Reviews from Bondsavvy Subscribers

I have been a subscriber for over 2 years and I am very happy with my investment returns.

I’m in my 70s and have been trading stocks, ETFs and even options for over 50 years. I’ve tried more than once to get comfortable with bonds but could never quite make it. Attempting to diversify my retirement portfolio, I even invested in bond funds of different durations but found them all to be just about worthless. Any thought of owning individual bonds was quickly dismissed as well beyond my comfort level. I was introduced to Steve Shaw and BondSavvy in a Fidelity webinar. His methodical, investigative approach struck me as a great fit for my analytical side, so I signed on for a year. That was almost 6 months ago, and I’m still impressed with Steve’s level of knowledge, preparation, clarity, and availability to his subscribers. While I certainly can’t claim to be an expert bond trader, Steve has given me adequate tools for, and understanding of, the bond market. With his help my portfolio is now 10% diversified with very promising corporate high yield bonds. Thank you, Steve.

I am a recent subscriber and i am very pleased with Steve's energy, followup, and his recommendations... His clear explanations and quick education tips on his bond casts are very helpful.

Having never invested in bonds, I was fortunate to see Steve Shaw’s presentation on Corporate Bond investing at an AAII meeting. He immediately impressed me with his knowledge and expertise. I joined BondSavvy and was so impressed with the results after 2 years that I have just renewed for another 2 years and have committed a much larger portion of my total portfolio to his recommendations. I now consider myself a BondSavvy subscriber for life.

If you are looking for an alternative to the stock market, just solid recommendations with good background information and a way to get above average returns with only some risk, Bondsavvy maybe what you are looking for. Talk with Steve to get the full story.

Steve Shaw makes a compelling case to purchase individual bonds vs. bond funds. His analysis reaches much further than the S&Ps and Moody's of the world. He drills down well on the cap structure (and debt structure) of individual companies. Great ROI on his subscription offering!

The research that went into the four recommended bonds for the Sept 23 '20 Bondcast was outstanding. Prior to becoming a subscriber I was choosing individual bond investment on the information that I had readily availability to me, S&P/Moody ratings and credit spread, which is basically absolutely not adequate. With BondSavvy now I have a much better sense of the risk/reward potential of the bonds that I choose to purchase.

I met Steve when he presented to our AAII chapter about a year ago. I was very impressed and decided to give his advisory service a try. I couldn't be MORE pleased.

Up until now I had just used bond funds to invest that portion of my portfolio. I had never been particularly pleased with that route but the time required to research individual bonds was way beyond what I was willing to do. Steve was a godsend. He does the research and narrows the 1000's of corporate bonds down to a manageable few. His background in the industry is obvious. His picks have been spot on.

I am SO glad that I ran into Steve and even more glad that I decided to subscribe. It has been a really great experience.

I have been very happy as a member of BondSavvy. Purchasing carefully selected corporate bonds and seeking capital gains on these bonds while collecting interest is, in my opinion, a great way to seek equity-like returns while incurring no more than the level of risk commensurate with holding investment-grade bond funds. BondSavvy helps by making specific buy, hold, and sell recommendations based on independent analysis of the companies issuing the bonds. This analysis replaces reliance on commercial bond ratings and is a better indicator of future bond performance. Recommendations and supporting information are provided in a well-organized way on the BondSavvy web site. In addition, frequent BondCasts allow subscribers to hear the investment rationale explained by Steve Shaw and to ask specific questions. I really feel this is a top-notch service with a great investment strategy, especially in these uncertain times.

I searched long and hard for a service to help me with corporate bond investing. I have been VERY pleased with BondSavvy. Overall, the recommendations have been good. The educational component is outstanding. And Steve is VERY responsive to subscriber needs and questions. FWIW....I am also a subscriber to Stansberry's bond newsletter. This product is head and shoulders above theirs.

I am an experienced investor but never invested directly in fixed income other than T-bills or CDs. The broad universe of corporate debt seemed better left to the professionals and the trading platforms were bewildering. Steve Shaw and BondSavy cut through the clutter and gave the knowledge and confidence to take more control of my portfolio at a reasonable cost.

