iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT): Historical Returns

Last Update: 31 Mar 2021

Category: Fixed Income

ETF: iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT)

In the last 10 years, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) ETF obtained a 6.66% compound annual return, with a 13.01% standard deviation.

In 2020, the portfolio granted a 1.76% dividend yield. If you are interested in getting periodic income, please refer to the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT): Dividend Yield page.

The ETF is related to the following investment themes:

Asset Class: Bond
Region: North America
Country: U.S.
Bond - Duration: Long-Term

The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) ETF is present in the following Lazy Portfolios:

Portfolio Name	Author	ETF Weight
Rob Arnott Portfolio	Rob Arnott	10.0%
All Weather Portfolio	Ray Dalio	40.0%
Permanent Portfolio	Harry Browne	25.0%
Yale Endowment	David Swensen	15.0%
Golden Butterfly		20.0%
Family Taxable Portfolio	Ted Aronson	10.0%
Paul Boyer Permanent Portfolio	Paul Boyer	25.0%

Capital Growth and Historical Returns

Capital growth, returns, stats are calculated assuming a reinvestment of dividends.

If you are interested in getting periodic income, please refer to the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT): Dividend Yield page.

Capital Growth:

ETF Returns, up to December 2002, are simulated. They have been calculated using the historical series of equivalent ETFs / Assets.

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Period	Returns Mar 2021	Standard Deviation *	Max Drawdown	Months Pos - Neg
1M	-5.24%		-5.24% Mar 2021 - Mar 2021	0 - 1
3M	-13.92%		-13.91% Jan 2021 - Mar 2021	0 - 3
6M	-16.49%		-16.49% Oct 2020 - Mar 2021	1 - 5
YTD	-13.92%		-13.91% Jan 2021 - Mar 2021	0 - 3
1Y	-16.74%	10.67%	-20.10% Aug 2020 - Mar 2021	5 - 7
3Y	+5.78% annualized	13.72%	-20.10% Aug 2020 - Mar 2021	19 - 17
5Y	+3.02% annualized	12.44%	-20.10% Aug 2020 - Mar 2021	31 - 29
10Y	+6.66% annualized	13.01%	-20.10% Aug 2020 - Mar 2021	62 - 58
MAX 01 Jan 1978	+8.32% annualized	11.94%	-23.13% Jul 1979 - Sep 1981	302 - 217

* Annualized St.Dev. of monthly returns

Drawdowns

Drawdonws Chart:

Worst drawdowns since March 2011.

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	Drawdown period			Recovery period		Total
Drawdown	Start	Bottom	#Months	End	#Months	#Months
-20.10%	Aug 2020	Mar 2021	8	in progress	0	8
-18.03%	Aug 2012	Dec 2013	17	Nov 2014	11	28
-15.07%	Aug 2016	Oct 2018	27	May 2019	7	34
-14.18%	Feb 2015	Jun 2015	5	Jun 2016	12	17
-7.22%	Sep 2019	Dec 2019	4	Feb 2020	2	6
-7.02%	Jan 2012	Mar 2012	3	May 2012	2	5
-3.84%	Oct 2011	Oct 2011	1	Dec 2011	2	3
-2.33%	Jun 2011	Jun 2011	1	Jul 2011	1	2
-1.76%	May 2020	May 2020	1	Jul 2020	2	3
-1.68%	Jun 2012	Jun 2012	1	Jul 2012	1	2

Worst drawdowns since December 1977.

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	Drawdown period			Recovery period		Total
Drawdown	Start	Bottom	#Months	End	#Months	#Months
-23.13%	Jul 1979	Sep 1981	27	Aug 1982	11	38
-21.79%	Jan 2009	Dec 2009	12	Sep 2011	21	33
-20.10%	Aug 2020	Mar 2021	8	in progress	0	8
-18.03%	Aug 2012	Dec 2013	17	Nov 2014	11	28
-15.07%	Aug 2016	Oct 2018	27	May 2019	7	34
-14.18%	Feb 2015	Jun 2015	5	Jun 2016	12	17
-13.95%	May 1983	May 1984	13	Sep 1984	4	17
-12.25%	Mar 1987	Sep 1987	7	Feb 1988	5	12
-11.60%	Jun 2003	Jul 2003	2	Oct 2004	15	17
-11.07%	Feb 1994	Oct 1994	9	May 1995	7	16
-9.73%	Jul 2005	May 2006	11	Nov 2006	6	17
-9.55%	Oct 1998	Dec 1999	15	Aug 2000	8	23
-8.94%	Jan 1996	May 1996	5	Nov 1996	6	11
-8.20%	Nov 2001	Mar 2002	5	Jul 2002	4	9
-7.22%	Sep 2019	Dec 2019	4	Feb 2020	2	6
-7.02%	Jan 2012	Mar 2012	3	May 2012	2	5
-6.99%	Dec 1989	Apr 1990	5	Jul 1990	3	8
-5.35%	Dec 1996	Mar 1997	4	Jul 1997	4	8
-5.10%	Apr 2008	May 2008	2	Sep 2008	4	6
-4.89%	Mar 1988	May 1988	3	Sep 1988	4	7

