 5, 2001 and June 11, 2002, yields at the short end of the curve were materially higher than they were during mid-2001 and 2002.

For example, the 10-year US Treasury reached a 25-year high on October 8, 2026 when it hit 5.29%. The last time it closed at this level was on June 5, 2001 (represented by the black line in Figure 1a). While the 10-year US Treasury yields were identical on these two days, the two-year yield on October 8, 2026 was 69 basis points higher than it was on June 5, 2001 (4.81% vs. 4.12%). This means that, today, investors can find compelling values across the yield curve not seen in over 25 years.

The last time 2-year, 10-year, and 20-year US Treasury yields were all, on the same day, higher than October 8, 2026, was on January 23, 2001, when these yields closed at 4.82%, 5.30%, and 5.76%, respectively.

Figure 1a: October 8, 2026 US Treasury Yield Curve vs. Historical Yield Curves

Source: US Treasury data charted by Bondsavvy.

How High US Treasury Yields Translate into High Corporate Bond Yields

With 25-year-high US Treasury yields, some corporate bond yields have hit all-time highs. Figure 1aa shows the range of yields to maturity ("YTMs") for the 13 Bondsavvy Basic recommended bonds as of approximately 11:00am EDT on October 8, 2026. Key stats for these investment grade bonds include:

Yields: Median YTM of 6.42% and yields ranged from 5.96% to 7.23%.

Maturity Dates: Five bonds maturing in 10 years or sooner; three bonds maturing in 11-16 years; and five maturing in over 20 years.

Ratings: 12 of 13 recommended bonds are currently rated investment grade by both Moody's and S&P. One bond was "split rated" (i.e., investment grade by one rating agency and below investment grade by the other).

Number of Issuing companies: 13 recommended bonds across 9 issuing companies. 

Issuing-company industries: Business services; oil & gas; technology; retail; pharmaceuticals; and aerospace & defense

Figure 1aa: October 8, 2026 Yields to Maturity of Bondsavvy Basic Recommended Investment Grade Bonds

^{Source: YTMs and market prices provided on Fidelity.com.}

Please note that, while bond yields to maturity are an important metric, our active bond investing strategy seeks to achieve total returns that exceed a bond's purchase date yield to maturity.

We Just Updated Our Bondsavvy Basic Picks on September 29

A key part of our Bondsavvy Basic service is the quarterly updates we provide subscribers. In our latest Basic Super Bondcast, we reviewed current economic conditions, bond yield trends, issuing-company financials, and the bond prices, yields, and credit spreads of our recommended investment grade bonds. We kept all bond picks 13 as 'buys' and updated the "buy-to" prices for each corporate bond.

Bondsavvy Basic is separate from Bondsavvy Premier, a service we launched in 2017 that recommends both high yield bonds and investment grade bonds. The 92 Premier bond recommendations exited through May 1, 2026 had achieved a median annual return of 9.16%, outperforming the iShares LQD and HYG corporate bond ETFs by 2.79 percentage points.

Is Bondsavvy Basic Right for You?

If you want the principal protection, reliable income, and capital appreciation opportunities of individual corporate bonds but don't want to get overwhelmed by the 10,000+ choices available online, Bondsavvy Basic narrows the universe down to the most compelling options.

What you get as a subscriber:

• Bonds That Can Outperform: A tightly curated list of investment-grade corporate bonds across a diverse set of industry sectors and maturity dates.

• Deep-Dive Clarity: Access to our comprehensive video webcasts where we break down company financials, bond yield trends, and key risks in plain English.

• Continuous Refinement: Ongoing quarterly live presentations where we refresh each buy/sell/hold recommendation based on quarterly financial results, bond price movements, and overall market conditions.

Investment grade bonds vs. high yield bonds

We have limited the scope of Bondsavvy Basic to include only investment grade bonds. For a bond to be deemed investment grade, it must have a minimum bond rating of Baa3 by Moody's and BBB- by S&P. Bonds with ratings below these thresholds, as shown in Figure 1b, are high yield bonds.

Bondsavvy Subscriber Benefit

Over 10,000 investment grade corporate bonds are available for online investing each day. Our Bondsavvy Basic corporate bond recommendations cut through the clutter to identify bonds that offer high coupons and upside potential relative to their risk.

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Bondsavvy never relies on corporate bond ratings but rather conducts its own bond investment analysis when making new bond recommendations. That said, bond ratings do impact how bond prices move, and bond rating upgrade and downgrade thresholds are an important investment consideration.

Figure 1b: Corporate bond ratings scale

Key Differences Between Investment Grade Bonds and High Yield Bonds

For the twelve months ending September 30, 2026, US investment grade corporate bond issuance has been about five times greater than high yield bond issuance, as shown in Figure 2. Other key characteristics of investment grade bonds include longer initial tenors (the time until maturity), more favorable call provisions, and higher interest rate risk.

Figure 2: Investment grade bonds vs. high yield bonds

Sources: SIFMA market data, Fidelity.com, and Bondsavvy

Investment Analysis Supporting Our Investment Grade Bond Recommendations

Bondsavvy simplifies bond investing by presenting easy-to-understand corporate bond recommendations. For Bondsavvy Basic's initial 10 investment grade bond recommendations, we recorded a 75-minute presentation covering our financial, investment, and business analysis supporting each recommendation. Below, we provide excerpts of the information we provide in Bondsavvy Basic.

Recommended Investment Grade Bonds to Buy

Upon logging into the Bondsavvy Basic investment service, subscribers will see the list of investment grade corporate bonds to buy, as shown in Figure 3. On this page, we show the bond's name, CUSIP, and ISIN (for non-US subscribers), as well as key pricing and financial metrics such as credit spreads and leverage ratios. 

Figure 3: Bondsavvy Basic User Interface

Bondsavvy Basic subscribers can access a chaptered 75-minute webcast for our initial bond recommendations. On the slide shown in Figure 4, Bondsavvy founder Steve Shaw is reviewing certain key financials of our issuing companies, including revenue and EBITDA growth, margins, cash vs. debt balances, and upcoming bond maturities. Subscribe to Bondsavvy Basic to learn each recommended bond and CUSIP number.

Figure 4: Excerpted Investment Grade Bond Investment Analysis in Bondsavvy Basic

After comparing key financial ratios and metrics early in the presentation, we do a deep dive into each issuing company's business; trends; capital structure and capital allocation; and recent operating performance. We typically boil this down to two slides per issuing company, and we have attached a sample of one of these slides in Figure 5:

Figure 5: Bondsavvy Basic analysis of capital allocation, capital structure, and recent financial performance

View the Recording of The Super Bondcast

The fixed-income landscape is shifting rapidly. If you have been waiting for the right moment to get started with individual corporate bonds, this is it.

By subscribing to Bondsavvy Basic today, you get immediate access to our current recommended list and the webcast presentations and analysis supporting each initial recommendation and update.

Take control of your portfolio, cut out the fund and advisor fees, and lock in once-in-a-generation bond yields.

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