The takeaway
iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF shows a slight seasonal lean over 10 years of data — strongest in July (+2.0%) and softest in February (−0.8%).
Right now
In July, the fund has risen 100% of years, averaging +2.0% — essentially in line with the S&P 500.
The full picture
iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF's most dependable month has been July, higher in 10 of 10 years; February has been its least reliable, up just 33% of the time.
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Month by month
The fund's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in January (+1.5 pts); it has trailed the market most in March (−2.6 pts).
“vs S&P” is iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, July has closed higher 100% of the time versus 100% across the last 10 years — the pattern is holding.
Figures are the typical (median) July return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 10(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 10-year window even if you zoom the chart, so it never disagrees with the badges above.
In plain English
Dependability is the through-line here. July stands out, higher in all 10 Julys, but it heads a clutch of months that pull the year reliably upward.
Its average (+2.0%) and median (+1.3%) land within a hair of each other — the tell of steady, year-after-year gains rather than one outlier doing the work. Set against the S&P 500, mind, July is close to a wash — the gain mirrors the market more than it beats it. That consistency sets it apart from the field, where the average stock manages July only about 61% of the time.
The lift is near-universal — strength runs through almost every month of the year, not one window. The weaker half of the year is plainer: February has been the soft spot — the weakest of 2 months that average a loss (−0.8%), and the edge isn't year-round — the fund has trailed the S&P 500 in March, October, and November. Its roughest month on record was a −16.3% March in 2020 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
July has now closed higher 10 years running. Reassuringly, the tendency has held its shape: the recent five years still track the years behind them.
The takeaway is less about when to buy than what to expect: July aside, the fund's months offer little reliable tilt.
Short answers on the fund's best month (July), its worst (February), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Only mildly. The fund's months are fairly even — July is the firmest (+2.0%) and February the softest (−0.8%), a narrow spread that points to weak seasonality rather than a strong calendar effect.
July has been the strongest, averaging +2.0% and closing higher in all 10 years on record since 2016.
It's the weakest, averaging −0.8% — historically a soft spot, though it still varies from year to year.
Explore
These names have the strongest July track records on record — a starting point for comparison.
Before you trade