iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF

AGG

Market cap $132B

Corporate bonds that are below investment grade status may be less likely to default now. But investors still need to be careful.

I primarily invest in individual stocks. However, I've started to add more exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to my portfolio.

U.S. equity markets rallied to fresh record-highs this past week as investors leaned into rate cut expectations following a wave of soft employment data and a Federal Government shutdown. For the fourth time since 1995, the federal government entered a partial "shutdown" after the U.S. Senate failed to reach the 60-vote threshold required for passage of appropriations. Defering to experience from prior shutdowns in 2013 (16 days) and in 2018 (35 days), markets largely shrugged off the latest Congressional impasse, with investors still anticipating a timely resolution.

Investors have piled back into exchange-traded funds focused on investment-grade corporate bonds, amid a surging supply of new debt in that part of the fixed-income market.

Most investors are aware a few companies dominate the stock market. But the same goes for the ETF market.

On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi's Head of Research, Todd Rosenbluth, discussed the Thornburg Multi-Sector Bond ETF (TMB) with Chuck Jaffe of Money Life. The pair discusses several topics related to the fund to give investors a deeper understanding of the ETF.

On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi's Head of Research, Todd Rosenbluth, discussed the Thornburg Multi-Sector Bond ETF (TMB) with Chuck Jaffe of Money Life. The pair discusses several topics related to the fund to give investors a deeper understanding of the ETF.

With talk of rate cuts getting more audible, they almost seem inevitable. Indeed, the CME FedWatch is forecasting an almost 90% chance of cuts.

U.S. equity markets notched another series of record highs this week, surging into the weekend after surprisingly dovish commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Powell, who hinted at imminent rate cuts. Powell used his final Jackson Hole speech as Fed Chair to deliver a clear policy pivot, an unexpected reversal after months of insistence that tariff-related inflation warranted a hawkish framework. Markets were equally relieved by the policy-focused nature of Powell's speech amid speculation that the address may be used instead as a potential defiant sermon on central bank independence.

U.S. equity markets climbed to fresh record highs this week despite a jump in producer prices, but consumer inflation remained "cool enough" to keep the Fed on-course for September rate cuts. Despite the inflation uptick in July, all three major CPI and PPI metrics remained below the annualized levels seen in January preceding the initial wave of tariffs. Ahead of the Chair Powell's "farewell tour" in Jackson Hole, the inevitability of significantly easier monetary policy by mid-2026 - at the latest- has fully taken hold in recent weeks.