iShares Aaa - A Rated Corporate Bond ETF
$45.16−0.01 (−0.03%)
- 0.15%
- $1.2B
- −2.5%
- 4.75%
- 0.3M sh
- $45.07
- low $44.43high $49.02
The ETF.net QLTA Grade
A
Score 80 out of 100
- 5 of 49
Score 80 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.A81 out of 100Rank 9 of 49Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 45Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D37 out of 100Rank 38 of 49Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A85 out of 100Rank 5 of 49Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A88 out of 100Rank 5 of 49Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A85 out of 100Rank 5 of 49
Our read on QLTA
A"Investment grade" spans a lot of ground, and its bottom rung sits one downgrade from junk. QLTA cuts that rung out and holds only Aaa through A corporate bonds: the credit-quality purist of the corporate bond aisle, running since 2012.
The fund seeks to track an index of U.S.-dollar investment-grade corporate bonds rated Aaa through A.
Why people hold it
- The whole design in one line: only Aaa through A rated corporate bonds, so the BBB tier that sits a single notch above junk never enters the portfolio.ishares.com
- Charges 0.15% a year, below the typical fee among investment-grade corporate bond ETFs.
- Spreads across thousands of bonds from US and non-US corporations, and pays income monthly.ishares.com
- Has hugged its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Aaa - A Capped Index, closely since launching in 2012, one of the tighter implementations in its peer group.
Worth knowing
- The quality filter has a price. Broad investment-grade rivals such as USIG and VCIT own the full ladder, BBB included, for a fraction of this fee.
- High ratings are credit protection, not rate protection. This is still a corporate bond fund, and its share price moves when interest rates move.ishares.com
- A multi-billion-dollar fund, but a moderately traded one rather than a household-name corporate bond ETF, so spreads can widen when markets get busy.
QLTA Holdings
- Bonds
- 3,515
- 2%
- Blk Csh Fnd Treasury Sl Agency
Sectors
- Banking37.8%
- Health Care12.2%
- Electric8.2%
- Consumer Discretionary7.8%
- Capital Goods5.6%
- Consumer Non-Cyclical5.4%
- Communications5.0%
- Insurance4.7%
- Energy4.6%
- Transportation2.5%
- Brokerage/Asset Managers/Exchanges2.2%
- Reits1.9%
- Basic Industry1.6%
- Natural Gas0.5%
Geography
- United States85.43%
- United Kingdom3.75%
- Canada3.16%
- Japan3.15%
- Australia1.02%
- Spain0.80%
- Singapore0.72%
- Netherlands0.49%
- 1.47%
QLTA Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
QLTA$9,751
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | QLTA |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −2.8% |
| 1 month | −0.9% |
| 3 months | −2.6% |
| 1 year | −2.5% |
| 3 years | +4.8% |
| 5 years | −0.6% |
| 10 years | +1.6% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | QLTA |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −2.8% | |
| 2025 | +7.4% | |
| 2024 | +1.2% | |
| 2023 | +7.6% | |
| 2022 | −15.1% | |
| 2021 | −2.3% | |
| 2020 | +9.6% |
QLTA in the news
Filings Digest
VanEck cuts its CLO ETF fee from 0.36% to 0.29%
QLTA Dividends
- 4.75%
- $2.15
- $0.18 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
QLTA Risk
- 6.3%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- −0.02
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −21.0%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 1.10
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
QLTA Cost
0.15%
QLTA0.15%
- The middle half of Investment Grade Corporate funds
- Median 0.29%
8 of the 49 Investment Grade Corporate funds charge less.
Other funds in Investment Grade Corporate
- AGIGBGoldman Sachs Access Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.08%1 year return −1.9%
- ALQDiShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.14%1 year return −3.5%
- AVCEBVanguard ESG U.S. Corporate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.12%1 year return −2.4%
- ALQDBiShares BBB Rated Corporate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.15%1 year return −1.6%
- ASKORNorthern Trust Credit-Scored US Corporate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.16%1 year return −0.1%