Shocking stat of the day: 1 invested in the popular bond-tracking ETF, TLT, in 2003 would be worth just 1.18 today, after adjusting for inflation. In other words, an investment in a long-term US Treasury fund would have returned just 18% after inflation, including coupon payments over the last 12 years. This comes as US interest rates and inflation have risen and remained elevated since 2020. Since March 2020, TLT has fallen a whopping -43%. During this period, TLT's total inflation adjusted return was -54%. Bonds have been a terrible investment in the 2020s.