I subscribed for 2 sequential reasons: First to develop a better understanding of bonds and the various attributes, characteristics, and metrics applicable to that understanding. If I felt sufficiently informed to try my hand, then I moved on to the second reason: try to make a better return than I was on funds (MF/ETF). I've made some informed buys on bonds identified by Steve & his Team. So far, I've made enough to cover the fee several times over (subscribed in May 2020 - today is 2 Oct 2020) and I anticipate nice returns going forward. I use Steve's info as a start point - I believe you must take his provided info as an initial look, and do further analysis to insure you are comfortable with the investment decision. The subscription fee is relatively modest, especially if you consider it a class fee for educational purposes. I'm happy I subscribed and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

The presentations are excellent,, but the music is very distracting.. I wish there was some way to listen to those presentations without that music blasting in the background.

Steve Shaw responds

Thanks, Jerry. The music is only on our Corporate Bonds 101 video. If you become a full BondSavvy subscriber, you'll gain access to all of our investment recommendations, and there's no music in these presentations :)

I have found that this service supplies a lot of the 'behind the scenes' analytical support for any recommendations made as compared to another advisory which I've had now for many years. I also like the pace and frequency of information and action items presented.

Steve is excellent at explaining things for newbies and taking the mystery out of bond investing. His research is thorough and his investment recommendations have worked out very well for me. I've dumped my corporate bond funds entirely and am having a lot of fun investing in individual corporate bonds. Great job Bondsavvy.

I've been a member for nearly 2 years and have been impressed with the analysis and pleased with the results - double digit total returns. Steve does a great job at explaining and educating his members on how to assess the risk associated with individual bonds and how these bonds react to the market. Great job Steve! I appreciate you and your team!!

I started adding bonds to my portfolio 15 years ago when I retired. I was also looking for information that would help me make better educated decisions on which bonds to chose and I found it with BondSavvy. Steve does a great job in his analysis and provides me with both insight and data to help me make the best investment possible. I have been with BondSavvy for a year and I will continue to use the service. So far I have been very pleased in optimizing my investments.

My wife and I saw Steve's presentation live when he attended our local AAII meeting club and decided to subscribe immediately. Since that time, BondSavvy has exceeded our expectations in both value of the service and the returns we've gotten. Here are the things I find best about the program: 1. I did not have much knowledge of Corporate Bonds, and still consider my knowledge very limited, but BondSavvy provides the information needed to make sound investment decisions once you have taken Steve's primer (either online or live presentation as we did). 2. The information provided by BondSavvy on each recommended issue is very thorough. While three key measures can be used to make pretty good buy/sell decisions, all the background information about the current state of the issuer is also provided. There will be times when these business realities will influence your decision. It's all researched and presented by Steve in the quarterly calls and on the website in between. 3. BondSavvy's schedule is very well planned: I don't really want to change my portfolio every week. Once a quarter for new recommendations and a quarterly update on previous recommendations is just about the right frequency. 4. We've actually only had one technical question (by email), but it was answered within an hour or two, so the service is working very well. We are very satisfied with BondSavvy and expect to continue to subscribe for years.

I have been a subscriber to BondSavvy since its inception. It has given me the knowledge and confidence to make individual bond investments a significant portion of my portfolio. I've been shifting money from my low return bond funds to Steve's recommendations. Overall return combining bond interest and capital growth have been over 10% per year. This compares to maybe 2 to 3% in the bond funds.

BondSavvy does the hard work and deep dive into company metrics and market dynamics to find hidden gems in the bond market. They provide recommendations of what to buy, followed regularly with updates and recommendations to sell.

The web site is easy to use and has all the information needed to track your bonds.

If you want to move out of the rut of low return fixed income investments to respectable returns, I highly recommend BondSavvy.

BondSavvy is terrific! It offers detailed bond recommendations and information updates (including timely hold and sell alerts), with great service and responsiveness. Very glad I subscribed.

I found BondSavvy to be educational and informative. The recommendations and ongoing reviews of individual bonds is invaluable. I would not buy individual bonds without it.

I highly recommend BondSavvy. Steve Shaw does a very good job of explaining his analysis of the companies and his thought process for the investment. The investments are compelling buys and I have made gains in the investments that I have made. I have not made investments in bonds before this but I have turned into a bond investor because it is a great investment! 

I highly recommend Bondsavvy and a big thank you for Steve Shaw for making BondSavvy!!

After attending a presentation by Steve Shaw, I almost immediately signed up for a two year subscription. Having met Mr. Shaw, it was evident that his goal is to make investing in corporate bonds practical for someone like me who simply doesn't have the time nor skill to evaluate corporate bonds on my own. Being able to purchase individual bonds with confidence is a huge benefit to me over purchasing funds which beyond having management fees, also do not have fixed yields. 

