Bonds in 2026: Duration Risk, the Mortgage Disconnect, and Why Japan's Bond Market Should Worry You

<p>In 2022, bonds lost 13%. The long bond ETF dropped 31%. The &quot;safe&quot; part of your portfolio got hit harder than most stock crashes.</p><p>Now in 2026, bonds are paying real income again for the first time in over a decade. But something is happening in Japan that could push your mortgage rate higher, even if the Bank of Canada keeps cutting.</p><p>In this episode I break down how bonds actually work, why duration is the risk nobody explains until it&#39;s too late, why your fixed mortgage rate doesn&#39;t follow the Bank of Canada, what happened on January 20th when Japan&#39;s bond market had its most violent day in modern history, the $250 billion yen carry trade, and what Canadian investors should actually do with their bond allocation.</p><p>I also cover ZAG, VAB, ZFL, ZST, how GICs compare, and the tax optimization move that saves you almost half the tax on your fixed income.</p><p>This is Part 2 of my series on every asset class ranked by actual returns. Part 1 covered equities.</p><p>Links to other socials: calmmoneycoach.com</p><p></p>