The takeaway
PIMCO 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond Index Exchange-Traded Fund shows a slight seasonal lean over 10 years of data — strongest in August (+0.5%) and softest in October (−0.2%).
Right now
In July, the fund has risen 80% of years, averaging +1.4%, roughly 0.7 pts behind the S&P 500.
The full picture
PIMCO 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond Index Exchange-Traded Fund's most dependable month has been August, higher in 9 of 10 years; October has been its least reliable, up just 20% of the time.
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Month by month
The fund's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in January (+0.8 pts); it has trailed the market most in March (−1.8 pts).
“vs S&P” is PIMCO 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond Index Exchange-Traded Fund’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating PIMCO 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond Index Exchange-Traded Fund’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, August has closed higher 80% of the time versus 90% across the last 10 years — the pattern is holding.
Figures are the typical (median) August 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
This is a fund you can almost set a calendar by, and August is the anchor — it has closed higher in 9 of 10 Augusts, the steadiest beat on its year.
The strength looks broad-based rather than freakish: its average (+0.5%) and median (+0.7%) sit close together, so no single blow-out year is flattering the figure. Few months are steadier: August's returns vary by just 1.1% year to year. Set against the S&P 500, mind, August is close to a wash — the gain mirrors the market more than it beats it. Few peers keep such company in August — the typical stock clears it just 52% of the time.
August anchors a run, too: the March-through-September window has been the fund's reliable season. The weaker half of the year is plainer: October is the year's quietest corner, essentially flat on average, 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 −12.0% March in 2020 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
Reassuringly, the tendency has held its shape: the recent five years still track the years behind them.
For a fund this dependable in August, the sharper question is the rest of the year — outside its strong stretch, the calendar gives far less to lean on.
Short answers on the fund's best month (August), its worst (October), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Only mildly. The fund's months are fairly even — August is the firmest (+0.5%) and October the softest (−0.2%), a narrow spread that points to weak seasonality rather than a strong calendar effect.
August has been the strongest, averaging +0.5% and closing higher in 9 of 10 years since 2016.
It's the weakest, averaging −0.2% — 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