BSCT vs IBDT

BSCTBInvesco BulletShares 2029 Corporate Bond ETF

IBDTAiShares iBonds Dec 2028 Term Corporate ETF

In short

BSCT A rung of a bond ladder in ETF form: roughly 500 investment-grade corporate bonds that all come due in 2029, bundled into one ticker that pays monthly.

IBDT Acts more like a bond than a bond fund: roughly 700 investment-grade corporate bonds that all mature in 2028, wrapped in one ticker with a defined end date. Built for ladder rungs, monthly distributions and a known finish line.

Stated mandate

BSCT The fund seeks to track an index representing US dollar-denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds with effective maturities in 2029.

IBDT The fund seeks to track an index of investment-grade corporate bonds maturing in 2028 and is designed to support income generation, bond-ladder construction, and interest-rate-risk management through a defined maturity.

Why people hold it

• BSCT Every bond it holds comes due in the same year, so it behaves more like one bond with a finish line than a bond fund that rolls its portfolio forever.
• Costs 0.10% a year, matching the fee on iShares' 2029 corporate rung (IBDU) and sitting right at the category median.
• Tracks the Nasdaq BulletShares USD Corporate Bond 2029 Index closely, with billions in assets and active trading behind it. One of the tighter implementations in its peer group.
• Spreads the exposure across roughly 500 investment-grade corporate bonds and distributes monthly.

• IBDT The defined 2028 maturity does the work: one ticker behaves like a ladder rung, no hunting down individual bonds or tracking each one's maturity.ishares.com
• About 700 investment-grade corporate bonds inside, so no single issuer carries the outcome the way it would in a handful of hand-picked bonds.
• Costs 0.10% a year, right at the typical fee for target-maturity bond funds, and it is one of the more actively traded names in that group.
• Launched in 2018 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, it ranks among the strongest implementations in the target-maturity bond group.

Worth knowing

• BSCT This is company credit, not government paper. For a 2029 rung without corporate risk, the Treasury version (IBTJ) runs 0.07%.
• The fee is at the category median, not below it. Vanguard's 2028 corporate rung (VBCB) comes in at 0.08%.
• Monthly is the payout cadence, not the payout size: income moves with the bonds held, and the portfolio gets shorter as 2029 approaches.

• IBDT Vanguard's VBCB targets the same 2028 corporate maturity for 0.08%, two basis points cheaper.
• This is corporate credit, not Treasuries. The bonds are investment grade, but downgrades and defaults are still part of the picture.
• It has a finish line. When the 2028 term ends the strategy is over, so the what-next decision lands back with you.ishares.com

Full BSCT profile⁠

Full IBDT profile⁠