About 20 months after the launch of its 10-fund “Core” lineup of ultra-cheap ETFs, BlackRock’s ETF unit iShares on June 12 added another 10 funds to the group.
The launch involved the repurposing of six existing funds and the launching of four brand-new funds. The existing funds mostly have lower expense ratios than previously, and together those six existing ETFs have about $5.6 billion in assets.
The existing funds—and, where applicable, their new tickers, new expense ratios and names (amended with the word “Core”)—are as follows:
- The iShares Core U.S. Growth ETF (IWZ | A-90) assumed the new trading symbol “IUSG,” and its expense ratio dropped from 0.25 to 0.09 percent.
- The iShares Core U.S. Value ETF (IWW | A-91) assumed the new trading symbol “IUSV,” and its expense ratio dropped from 0.26 to 0.09 percent.
- The iShares Core High Dividend ETF (HDV | A-67) kept its original ticker, but its expense ratio fell to 0.12 from 0.40 percent.
- The iShares Core U.S. Credit Bond ETF (CFT | B-89) assumed the new trading symbol “CRED,” and its expense ratio dropped from 0.20 to 0.15 percent.
- The iShares Core U.S. Treasury Bond ETF (GOVT | A-97) continues to trade with the symbol “GOVT,” and its expense ratio remains 0.15 percent.
- The iShares Core GNMA Bond ETF (GNMA | C-84) continues to trade with the symbol “GNMA,” but with a lower annual expense ratio of 0.15 percent, down from 0.25 percent.
The new funds include:
- The iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO), with an annual expense ratio of 0.12 percent
- The iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF (IEUR), with an expense ratio of 0.14 percent
- The iShares Core MSCI Pacific ETF (IPAC), with an annual expense ratio of 0.14 percent
- The iShares Core Total USD Bond Market ETF (IUSB), with an expense ratio of 0.15 percent
The original 10 ETFs that became the backbone of the then-new iShares Core brand in October 2012 now command a total of $117 billion in assets under management, up from $69 billion in assets when the lineup was launched.
