iShares 10+ Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

IGLB

Market cap $2.69B

The Schwab Long-Term U.S. Treasury ETF (SCHQ) offers a slightly lower expense ratio than the iShares 10+ Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (IGLB). SCHQ provides a higher trailing-12-month dividend yield by focusing on long-dated corporate debt.

iShares 10+ Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF focuses on longer-dated debt and offers a lower 0.04% expense ratio than its peer. iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF provides broader maturity exposure and has maintained a lower maximum drawdown over the past five years.

iShares 10+ Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF and Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF both provide exposure to high-quality corporate debt with maturities exceeding 10 years Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF carries a lower expense ratio and a higher trailing-12-month dividend yield than the iShares fund Both funds launched in 2009 and have experienced nearly identical maximum drawdowns of approximately 34% over the last five years

I recommend a hold on iShares Interest Rate Hedged Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF and a buy on iShares 10+ Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF. With anticipated Fed rate cuts in 2026, IGLB's unhedged duration exposure is positioned for outperformance versus IGBH's hedged approach. IGBH minimizes interest rate risk via swaps, but may underperform in a rate-easing environment due to negligible duration exposure.

GDV.PR.H preferred stock offers a higher yield and superior credit quality versus IGLB, making it a compelling income choice. GDV.PR.H benefits from an Aa3 credit rating, low fund leverage (~15%), and a highly liquid, diversified equity portfolio. IGLB provides broad investment-grade bond exposure and monthly income but carries greater risk in severe market downturns.

Long-term treasuries significantly outperform when rates go down, especially when they plummet. Long-term investment-grade bonds do too and have higher yields and stronger long-term performance track-records as well. IGLB is a simple index ETF focusing on these bonds and should be an interesting investment for more dovish investors.

IGLB faces significant downside risk as investment-grade spreads are at their tightest since 1998, leaving little room for further tightening. Long-dated yields may remain elevated even if the Fed cuts rates, due to inflation and macroeconomic pressures, limiting capital gains potential for IGLB. The ETF's heavy exposure to lower investment-grade bonds (A/BBB) increases vulnerability to spread widening and potential drawdowns.

IGLB offers diversified exposure to long-duration, investment-grade US corporate bonds with attractive yields but heightened interest rate sensitivity and equity-like volatility. A likely Fed rate cut in September 2025 could boost IGLB's value, as each 0.25% cut may drive a 3% price appreciation for the ETF. Node Analytica's proprietary stress index signals a benign market environment, supporting stability for long-term bonds and reducing near-term downside risk.

I recommend de-risking stock market exposure by adding fixed income, specifically the iShares 10+ Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF. IGLB offers a higher yield with investment-grade bonds, providing a good hedge against downturns while maintaining exposure to corporate America. The ETF is well-diversified across sectors, has a low expense ratio, and holds over 3,700 bonds with an average yield to maturity of 5.72%.

The significant duration means sensitivity to rate upside, which, we think, is exacerbated with Trump incoming. There is also no value angle around credit spreads when they're already at historical lows. Tariffs assure some measure of inflation, and retaliations would make that even worse. We'd look away from inflation bets, which, we think, will continue to underperform.