Rolling Returns ( more details)

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) ETF: annualized rolling and average returns

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	*Return ()**			Negative Periods
Rolling Period	Average	Best	Worst	Negative Periods
1 Year	+9.69%	+67.15% Apr 1985 - Mar 1986	-21.80% Jan 2009 - Dec 2009	21.65%
2 Years	+9.28%	+49.11% Jul 1984 - Jun 1986	-11.41% Oct 1979 - Sep 1981	10.89%
3 Years	+9.20%	+30.06% Sep 1983 - Aug 1986	-7.05% Oct 1978 - Sep 1981	4.96%
5 Years	+9.47%	+28.14% Sep 1981 - Aug 1986	+0.31% Jan 2009 - Dec 2013	0.00%
7 Years	+9.53%	+20.15% Oct 1981 - Sep 1988	+2.29% Oct 2011 - Sep 2018	0.00%
10 Years	+9.37%	+17.64% Oct 1981 - Sep 1991	+3.27% Jan 2009 - Dec 2018	0.00%
15 Years	+9.16%	+14.59% Oct 1981 - Sep 1996	+5.46% Jun 2003 - May 2018	0.00%

* Annualized rolling and average returns over full calendar month periods

If you need a deeper detail about rolling returns, please refer to the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) ETF: Rolling Returns page.

Seasonality and Yearly/Monthly Returns

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) ETF Seasonality

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	Months
Return (%)	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Average	0.4	0.0	0.2	0.3	1.1	1.2	0.5	1.6	0.8	0.3	1.3	1.0
Best	9.8 2015	12.6 1986	10.6 1986	13.5 1980	9.1 1985	6.9 2016	7.0 1984	11.0 2019	13.2 2011	7.8 1982	14.3 2008	13.6 2008
Worst	-13.1 2009	-8.3 1980	-5.2 2021	-7.0 2009	-6.8 2013	-4.1 2015	-10.0 2003	-5.1 2020	-4.0 1986	-8.0 1979	-8.2 2016	-6.3 2009
Gain Frequency	59	50	48	56	56	70	56	63	63	49	74	56