With BondSavvy's research, I feel quite comfortable that all the recommended bonds will eventually return par. That means returns and income are predictable. Not so with a fund, and for me, that makes all the difference. Even better, in the eight months since I've subscribed, several bonds, as predicted by Mr. Shaw, enjoyed an upward "re-rating" and thus, I've enjoyed some capital gains in addition to obviously picking up higher yields than I would have been able to claim on my own. 

I simply could not be more pleased with the service.

I originally procrastinated about six months before signing up with BondSavvy service. It was a big mistake on my part. And since interest rates have decreased it was my opportunity lost. 

Steve has great insight as to what is important in the wilderness of bond investing. The strategies and insights that Steve deploys are what and why this service is so important. You will get the edge. No financial advisors will tell you these things. Maybe a consultant would if you can find one!

In this world of declining and even negative interest rates it can be said that the proper corp. bonds can be safer than many issued government bonds….hands down. 

I can clarify that BondSavvy’s price, in my opinion, is way too reasonable. And I realize that shouldn’t be said. However, for the difference in returns I’ve earned so far, the fee could be well over $500.00/month and I’d still be ahead. And that is an example of just one AAA bond that I purchased and sold since joining the tremendous BondSavvy service. 

I have bought over 10 different bond recommendations to date. One of them has an unrealized rate of return of over 20%(not annualized). If I sold it today and annualized the rate, it would be close to 40%. And that does not count the coupon interest I’m earning too. You can even by bonds at a premium get a safe ROR if you following Steve’s logic.

I made my very first individual corporate bond purchase as a direct result of BondSavvy. Intuitively, I knew individual bonds made more sense than bond funds for me, but I could never find an affordable resource to assist with specific recommendations. 

Steve's unique approach at BondSavvy gave me the confidence to build the bond portion of my portfolio. His educational approach combined with thorough research and continuous tracking empowered me to go this self-directed route instead of paying large advisor fees disproportionate to the returns. 

BondSavvy represents the future and Steve is constantly adapting to keep it as the leader in the field with a scalable platform as I continue to build my bond portfolio. Well worth the money. Hands down.

I have been using BondSavvy since last February and found it to have an excellent strategy and great customer service. I invested in some of the bonds recommended never having executed a trade like this before and I am up 10% thru Thanksgiving, including capital appreciation and interest. I used to hate bonds but not with BondSavvy!!

If you have an interest in active investing in individual corporate bonds, Bond Savvy is indispensable. Steve actively scours the market looking for investment opportunities that present solid yields and opportunity for capital appreciation. Looking for mispriced bonds that have good risk profiles and improving company performance will go a long way to raising your fixed income returns. Steve is quite transparent with all his research. You make the buy/sell decisions based on your own situation. Be patient as a new investor, you may see that most of his current recommendations have run up in price. While it may seem disappointing you will have opportunities for new recommendations that hopefully will appreciate for you as well.

I would highly recommend BondSavvy. Steve is very clear about the recommendations and explains them very well with the supportive data. It helps learn the bond market as well as make high returns. Returns listed on the website are very realistic and not inflated. Glad to be part of this community.

I've always thought of bonds as a way to reduce portfolio volatility but I had never been exposed to the strategy and benefits of individual corporate bond investing. Since subscribing to BondSavvy I now have a better understanding of what to look for in a corporate bond holding, and I'm always learning something new through Steve's rationale in his buy and sell decisions. I really enjoy his Bondcasts and if I can't catch them live, I can always listen and view the presentations in the archive. Steve has me convinced that bonds are an asset class where the individual investor really can have an edge over the institutions. My only regret is not signing up for the 2 year subscription!

I have benefited from BondSavvy and Steve Shaw’s insight. I am grateful for the education and for the bond ladder built with BondSavvy recommendations.

Steve Shaw responds

While we typically advocate selling bonds before maturity, each BondSavvy subscriber is able to apply our investment recommendations to his or her own investment strategy.

I've been a BondSavvy subscriber for over a year and am very pleased with the service and value provided.

Steve provides a ton of information and knowledge around his corporate bond recommendations. He provides new recommendations 4 times per year, as well as semi-annual updates on how the prior recommendations are performing (Super Bondcast). He's proven to be open to suggestions from subscribers on the meeting format and recommends when to buy, hold or sell these investments. Also, what you get here is a solid education in corporate bond investing, which I really like. Both investment grade and high yield bonds are recommended (along with solid metrics and the reasons why).

I strongly recommend BondSavvy if you want to do your own bond investing and learn in the process. In short, you'll get excellent advice, education, transparency and value.

