iShares Adds To ETF Lineup

Today iShares is rolling out an addition to its lineup of target-maturity fixed-income ETFs. The iShares iBonds Dec 2024 Term Muni Bond ETF (IBMM) fills the hole soon to be left by the iShares iBonds Sep 2018 Term Muni Bond ETF (IBMG), which is set to mature by the end of August.

The fund lists on Cboe Global Markets, parent company of ETF.com. It comes with an expense ratio of 0.18%. It is the second member of the iShares iBonds ETF family to list on Cboe Global Markets; the rest are listed on the NYSE Arca.

Target-Maturity Duopoly

iShares is one of two firms offering target maturity bond ETFs. Such products invest in securities maturing in the same year, with the intention of providing investors with a product that matures like a regular bond but that also offers the diversification of a fund. The funds can be used in laddering strategies or for strategies with a set end date, among other approaches.

iShares offers 21 funds covering the municipal bond space from 2018-2023 and the investment-grade corporate bond space from 2018-2027. Its only competitor in the space, Guggenheim Investments, offers its target maturity bond funds under the BulletShares brand name.

Its lineup includes a total of 20 ETFs that cover the investment-grade corporate bond space from 2018-2027 and the high-yield corporate bond space from 2018-2025.

The lineups are quite successful, with the iShares funds ranging in size from $45 million to $638.2 million, and assets in the category totaling more than $5 billion. Meanwhile, the BulletShares products range in size from a little less than $10 million to $1.1 billion for total assets under management of nearly $10 billion.

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]