{"id":16558,"date":"2023-06-07T09:01:21","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T16:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canary.kcprod.info/blog\/?p=16558"},"modified":"2026-04-08T16:00:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T23:00:41","slug":"introducing-automated-bond-portfolio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canary.kcprod.info/blog\/introducing-automated-bond-portfolio\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing Automated Bond Portfolios: Featuring a 4.31% Blended Yield"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Note: The yield and return figures for our Automated Bond Portfolio were last updated on April 7, 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you heard? Bonds are back! In the past year, bonds have gone from an investing afterthought to making headlines in The Economist, The NYT, The WSJ,<\/em> and beyond. We\u2019ve been into bonds since before they were cool<\/a>, and today we\u2019re delighted to announce our Automated Bond Portfolio<\/a>: a first-of-its-kind, diversified selection of bond ETFs, optimized to earn a higher yield than a savings account with a lot less risk than equities. At a current 4.31% 30-day blended SEC yield<\/strong> (after fees, with total returns of 5.66% over the last year and 16.95%1<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0since inception, from March 30, 2023 \u2013 April 7, 2026), the Automated Bond Portfolio makes it easy to get the benefits of low-risk, tax-advantaged bonds \u2014 without the pesky maturity dates and manual management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\ude4bQuick Q: What\u2019s a 30-day blended SEC yield?<\/em><\/strong>
We created this term to represent a weighted average of the 30-day SEC yields for each ETF in your portfolio after deducting our 0.25% annual advisory fee. ETFs publish this standard annualized calculation based on interest and dividends earned over the last 30 days \u2014 after fund expenses are deducted. Please note that the 30-day SEC yield is not an indicator of the portfolio’s overall performance or future returns. The yield simply provides a snapshot of the income generated by the ETFs in the past 30 days, and it is subject to change. Like any investment, the price of the ETFs in the portfolio may fluctuate daily. Our published yield of 4.31% was last updated on April 7, 2026.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll build you a personalized portfolio based on your tax situation with a diversified mix of Treasury bond and corporate bond ETFs to help you earn more, keep more after taxes, and have access to your money when you need it. Compared to other low-risk choices like I bonds and CDs, the Automated Bond Portfolio aims to provide a higher yield, more liquidity, and better diversification. In our (totally unbiased) opinion, it\u2019s an ideal place to save for near-term financial goals like down payments, big trips, or home renovations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not long term, not short term, but \u201cjust right\u201d term<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve got your short-term savings and \u201cright now\u201d money in cash and your long-term wealth in diversified investments and stocks, but where do you put the funds you might plan to use in one to three years?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Automated Bond Portfolio is designed to fill that gap. It\u2019s a great option to consider if you are saving for an expense in a couple of years (like a car purchase or tuition) or if you want to balance out a riskier portion of your portfolio. Our research team constructed the Bond Portfolio using bond ETFs to offer a higher expected yield than our Cash Account with roughly half the market risk you\u2019d take in the lowest-risk versions of our Classic and Socially Responsible portfolios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bond ETFs: bonds, but better<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Buying bonds directly can be a headache \u2014 with clunky interfaces to navigate, maturity dates that lock up your cash, and manual management of your holdings. That\u2019s why we built our Automated Bond Portfolio with bond ETFs instead. Here are three key advantages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. They\u2019re more liquid<\/strong>
    ETFs trade like stocks, getting you the yields and tax advantages of bonds without the maturity dates and over-the-counter trades that make buying, selling, and reinvesting cumbersome and complex. You can withdraw your money with no penalties, and when you do, Wealthfront provides a clear estimate of your potential tax impact.
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. They\u2019re more diversified<\/strong>
    ETFs roll many different bonds into a single, tradeable asset \u2014 the resulting diversification can reduce both interest rate risk and credit risk, without sacrificing your expected yield. Our portfolio offers a combination of low-risk, tax-advantaged Treasury bonds with higher-yield corporate bonds to strike the right balance of yield and risk.
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. They\u2019re easier to manage<\/strong>
    Buying and selling individual bonds often involves dealing with arcane websites, planning your investments around arbitrary maturity dates and intermittent sales periods, and running up against maximum investment limits. Bond ETFs eliminate these hassles, and it gets even more hassle-free when we add our automatic reinvestment and rebalancing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Unlike individual bonds, ETFs are subject to management fees and other administrative expenses, which are captured in expense ratios \u2014 ranging from 0.03% to 0.39%, in the case of the ETFs in the Automated Bond Portfolio. You should also know certain risk factors that are unique to ETFs: like price discrepancies between the ETF and its underlying assets, and the risk of the ETF not accurately tracking the performance of the bond market it’s meant to represent. But when you factor in the high yield, diversification, access to your money, and ease-of-use, we think our Automated Bond Portfolio compares favorably not only to individual bonds, but to just about every other low-risk choice out there (CDs, Money Market Funds, etc.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Keep more of what you earn<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Bonds can come with tax benefits \u2014 and the same is true of our Automated Bond Portfolio. Unlike interest received in a savings account, for instance, the interest received from Treasury bonds is exempt from state taxes (even when it comes through a bond ETF). We\u2019ll use your estimated tax rates based on your state of residence, income, and filing status to build you a personalized portfolio that maximizes your after-tax yield while minimizing unnecessary risk. For example, if you\u2019re in a higher tax bracket, we\u2019ll allocate more of your portfolio to Treasuries, since the interest earned from Treasury bonds is typically exempt from state taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We\u2019ve long said that what sets Wealthfront apart is our focus on after-tax returns. Our Automated Bond Portfolio takes this one step further by combining our existing suite of powerful tax-minimization features \u2014 including Tax-Loss Harvesting<\/a>, and automatic dividend reinvestment with tax-sensitive rebalancing \u2014 with an allocation that\u2019s specific to your estimated tax rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Build long-term wealth on your own terms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    We\u2019re proud to offer our clients a brand new way to get exposure to bonds that eliminates the hassle of direct bond purchases and makes it easy to save for your near-term goals. Our new Automated Bond Portfolio fills the gap between our high-earning, short-term Cash Account and our award-winning, long-term Automated Investing Account. And remember, our published 4.31% 30-day blended SEC yield is after both ETF expenses and the same, low 0.25% annual advisory fee<\/a> we\u2019ve always charged. In our continuing quest to help you build long-term wealth on your own terms, this portfolio gives you a new way to make the most of your money right now. Get started today with just $500.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Note: The yield and return figures for our Automated Bond Portfolio were last updated on April 7, 2026. Have you heard? Bonds are back! In the past year, bonds have gone from an investing afterthought to making headlines in The Economist, The NYT, The WSJ, and beyond. We\u2019ve been into bonds since before they were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":16559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1360],"tags":[1706,2526,1362,2524],"coauthors":[82],"class_list":["post-16558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-product-news","tag-bonds","tag-i-bonds","tag-wealthfront","tag-wealthfront-bond-portfolio"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIntroducing Automated Bond Portfolios: Featuring a 4.31% Blended Yield | Wealthfront<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A lower-risk, higher-yield portfolio of bond ETFs that\u2019s personalized to your tax situation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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