4 ms·

Bond funds are different than bonds. With bonds, you can hold them to maturity and not get whacked.

• jlawson 4y ago
  You can hold bond funds to the maturity date of the underlying bonds and get the same result (minus fees). But in either case, you still get whacked with inflation, which would show up on this chart as a drop.
  • sicp-enjoyer 4y ago
    At an individual bonds maturity I get the full principal back. How do I do that principal back from a bond fund if the value has dropped due to the macro environment?
    • jlawson 4y ago
      The value will have dropped, but the distributions/dividends you got in the meantime will have made up the difference. The fund and its underlying holdings must end up even in the end (minus fees).