Daily ETF Watch: Int’l Agg Bond Fund Filed
iShares plans to launch ETF tracking Barclays International Aggregate Bond Index.
iShares has filed for a fund that will be the international answer to its iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG | A-98) as well as a near-clone of the Vanguard Total International Bond ETF (BNDX | B-57). The iShares International Aggregate Bond ETF will track the Barclays Global Aggregate ex USD 10% Issuer Capped (Hedged) Index, a currency-hedged index of nearly 8,000 non-USD investment-grade fixed-income securities issued in 55 developed and emerging countries.
BNDX is the only fund of its kind at the moment; it also provides broad exposure to the non-U.S. investment-grade bond space with a currency hedge. It launched in 2013 and has accumulated nearly $3.5 billion in assets under management. When Vanguard launched the ETF along with an emerging markets bond ETF, there was a great deal of investor interest, as it was the first time that the fund provider had delved into the international fixed-income space.
The iShares filing does not include a ticker or expense ratio.
Contact Heather Bell at [email protected].