How is Year to Date Return Different from 2016 Return?

[nico08]

hi. i am trying to do some research. i want to get the annual return for vanguard's US bond fund, VBTLX, for 2013, 2014, 2015 and year to date 2016. So I am using CNN Money to obtain this information.

But when you look at the link below, it shows that the year to date return for vbtlx is 1.13%. However, at the bottom of the chart, they list return rates by year, and they say that the return rate for 2016 is 5.11%.

So my question is, which value is the better choice to use for return rate for 2016? And why would these two return rates that i identified be different?

VBTLX - Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund Admiral Shares Mutual Fund Quote - CNNMoney.com

[LOL!]

Be careful that the date ranges are EXACTLY the same.

Another gotcha is to make sure "Total Return" is displayed and not just price change. Total return includes re-investing dividends and other distributions.

In your link, the 1.13% is the change in the NAV year-to-date. That's pretty clear.

Also, use morningtar.com. Here is a screen capture from M* with dates circled:


So the actual year-to-date return for 2016 as of today is 3.27%.

[exnavynuke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nico08 hi. i am trying to do some research. i want to get the annual return for vanguard's US bond fund, VBTLX, for 2013, 2014, 2015 and year to date 2016. So I am using CNN Money to obtain this information. But when you look at the link below, it shows that the year to date return for vbtlx is 1.13%. However, at the bottom of the chart, they list return rates by year, and they say that the return rate for 2016 is 5.11%. So my question is, which value is the better choice to use for return rate for 2016? And why would these two return rates that i identified be different? VBTLX - Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund Admiral Shares Mutual Fund Quote - CNNMoney.com

That YTD return is change in the "net asset value" (the value of the underlying securities) only it seems. The "total return" includes changes in net asset value PLUS dividends, interest, etc.

[LOL!]

Quote:

Originally Posted by exnavynuke That YTD return is change in the "net asset value" (the value of the underlying securities) only it seems. The "total return" includes changes in net asset value PLUS dividends, interest, etc.

Not just "PLUS", because those dividends, interest etc were reinvested. So the result could be more or less than PLUS because the shares purchased by reinvesting could have gained or lost value, unlike cash.

[nico08]

Thank you LOL! and exnavynuke, I think I understand this better now. And I will use Morningstar to get the data that I am looking for.