ETFs That Ghosted My Expectations But Still Send Me Dividends

Let me introduce you to two long-term friends in my investment portfolio: TLT and TLH. So, I’ve been holding TLT and TLH in my Tiger Brokers portfolio for a while now. These two have been... let’s say, underperforming lately. Both are in the red, and yeah, it’s probably because of things like high interest rate expectations and tariffs making markets jittery. Basically, it’s not been a fun ride.

iShares 10-20 Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLH)

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT)

TLT Is My Biggest Holding… Oops?

TLT is actually my largest position, so you’d think I’d be panicking a little. But weirdly, I’m not. I’m oddly calm. I haven’t sold a single share over the past year. I haven’t even rage-quit my Tiger Brokers app (yet). I keep telling myself, "Be patient. Just chill. These things take time." And weirdly, I kinda believe it.

Sure, I’m sitting on an unrealised loss — but unrealised is the key word. It’s just sad numbers on a screen for now, not actual money gone forever.

Patience Is My Strategy (Because What Else Can I Do?)

Dividends = Emotional Support Payments

One bright spot? Both TLT and TLH throw me a little cash every month in dividends. And while they’re not huge, it’s kind of like getting a “Hey, thanks for believing in us” check every month. It helps. A little.

I Try to Stay Positive… Mostly

Instead of staring at the unrealised loss and crying into my coffee, I try to look on the bright side:

I’m still getting paid in dividends.
These are U.S. Treasury ETFs — they’re not going anywhere.
They balance out my portfolio a bit from all the higher-risk stuff.

So yeah, not thrilling, but stable-ish… hopefully.

Investing Is a Hobby for Me

I treat investing more like a hobby. I’m not trying to get rich overnight. I actually enjoy researching, learning, and watching how things play out over time. And honestly? If I only cared about making money all the time, I’d probably have quit this game a long time ago. Sometimes things go up, sometimes they don’t. That’s just how it works.

TL;DR: Still Holding, Still Hoping

So yeah — TLT and TLH are down, but I’m not ditching them.. I still believe they’ll bounce back eventually, especially if interest rates start to cool off. Until then, I’m just chilling and collecting dividends.

Because let’s be real — if you can’t laugh at your losses sometimes, this whole investing thing would be way too stressful.

With Yields at 4.5%, Should You Go Long on US Bonds or Stocks?

Amid the impact of a weekend AAA rating downgrade, the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield briefly exceeded 5%. However, driven by retail buying, Treasury prices eventually closed higher yesterday. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield is currently around 4.5%, and it's generally regarded as the risk-free rate. Would you choose to go long on U.S. Treasuries or U.S. equities?

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