🏦 Bonds

The bond market is often called the “smart money” market — where institutions, pension funds, and central banks move billions based on economic fundamentals. For equity and options traders, understanding how bond ETFs move can reveal hidden market shifts before they appear in stock prices.

Quick ETF cheat sheet

ETF	Category	Type	Expense	Best For
TLT	Treasury	Long duration	0.15%	Duration bets, signals
IEF	Treasury	Medium duration	0.15%	Balanced exposure
SHY	Treasury	Short duration	0.15%	Cash parking
TIP	TIPS	Inflation-protected	0.19%	Inflation hedge
LQD	Corporate	Investment-grade	0.14%	IG credit exposure
HYG	Corporate	High-yield	0.49%	Junk bonds, signals
AGG	Aggregate	Broad market	0.03%	Passive allocation
MUB	Municipal	Tax-exempt	0.07%	High-tax investors
EMB	Emerging	USD sovereign	0.39%	EM exposure
MBB	MBS	Mortgage-backed	0.04%	Housing exposure
PFF	Preferred	Hybrid	0.45%	High yield
BIZD	BDC	Private credit	13%*	Extreme yield

*BIZD expense includes acquired fund fees from underlying BDCs.

Key ratios at a glance

Ratio	Rising =	Falling =
TLT/SPY	Risk-off, flight to safety	Risk-on
TLT/HYG	Credit stress	Credit confidence
IEI/TLT	Curve steepening	Curve flattening
SHY/TLT	Fed cuts expected	Duration demand
EMB/TLT	Global risk-on	EM stress