Detail of Monthly Returns

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		Months
Year	Return	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2021	-13.92%	-3.6	-5.7	-5.2
2020	+18.15%	7.7	6.6	6.4	1.2	-1.8	0.3	4.4	-5.1	0.8	-3.4	1.7	-1.2
2019	+14.12%	0.4	-1.4	5.6	-2.0	6.8	1.0	0.3	11.0	-2.7	-1.1	-0.4	-3.2
2018	-1.61%	-3.3	-3.0	2.9	-2.1	2.0	0.7	-1.4	1.3	-2.9	-2.9	1.8	5.9
2017	+9.18%	0.8	1.6	-0.7	1.6	1.9	0.8	-0.7	3.4	-2.3	0.0	0.7	1.8
2016	+1.18%	5.6	3.1	-0.1	-0.7	0.8	6.9	2.1	-1.0	-1.5	-4.4	-8.2	-0.5
2015	-1.79%	9.8	-6.1	1.1	-3.4	-2.4	-4.1	4.6	-0.7	2.0	-0.4	-0.9	-0.3
2014	+27.30%	6.3	0.5	0.7	2.1	3.0	-0.3	0.7	4.7	-2.1	2.8	3.0	3.3
2013	-13.37%	-3.2	1.2	-0.4	4.7	-6.8	-3.3	-2.3	-1.3	0.7	1.4	-2.7	-1.9
2012	+2.63%	-0.3	-2.6	-4.2	4.8	9.0	-1.7	3.8	-1.3	-2.5	-0.5	1.4	-2.5
2011	+33.96%	-3.1	1.7	0.0	2.3	3.4	-2.3	4.4	9.7	13.2	-3.8	2.0	3.4
2010	+9.05%	2.7	-0.3	-2.1	3.3	5.1	5.8	-1.0	8.4	-2.5	-4.5	-1.7	-3.7
2009	-21.80%	-13.1	-1.5	4.0	-7.0	-3.7	0.8	0.6	2.2	2.5	-2.6	1.2	-6.3
2008	+33.93%	2.1	-0.5	2.1	-2.5	-2.7	2.7	-0.4	2.7	1.5	-1.9	14.3	13.6
2007	+10.29%	-1.0	3.4	-1.7	0.9	-2.3	-1.0	3.3	1.8	0.2	1.8	5.4	-0.6
2006	+0.71%	-1.3	1.1	-4.6	-2.8	-0.2	1.2	2.2	3.1	1.9	0.9	2.3	-2.7
2005	+8.61%	3.6	-1.5	-0.5	3.9	3.1	2.2	-3.4	3.5	-3.6	-2.2	0.7	3.0
2004	+8.71%	1.9	2.3	1.4	-6.2	-0.3	1.1	1.5	4.2	1.0	1.8	-2.4	2.7
2003	+1.62%	-0.6	3.1	-1.4	1.1	6.3	-1.8	-10.0	1.3	5.9	-3.0	0.3	1.4
2002	+16.67%	1.2	1.2	-3.9	3.7	0.4	1.8	2.9	4.3	4.0	-2.8	-1.0	4.1
2001	+4.31%	0.3	1.8	-0.6	-2.6	0.2	0.8	3.6	2.0	0.9	5.1	-5.1	-1.8
2000	+19.72%	1.3	3.0	3.1	-0.7	-0.5	2.3	1.5	2.1	-0.9	1.6	3.0	2.5
1999	-8.66%	1.0	-4.8	-0.3	0.2	-1.6	-1.1	-0.6	-0.5	0.9	0.1	-0.6	-1.6
1998	+13.05%	1.9	-0.8	0.1	0.4	1.8	2.4	-0.5	4.8	3.3	-1.7	0.9	-0.2
1997	+13.90%	-0.7	-0.1	-2.3	2.4	1.0	1.8	5.3	-2.6	2.6	3.0	1.3	1.7
1996	-1.26%	-0.1	-4.9	-2.0	-1.8	-0.5	2.1	-0.1	-1.3	2.8	3.9	3.2	-2.4
1995	+30.09%	2.6	2.7	0.7	1.7	7.5	1.1	-1.4	2.1	1.8	3.0	2.3	2.7
1994	-7.04%	2.2	-4.0	-3.8	-1.3	-0.5	-0.8	2.9	-0.7	-3.0	-0.4	0.6	1.6
1993	+16.78%	2.9	3.2	0.2	0.8	0.4	4.2	1.4	4.0	0.3	0.6	-2.5	0.4
1992	+7.41%	-3.2	0.6	-1.1	-0.1	2.7	1.1	4.0	0.7	1.4	-1.9	0.5	2.6
1991	+17.43%	1.1	0.5	0.3	1.3	-0.1	-0.8	1.5	3.5	3.0	-0.1	0.0	6.3
1990	+5.78%	-3.7	-0.3	-0.3	-2.8	4.5	2.3	0.7	-4.3	1.2	2.2	4.6	2.1
1989	+17.93%	2.1	-1.7	0.9	2.6	3.1	6.1	2.1	-2.9	0.2	3.9	0.8	-0.1
1988	+9.15%	4.7	1.2	-2.2	-1.1	-1.6	4.1	-1.9	0.4	3.9	2.5	-1.9	1.3
1987	-2.92%	1.3	1.1	-1.6	-4.8	-1.5	1.4	-1.1	-1.6	-3.7	5.8	0.5	1.6
1986	+30.87%	0.1	12.6	10.6	0.3	-2.5	6.7	-2.0	3.7	-4.0	0.5	3.0	-0.3
1985	+36.90%	3.8	-4.7	3.2	2.3	9.1	1.9	-1.2	2.9	0.1	3.6	4.9	6.8
1984	+16.24%	1.7	-1.9	-1.9	-1.5	-5.9	2.6	7.0	3.9	2.9	6.3	1.5	1.3
1983	-1.29%	-4.0	5.3	-0.7	3.7	-4.3	0.6	-5.6	-0.3	5.4	-1.8	1.9	-0.7
1982	+47.10%	-0.7	1.7	2.2	3.3	1.1	-2.6	4.7	8.3	6.9	7.8	3.7	3.4
1981	+0.65%	-1.4	-4.2	3.6	-6.1	5.6	-0.7	-3.5	-4.3	-1.4	7.0	12.2	-4.2
1980	-4.99%	-7.7	-8.3	0.6	13.5	5.7	4.5	-6.4	-3.1	-2.6	-3.2	0.3	3.8
1979	-2.10%	1.9	-1.6	1.4	-1.3	2.2	3.4	-0.9	-0.3	-0.9	-8.0	1.8	0.7
1978	-1.55%	-1.0	-0.1	-0.2	0.0	-0.5	-0.6	1.4	1.8	-0.9	-2.0	1.5	-0.9

ETF Returns, up to December 2002, are simulated. They have been calculated using the historical series of equivalent ETFs / Assets.