Listen, if you want clear, actionable bond recommendations and, by the way, learn more about the corporate bond markets, BondSavvy is where you need to be.

When the issuer of one of my bonds went bankrupt I realized that I could not rely on the ratings of the bond agencies alone. BondSavvy provides me with analysis that I do not have the expertise to develop on my own. Steve Shaw does a great job of explaining the reasons for all his staff's recommendations which enables me to make my own selections. Very happy with the results!

Recent subscriber. Very educational and easy to understand. Mr. Steve Shaw is very knowledgeable and down to earth explaining rational for individual bond pic's.

I have subscribed to many financial newsletters, associations and the like in search of detailed analysis that I could actually apply. Most all provide the same generalized information that any reasonably experienced investor already knows.

I have found BONDSAVVY to be the exception. The analysis is detailed and supported by the numbers, allowing an investor to make informed, but independent decisions. Steve's information is well worth the price.

As a new subscriber to BondSavvy, I have gathered a treasure trove of investing techniques that have allowed me to convert my portfolio from mostly stock holdings to a valuable income producing one. Steve has given me the confidence to build a safe and valuable portfolio for the future. I feel much more relaxed in my retirement without the worry of political events and quarterly shocks affecting my holdings as before. I plan on renewing my subscription.

Just started investing in bonds a few years ago when I got old. Had no idea how to do it, so I struggled at first. Then I watched BondSavvy in a Fidelity webcast and started following Steve's advice. I invested all of one account into bonds and in that account I have achieved a 21% rate of return over the past year. I started transitioning two other accounts and now have 10% rates of return over the past year in these accounts. Those returns are better than I normally do investing in stocks.

Excellent analysis of bonds. I wish I had known about this service years ago.

BondSavvy has been fantastic! Having known nothing about buying individual bonds, I’ve gained insight to an investment class that allows me to sleep comfortably. I subscribed about a year ago, purchase bonds after each Bondcast and have taken advantage of bond recommendations made prior to becoming a subscriber, purchasing when prices have fallen offering a greater return than at initial recommendation. 

I’m impressed with Steve’s knowledge of both financial statements and the industries in which recommendations are made and LOVE that he has “skin in the game” owning every bond he recommends. I highly advise you join BondSavvy and have encouraged my friends to do the same!

This is an incredible service. I feel lucky I found this site. Don't hesitate.

After listening to Steve's presentation, I understood for the first time how to invest in bonds. Then I joined, and my return was much better than the conventional approach, and, interestingly, the risk did not seem to increase.

I can't see any videos. I wanted to know how to trade the bonds.

Steve Shaw responds

In the Bondsavvy subscriber area, subscribers can access recorded editions of our subscriber webcasts.  We present new bond recommendations on The Bondcast and update existing recommendations on The Super Bondcast.  We host both The Bondcast and Super Bondcast quarterly, after companies report earnings.

We present new recommendations and updates on live Zoom webcasts, where our subscribers can ask questions.  We then upload the recordings to the Bondsavvy subscriber area within several hours of the live event.

Chieko, per our recent phone conversations, you were able to gain access to the Bondsavvy subscriber area after re-setting your password.  All videos are functional.

We also suggested you access some of our educational blog posts located on these pages:

https://www.bondsavvy.com/fixed-income-investments-blog

https://www.bondsavvy.com/corporate-bonds

Our goal is to equip individual investors with actionable recommendations that make bond investing easy and more profitable.  Many of our subscribers are new to bond investing, so publishing educational articles on important bond investing topics has been central to Bondsavvy's mission since our founding in 2017.

For years I have purchased individual stocks relying on the wealth of information available on line and in various newsletters to guide my choices. However, for the purchase of individual corporate bonds, an essential part of any portfolio, I knew of nothing comparable. Bond mutual funds were my only choice but I had no input over what bonds were actually in the portfolio. Further, since it was a fund, a maturity date was non-existent.

Then along came Steve Shaw and his company, Bond Savvy. This is an excellent service in which Steve periodically presents several possible bond purchases but allows me to choose which bond to buy, or to buy all, or none of them!. He has already done all the homework necessary to present the credit worthiness of a particular company. He does a superb job, not only of showing the essential financial metrics of a company, but also in giving one an overall view of the company including its present and future prospects. When he's done presenting his picks, you have all you need to know to make your buy...or not....decision. Further, he is with you every step of way in that he provides monitoring of his picks to inform whether to buy, sell or hold. He is always available by phone or email to answer any question in addition to having an on-line session completely devoted to doing the same. And his primary thesis has held up, namely, that one is able to obtain returns from individual corporate bonds comparable to that of individual stocks, something I thought was not possible.

