Apella Capital Bets on Domestic Bonds With New $5.4 Million Buy of Vanguard’s BND

Apella Capital disclosed the purchase of 72,770 shares of Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (NASDAQ:BND) for an estimated $5.4 million trade, in an SEC filing for the third quarter filed on Friday.

What Happened

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission released on Friday, Apella Capital increased its stake in Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (NASDAQ:BND) by 72,770 shares. The estimated value of the trade was $5.4 million, bringing the fund’s total holding to about 1.6 million shares worth $120.5 million as of September 30.

What Else to Know

With the additional shares, BND now makes up 2.7% of Apella's 13F reportable assets under management.

Top holdings after the filing:

• NYSEMKT:DFAC: $515 million (11.5% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT:DFSD: $194.1 million (4.3% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT:VTI: $151.5 million (3.4% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT:DFIC: $129.9 million (2.9% of AUM)
• NASDAQ:BND: $120.5 million (2.7% of AUM)

As of Monday, BND shares were priced at $74.96, with a one-year total return of 2.9%.

ETF Overview

ETF Snapshot

• BND seeks to track the performance of a broad, investment-grade U.S. bond index, providing diversified exposure to government, corporate, and mortgage-backed securities.
• The portfolio consists of investment-grade, taxable fixed income securities in the United States—including government, corporate, mortgage-backed, and asset-backed securities—with maturities greater than one year.
• BND employs a sampling strategy to replicate the index.

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) is one of the largest fixed-income ETFs, offering investors broad access to the U.S. investment-grade bond market. The fund’s strategy emphasizes diversification and seeks to closely mirror the performance of its benchmark index.

Foolish Take

Apella Capital deepened its fixed-income exposure last quarter with a significant purchase of Vanguard’s Total Bond Market ETF—a move that highlights the firm’s continued tilt toward stability as yields move toward multi-year highs. While stocks make up a large part of Apella’s $4.5 billion portfolio, the fresh $5.4 million investment in BND signals confidence in bonds’ role as a long-term portfolio stabilizer.

BND remains a cornerstone for funds seeking broad, investment-grade exposure, spanning Treasurys, corporates, and mortgage-backed securities. Its 4.12% 30-day SEC yield offers investors meaningful income with minimal credit risk and low costs, complementing Apella’s heavier equity positions like Dimensional U.S. Core Equity (DFAC) and Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI).

For long-term investors, the move reflects a familiar rotation: using high short-term yields to lock in income ahead of potential rate cuts. The move also makes sense for a wealth manager like Apella, whose steady accumulation of BND suggests that balanced, diversified portfolios—not just growth-oriented ones—are in focus for wealth managers betting on normalization in 2026.

Glossary

ETF: Exchange-traded fund, a pooled investment security traded on stock exchanges like a stock.
AUM: Assets under management; the total market value of assets a fund or manager oversees.
13F reportable assets: Assets that institutional investment managers must disclose quarterly to the SEC on Form 13F.
Alpha: A measure of an investment’s performance compared to a benchmark, showing excess return or shortfall.
Dividend yield: Annual dividends paid by an investment, expressed as a percentage of its current price.
Annualized dividend yield: The projected yearly dividend income as a percentage of the investment’s price.
Total return: The investment's price change plus all dividends and distributions, assuming those payouts are reinvested.
Sampling strategy: A method where a fund holds a representative sample of securities to mimic an index’s performance.
Investment-grade: Bonds rated as relatively low risk of default by credit rating agencies.
Mortgage-backed securities: Bonds secured by pools of home mortgages, with payments passed to investors.
Asset-backed securities: Bonds backed by pools of financial assets, such as loans or receivables, other than mortgages.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF and Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.