FEIG vs SKOR

FEIGANorthern Trust ESG & Climate Investment Grade Corporate Core ETF

SKORANorthern Trust Credit-Scored US Corporate Bond ETF

In short

FEIG A core investment-grade corporate bond fund with an ESG overlay: built to shadow a plain market-cap corporate index while screening out coal, tobacco and weapons, for 0.12% net of a waiver through March 1, 2027.

SKOR Most investment-grade corporate bond funds just buy the market. SKOR scores every eligible bond on issuer quality and relative value, then weights toward the winners, and stays in the one-to-under-10-year maturity lane.

Stated mandate

FEIG The Fund seeks results that generally match the price and yield performance of the Northern Trust ESG & Climate Investment Grade U.S. Corporate Core Index before fees and expenses.

SKOR The Fund seeks to provide pre-fee investment results generally corresponding to the price and yield performance of the Northern Trust US Corporate Bond Quality Value Index.

Why people hold it

• FEIG 0.12% net of a waiver through March 1, 2027 (0.13% gross), below the category median and cheaper than LQD at 0.14% or QLTA at 0.15%.
• The index is optimized to minimize tracking differences against a market-cap-weighted parent corporate index, so the credit shape stays core while the ESG tilt sits on top.sec.gov
• Screens remove thermal coal, coal-fired power, tobacco, civilian firearms, controversial weapons and UN Global Compact violators before the index is built.sec.govsec.gov 2
• Roughly 800 bonds of US-dollar investment grade credit, paying monthly, and a mandate that matches the label: one of the stronger profiles in its peer group.

• SKOR Rules-based scoring, not just size: the index optimizes toward proprietary quality and value scores instead of handing the biggest weight to whoever borrowed the most.sec.gov
• 0.15% net of a waiver through March 1, 2027 (0.16% gross), below the category median and level with the big brand-name corporate bond funds QLTA (0.15%) and LQD (0.14%).
• Tracking has been tight against its index, and it sits in the upper tier of investment-grade corporate bond ETFs on our review.
• Workmanlike plumbing: trading since 2014, over a billion dollars in assets, roughly 1,300 bonds, each issue $250 million or larger, with monthly payouts.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• FEIG Thinly traded next to the category's giants, so the spread at the moment you trade matters more than the expense ratio.
• The screens push the portfolio away from a plain corporate index, and it costs more than bare-bones core options like SPBO at 0.03% or USIG at 0.04%.sec.gov
• ESG and climate inputs come from Northern Trust's own scoring plus third-party data, so you are hiring out that judgment.sec.gov

• SKOR Plain-vanilla rivals cost less: SPBO and VTC each charge 0.03%. The scoring screen is what the extra buys.
• Maturities stop short of 10 years, so it skips the long end of the corporate curve and the extra rate sensitivity that comes with it.sec.govflexshares.com
• The record spans two methodologies: the fund switched its objective and underlying index effective April 30, 2020.flexshares.comsec.gov

Full FEIG profile⁠

Full SKOR profile⁠