The takeaway
iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF shows a moderate seasonal pattern over 10 years of data — strongest in June (+1.7%) and softest in September (−2.0%).
Right now
In July, the fund has risen 60% of years, averaging +1.1%, roughly 1.0 pts behind the S&P 500.
The full picture
iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF's most dependable month has been June, higher in 8 of 10 years; September 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 June (+1.4 pts); it has trailed the market most in October (−3.6 pts).
“vs S&P” is iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, June has closed higher 60% of the time versus 80% across the last 10 years — the pattern is weakening.
Figures are the typical (median) June 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
The seasonal story is really one month's story — June. It has closed higher in 8 of 10 Junes, a concentration the rest of the calendar can't touch.
The strength looks broad-based rather than freakish: its average (+1.7%) and median (+0.9%) sit close together, so no single blow-out year is flattering the figure. No month is steadier: June's returns vary by just 2.3% year to year, and even its worst June in 10 years lost only 1.2% — the gentlest downside anywhere on its calendar. Better still, that strength is the fund's own and not just a buoyant market — June has outpaced the S&P 500 by +1.4 points on average. Few peers keep such company in June — the typical stock clears it just 52% of the time.
It doesn't stand entirely alone — March, July, and November have leaned firm as well, if less emphatically. At the other end of the calendar, September has been the soft spot — the weakest of 4 months that average a loss (−2.0%), and the edge isn't year-round — the fund has trailed the S&P 500 in October, April, and September.
The pattern has softened of late, June's last five years slipping below its longer-run record.
For a fund this dependable in June, 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 (June), its worst (September), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Yes, to a moderate degree. Since 2016 its best month (June, +1.7%) has run well ahead of its worst (September, −2.0%) — the heatmap above shows how steady that gap has been year to year.
June has been the strongest, averaging +1.7% and closing higher in 8 of 10 years since 2016.
It's the weakest, averaging −2.0% — 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