BSCZ vs VBCA

BSCZBInvesco BulletShares 2035 Corporate Bond ETF

VBCAAVanguard Target Maturity 2027 Corporate Bond ETF

In short

BSCZ One rung of a bond ladder in a single ticker: roughly 300 investment-grade corporate bonds that all come due in 2035, wrapped in an ETF that charges 0.10% and pays monthly.

VBCA Vanguard showed up late to the bond-ladder aisle and priced it accordingly: one rung of investment-grade corporate bonds, all maturing in 2027, wrapped in an ETF at 0.08%.

Stated mandate

BSCZ The fund tracks an index of US-dollar-denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds whose effective maturities are in 2035.

VBCA The fund seeks to track a market-weighted index of U.S.-dollar-denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds that mature in 2027.

Why people hold it

• BSCZ Every bond in it matures in the same year, so the portfolio's sensitivity to rate swings winds down as 2035 approaches. Bond-like maturity math, ETF-like access.
• Charges 0.10% a year, right at the going rate for target-maturity bond funds, and spreads the credit risk across roughly 300 investment-grade corporate issues.
• Pays monthly and sits inside Invesco's BulletShares lineup, where nearer rungs like BSCT (2029) and BSCU (2030) make a multi-year ladder buildable from one issuer.
• Tracks its 2035 maturity index closely and lands in the upper half of a crowded target-maturity field on cost, structure and execution.

• VBCA At 0.08%, it undercuts the target-maturity norm, where iShares iBonds and Invesco BulletShares rungs run 0.10%.
• Its bonds are scheduled to mature between January 1 and December 15, 2027, and the index has a planned liquidation around that date, so duration winds down instead of resetting forever.sec.gov
• Market-weighted and investment-grade only: a single maturity year spread across the US corporate market rather than a handful of hand-picked bonds.
• Stands among the stronger implementations in a crowded target-maturity group, on cost and portfolio discipline.

Worth knowing

• BSCZ A 2035 maturity carries about a decade of rate and credit exposure, so it swings more on rate moves than the short rungs of the same lineup.
• Launched in 2025, so there is only a short record to judge how it tracks and trades across a full rate cycle.
• Corporate credit, not Treasuries: issuers can be downgraded or default. Trading is moderate, so spreads are worth a look on larger orders.

• VBCA Launched in 2026 and still small, it trades thinly; spreads can be wider than on established bond ETFs.
• Corporate credit, not Treasuries: downgrades and defaults come with the territory. Treasury-only rungs such as IBTJ sidestep that risk.
• Short operating history, so there is limited data so far on how closely it tracks its index.

Full BSCZ profile⁠

Full VBCA profile⁠