Bottom line: Steve provides a service that is cheap at twice the price. I highly recommend it!

I am a retired CFP(r) and investment manager. My career was recommending and managing mutual fund investments for my clients. When I retired, I wanted a less volatile alternative to the stock market and better yields from my fixed income portfolio. I found Steve Shaw and Bondsavvy and I couldn't be happier with the returns, both the income and capital appreciation, of my individual corporate bond portfolio. The most impressive thing about Steve is his commitment to DEEP Due Diligence on all of his recommended bonds. He goes deep to understand everything about each company that he recommends to reduce the risk of investment to the greatest degree possible. I feel VERY comfortable with the capital I have invested in discounted high yield bonds due to the detailed analysis that Steve provides initially when making the recommendation, and each quarter thereafter when he updates his recommendations for ALL prior recommendations. I recouped the annual fee for Bondsavvy from the increased yield on the first bond I bought! I am thankful for the education and the increased risk adjusted performance from Bondsavvy!

I have been with Bond Savvy for 6 years and have had great results with MOST of the bonds that have been recommended. I know own 42 of the bonds that have been recommended and I am able to mostly live off the annual interest. (I do have own bonds purchased before joining Bond Savvy.) This is a outstanding source if you want to build a commercial bond ladder to add to your bond portfolio.

Steve Shaw provides solid research and investment recommendations for those wishing to invest in individual corporate bonds; his videos and guidance on how to buy are very useful to new bond investors. Some of his picks during the bond slump as the Fed began raising rates have not fared well. BUT be aware of Bond Savvy’s “negative option” subscription renewal model. You do not receive a notification of any kind prior to the annual renewal which is charged to your credit card and there is a strict no refund policy once the charge is made. So, I recommend you mark your digital calendar to send a reminder prior to renewal date so that if you are considering cancelling you can do so before the charge is made and are stuck with a hefty charge for a service you no longer want. I personally feel that annual subscription services like this should provide subscribers advance notification of renewal charges. Two star penalty due to the lack of a consumer-friendly subscription model.

Steve Shaw responds

Larry, since the month you joined, April 2022, we have made 35 new corporate bond recommendations. During a generally difficult time for bonds, 31 of these picks were profitable through May 15, 2024. Eight of these 31 picks achieved returns of at least 10% through May 15, 2024.

For these 35 bond recommendations, total return performance highlights through May 15, 2024 included picks with total returns of: a wireless company bond (+23.73%); a manufacturing company bond (+18.27%); a homebuilder bond (+18.18%); a technology company bond (+15.38%); a mining company bond (+15.22%); and a hospital operator bond (+12.54%).

The returns of the four unprofitable picks were -0.30%, -1.21%, -0.31%, and -0.73%. Three of these picks were made over the last several months.

Please view our corporate bonds returns page to see the performance of all Bondsavvy recommendations.

Auto-renewal policy

We clearly state the Bondsavvy auto renewal policy on our registration form under the heading "Auto-Renewal and No-Refund Policy." We also provide instructions on how to cancel your subscription in the same area. In addition, when you log into your Bondsavvy account, there is a video in the "For New Subscribers" area that shows how a subscriber can cancel his or her account. You also agreed to the auto renewal policy when you initially subscribed. 

Your subscription auto renewed in April 2023, so your auto renewal in April 2024 was consistent with how we previously renewed your account. The fee we charged you in April 2024 was the same fee we have charged you since you became a subscriber. If our fees change from the last renewal, we notify subscribers so they can choose to cancel.

Your last renewal was April 29, 2024. On May 7, 2024, eight days after your renewal fee was charged, you emailed me asking to cancel your subscription. As I explained to you via our multiple email exchanges, when we receive new revenues, they are promptly spent on vendors, wages, and efforts to build and improve our service. 

Our auto renewal policy is customary for subscription services, is clearly stated, and we make it easy for subscribers, should they choose, to cancel their service. 

Please note that our policy is not "negative option billing." Per MasterCard, negative option billing is "a business practice where a merchant offers a free or low-cost trial period and then automatically enrolls the cardholder into a recurring billing/subscription plan once the trial period ends." Bondsavvy does not offer trial periods, and you agreed to pay the subscription fee you are currently paying when you initially registered in April 2022.