Average rate of return bonds
Average Interest Rates on U.S. Treasury Securities. The files listed below illustrate the Average Interest Rates for marketable and non-marketable securities over a two-year period for comparative purposes. Select the time period you are interested in to view the rates. The 10-year results bear this out, as the best performing bond market segments were emerging markets, which had an average annual return of 9.28%, and high-yield bonds, which returned 8.67%. Both finished ahead of the S&P 500—even after stocks 32%-plus gain in 2013—as well as the bond market as a whole.