BlackRock announced plans Tuesday to expand its iShares iBonds ETF offering before year-end with a set of defined maturity bond ladder ETFs.
The iShares iBonds 1-5 Year Ladder ETFs, holding bond ladders within ETFs, will comprise four funds of funds containing U.S Treasurys, investment-grade and high-yield bonds, and TIPS, or Treasury inflation-protected securities.
“The iShares iBonds Ladder ETFs will be a seamless extension to the iBonds franchise, seeking to provide a turnkey solution to bond laddering while making investing easier and more affordable,” said Karen Veraa, who heads U.S. iShares Fixed Income Strategy at BlackRock.
“This approach will simultaneously offer advisors and their clients the ability to manage interest rate risk, seek higher yields and enhance portfolio diversification.”
The ETFs will seek to track a BlackRock index with an equal 20% allocation to five iShares iBonds ETFs in their respective asset classes spanning five consecutive termination years.