Bond basics for non-US investors

Bond basics for Non-US investors applies to EU, UK and some other jurisdictions. As each jurisdiction has its own set of laws and regulations the non-US investor should carefully study all aspects of their intended investment and seek advice from local specialists and from the Bogleheads&reg; forum as appropriate.

For a clear understanding of bonds and their function in a Bogleheads&reg; style portfolio all the necessary introductory material can be found on here: Bond Basics. The information is aimed at the original US Bogleheads&reg; community and therefore isn't entirely suitable for non-US investors.

After understanding the basic fundamentals of asset allocation, the non-US investor can use the section on the main Wiki site to understand all the characteristics of fixed income. The principles remain the same notwithstanding applying them to non-US jurisdictions. In addition all of the usual types of US bond "types" are available to non-US investors through the main US fund managers such as Vanguard or iShares in UCITS ETFs and mutual fund (some restrictions may apply) versions. These may also be suitable for non EU investors subject to the investors local regulations and tax regime. These can be global aggregate type funds, straight copies of the US versions in UCITS format or through the use of some specific duration UCITS bond ETF's that can include for example TIPS and short term duration Treasury bonds.

Europe and other markets issue their own debt instruments such as European government bonds, UK Gilts and Eurobonds.

Three-fund portfolio
The more recent Bogleheads&reg; version referenced here is the three-fund portfolio comprising:


 * Total stock market (US)
 * Total international stock market (Developed markets)
 * Total bond market (US)

The case for this arrangement can be read about in the this by Taylor Larimore.

When investing in Vanguard ETFs, US investors can for example create a three-fund portfolio using on this basis:


 * Vanguard Total Stock ETF (VTI)
 * Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS)
 * Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND)

Total bond market funds
In regards to the total bond market fund used in this portfolio (or the equivalent ETF) the assets are "domestic" or US only bonds. Obviously this will create some potential difficulties for those investing from outside of the US where the relevant local currency will not be the dollar. In addition some jurisdictions may have tax treatment issues that prevent or present difficulties in the use of US domiciled funds.

Since 2013 Vanguard have in fact now included international bonds in their total bond market offering in the US. Specifically, the bond allocation is now 70% Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund and 30% Total International Bond Index Fund.

EU version of Bogleheads&reg; portfolio
The EU investor version of the three-fund Bogleheads&reg; approach to investing is given in this section of Wiki: EU investing § Sample portfolios

Two versions are shown here both accumulating and distributing.

The fixed income suggestions are based upon global aggregate UCITS ETF bond funds, global government UCITS ETF bond funds, or a combination of the two.

Equivalent non-US bond fund to "total bond market"
As noted above the use of the US version of the total bond market means that non-US investors would be now be relying upon US domiciled assets and some portion of international bonds. While this demonstrates that Vanguard and others now accept an aggregated bond the proportion of domestic to non-US assets doesn't reflect the global market precisely.

For non-US investors and in particular EU jurisdictions, United Kingdom and elsewhere, the main asset managers have developed bond fund solutions that are more appropriate for their needs.

In addition for EU based investors the EU has introduced legislation that has altered the ability of EU citizens to access US situs investment funds, information is available here: EU legislation § UCITS, MiFID II and PRIIPs

Non-US global bond funds
The Wiki non-US bond suggestion is an aggregate global bond ETF of investment grade bonds in an accumulating version and alternatively a global government bond ETF in a distributing version.

The UCITS aggregate global bond ETF for example from iShares (AGGH) has a geographical breakdown as follows:

These proportions contrast with the Vanguard US domiciled bond mix as noted above at 70% US and 30% international.

In this case the iShares global aggregate bond UCITS ETF (AGGH or whichever version is chosen) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of global investment grade bond, the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Bond Index is used as the benchmark.

The UCITS global government bond ETF from iShares (IGLH) has a geographical breakdown as follows:

In this case the iShares global government bond fund UCITS ETF (IGLH) seeks to track the investment results of the FTSE world government bond index (WGBI) that measures the performance of fixed-rate, local currency, investment-grade sovereign bonds. The WGBI provides a broad benchmark for the global sovereign fixed income market. Sub-indices are available in any combination of currency, maturity, or rating.

