XML Financial, LLC fully exited its holding in Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND 0.49%), selling approximately $21.59 million in shares during Q3 2025.
What happened
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated October 20, 2025, XML Financial, LLC reported the sale of its entire 293,210-share position in Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND 0.49%) during Q3 2025. The estimated transaction value was approximately $21.59 million. The fund now reports no shares of BND in its portfolio.
What else to know
XML Financial, LLC sold its entire position in BND, which now represents 0% of reportable assets under management. The position previously represented 1.87% of the fund's AUM.
Top holdings after the filing, as of September 30, 2025:
- SCHG: $50.7 million (4.1% of AUM)
- IWF: $38 million (3.1% of AUM)
- SCHV: $35.5 million (2.9% of AUM)
- DGRO: $34.6 million (2.8% of AUM)
- MSFT: $31.3 million (2.6% of AUM)
As of October 29, 2025, shares of BND were priced at $74.73, up 3.75% YTD, underperforming the S&P 500 by 13.4 percentage points during the same period. The fund’s dividend yield stands at 3.76%.
ETF overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Price (as of market close 10/29/25) | $74.73 |
| Dividend Yield | 3.76% |
| YTD Return | 3.75% |
ETF snapshot
- Seeks to track the performance of a broad, investment-grade U.S. bond index, investing primarily in government, corporate, and securitized fixed income securities with maturities exceeding one year.
- Portfolio is diversified across U.S. Treasury, agency, mortgage-backed, asset-backed, and corporate bonds, constructed using a sampling approach to reflect the index composition.
- Serves institutional and individual investors seeking diversified core fixed income exposure in the U.S. bond market.
- Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) provides broad exposure to the U.S. investment-grade bond market, with assets diversified across government, corporate, and securitized debt.
Foolish take
XML Financial recently sold off $21.6 million worth of the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND). This looks like a complete shift away from broad U.S. bond investments after a pretty quiet year for fixed income. While the fund did gain about 3.8% in 2025, it's still way behind the S&P 500—a good reminder that bond investors haven't seen huge returns even with higher yields. This move might signal a shift towards more stock-heavy or higher-yielding strategies as portfolio managers look for better performance drivers heading into 2026.
BND is still a key ETF for investors who want diversified, investment-grade bond exposure across government, corporate, and mortgage-backed securities. Its 3.8% dividend yield offers steady income and low credit risk, making it a classic core holding for conservative portfolios. XML's exit probably reflects a tactical rebalancing rather than a lack of faith in the fund's structure—a move consistent with managers prioritizing flexibility in an uncertain interest rate environment.
Glossary
ETF: Exchange-traded fund; a pooled investment fund traded on stock exchanges, holding assets like stocks or bonds.
Assets under management (AUM): The total market value of assets that an investment firm or fund manages on behalf of clients.
13F reportable assets: Securities that institutional investment managers must disclose quarterly to the SEC if they manage over $100 million.
Dividend yield: Annual dividends paid by an investment, expressed as a percentage of its current price.
Total return: The investment's price change plus all dividends and distributions, assuming those payouts are reinvested.
Alpha: A measure of an investment's performance relative to a benchmark, indicating value added or lost.
Sampling approach: A method where a fund selects a representative subset of securities to mimic an index, rather than holding all constituents.
Investment-grade: Bonds rated as relatively low risk of default by credit rating agencies, typically BBB/Baa or higher.
Securitized debt: Financial instruments backed by pools of assets, such as mortgages or loans, that are packaged and sold to investors.
Mortgage-backed securities: Bonds secured by a pool of mortgages, with payments passed through to investors.
Asset-backed securities: Bonds backed by pools of assets like loans, leases, or receivables, other than mortgages.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.
