Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
iShares Systematic Bond ETF
$84.37+0.02 (+0.02%)
- 0.25%
- $1.3B
- −2.0%
- 4.68%
- 0.1M sh
- $84.15
- low $83.56high $91.20
The ETF.net SYSB Grade
B
Score 69 out of 100
- 34 of 117
Score 69 of 100 falls in the B 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.B66 out of 100Rank 38 of 117Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 101Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C52 out of 100Rank 33 of 116Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C54 out of 100Rank 53 of 117Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C46 out of 100Rank 81 of 116Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A79 out of 100Rank 15 of 117
Our read on SYSB
BA quant twist on core bonds: SYSB tracks a BlackRock index that pools investment-grade and high-yield US dollar debt by rule, rather than mirroring a cap-weighted aggregate, and it charges less than the typical fund in its category.
The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. dollar-denominated bonds that includes both investment-grade and high-yield securities.
Why people hold it
- Rules-based by design: one fund holding both investment-grade and high-yield dollar bonds, roughly 800 of them, instead of a plain cap-weighted aggregate.ishares.com
- 0.25% a year undercuts the 0.36% median in its bond cohort, so the systematic engine costs less than the category's typical tracker.
- Tracking has stayed tight to the BlackRock Universal Systematic Bond Index, and distributions go out monthly.
- Trading since 2015 with a billion-dollar-plus asset base and iShares behind the plumbing: a real track record, not a launch-week experiment.
Worth knowing
- You pay up for the method: core aggregate trackers such as BND, SPAB and SCHZ run 0.03%.
- The high-yield slice brings credit risk that an investment-grade-only aggregate does not carry.
- Moderately traded rather than one of the category's volume giants, which can mean wider spreads on larger orders.
SYSB Holdings
- Bonds
- 843
- 28%
- BlackRock Cash Class Inst Sl Agency
Geography
- United States100.00%
SYSB Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
SYSB$9,801
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 | SYSB |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −2.7% |
| 1 month | −1.3% |
| 3 months | −2.8% |
| 1 year | −2.0% |
| 3 years | +5.9% |
| 5 years | +1.0% |
| 10 years | +1.8% |
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 | SYSB |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −2.7% | |
| 2025 | +8.3% | |
| 2024 | +6.0% | |
| 2023 | +8.2% | |
| 2022 | −13.6% | |
| 2021 | −1.0% | |
| 2020 | +3.3% |
SYSB in the news
SYSB Dividends
- 4.68%
- $3.95
- $0.35 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
SYSB Risk
- 4.4%
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.
- 0.26
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.
- −18.1%
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.
- 0.65
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
SYSB Cost
0.25%
SYSB0.25%
- The middle half of US Aggregate Bond funds
- Median 0.34%
35 of the 113 US Aggregate Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in US Aggregate Bond
- BGTOInvesco Total Return Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.35%1 year return −1.4%
- AJBNDJPMorgan Active Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.25%1 year return −1.6%
- BBTOTiShares Total USD Fixed Income Market ETFExpense ratio 0.10%1 year return —
- BNUAGNuveen Enhanced Yield U.S. Aggregate BondExpense ratio 0.15%1 year return −1.8%
- BCGCPCapital Group Core Plus Income ETFExpense ratio 0.34%1 year return −1.8%