Hedging to local currency
The fixed income side of the portfolio is designed to provide ballast and stability to the portfolio. In order to avoid unnecessary currency swings adding to portfolio volatility, hedging versions of the bond funds (back to the home currency, limited number available) which are for instance US domiciled assets can be used.

Bond funds for non-US investors
The use of a global bond fund as noted above should be suitable in the role of "ballast" in the non-US investors portfolio.

In addition a non-US investor may wish to include for whatever reason additional bond funds to their portfolio or alternatively may choose to build up their own fixed income approach.

The main asset managers offer a range of UCITS and other bond funds. Lists of the currently available UCITS fixed income ETFs and bond funds provided by Vanguard to some non-US investors is provided below. Similarly other asset managers including iShares fixed income bond UCITS ETF fundsprovide a range of UCITS fixed income ETFs and bond funds and these can be reviewed by visiting the relevant websites. In addition by accessing other web platforms such justETF: justETF bond schedule alternative bond options suitable for specific purposes for a non-US investor can be reviewed.

Vanguard fixed income funds
Vanguard list (June 2019) on their website portal for European private investors the following fixed income ETF's and funds:

ETFs
 * EUR Corporate Bond UCITS ETF
 * EUR Eurozone Government Bond UCITS ETF
 * Global Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF
 * U.K. Gilt UCITS ETF
 * USD Corporate 1-3 Year Bond UCITS ETF
 * USD Corporate Bond UCITS ETF
 * USD Emerging Markets Government Bond UCITS ETF
 * USD Treasury Bond UCITS ETF

All of these products are UCITS ETF's and are passively managed index funds. See: Vanguard UCITS bond ETFs The products have subcategories which offer accumulating, distributing and hedged versions.

Funds
 * 20+ years Euro treasury index fund
 * Euro government bond index fund
 * Euro Investment Grade Bond Index Fund
 * Eurozone Inflation-Linked Bond Index Fund
 * Global Bond Index Fund
 * Global Corporate Bond Index Fund
 * Global Short-Term Bond Index Fund
 * Global Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund
 * Japan Government Bond Index Fund
 * SRI Euro Investment Grade Bond Index Fund
 * U.K. Government Bond Index Fund
 * U.K. Investment Grade Bond Index Fund
 * U.K. Short-Term Investment Grade Bond Index Fund
 * U.S. Government Bond Index Fund
 * U.S. Investment Grade Credit Index Fund

All of these products have KIID information and are passively managed index funds. See: Vanguard non-US bond funds The products have subcategories which offer versions such as accumulating, income, hedged, and inflation linked funds. These funds may have minimum investment amount of €100,000. In addition some of these funds are for institutional investors only with very large minimum investment thresholds.

Comparison of bond fund options
If you look at varying your fixed income with additions and alternatives to a simple global government or global aggregate UCITS ETF approach then you should review the help that is available in Bond Basics on the Wiki here: [| Role in a portffolio and Style boxes]

Suggested fixed income simple adjustment options
Should a non-US investor in the context of this article seek to adjust their bond allocation for whatever reason by adding to the suggested Wiki global aggregate or global government bond fund approach then the following additional or alternative funds could be considered in the highlighted cases:

All of the suggested products are already available in some form within the global aggregate funds.

Cash equivalents and short term bonds
Cash investments can be held by investors for a number of reasons, ranging from as little as 5% of a portfolio for a younger investor for instance for liquid emergency reserves and for funding obligations due in the short to intermediate term, to inclusion in a portfolio during the withdrawal stage as adequate cash to offset any drawdown so as to avoid selling equities during a protracted market downturn.

Please see here for further information on cash equivalents and short term bonds for EU investors: [Cash equivalents and short term bonds for EU investors]

Relevant bond indices
The Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Bond Index is a flagship measure of global investment grade debt from twenty-four local currency markets. This multi-currency benchmark includes treasury, government-related, corporate and securitized fixed-rate bonds from both developed and emerging markets issuers.

The FTSE World Government Bond Index (WGBI) measures the performance of fixed-rate, local currency, investment-grade sovereign bonds. The WGBI provides a broad benchmark for the global sovereign fixed income market. Sub-indexes are available in any combination of currency, maturity, or rating.