GCOR vs IUSB

GCORAGoldman Sachs Access U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

IUSBAiShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF

In short

GCOR Not the plain Agg. GCOR tracks a custom FTSE Goldman Sachs index that screens investment-grade bonds for liquidity, seasoning and weakening corporate fundamentals, at 0.08% net of a waiver through December 29, 2026.

IUSB Most core bond funds stop at investment grade. IUSB keeps going, folding high-yield USD debt into the same wrapper across roughly 18,000 bonds, for 0.06% a year.

Stated mandate

GCOR The Fund seeks to closely track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the FTSE Goldman Sachs US Broad Bond Market Index.

IUSB The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S.-dollar-denominated bonds spanning investment-grade and high-yield sectors.

Why people hold it

• GCOR Screens are the point: corporate issuers are ranked on operating margin and leverage each quarter, mortgage bonds on seasoning, and the weakest-ranked get trimmed or dropped.lseg.comgsam.com
• At 0.08% net of a waiver through December 29, 2026 (0.09% gross), it undercuts the core-bond category median, rare for a rules-based twist on the Agg.
• Roughly 1,800 bonds spanning Treasuries, agency, mortgage, asset-backed and corporate debt, with income paid monthly.gsam.com
• Tracking has been tight since the 2020 launch, one of the stronger implementations in a crowded core-bond field.

• IUSB 0.06% a year, a fraction of what the typical broad bond fund in its category charges, and iShares has run it since 2014.
• Roughly 18,000 bonds spanning investment-grade and high-yield sectors, so one ticker covers ground a plain Agg tracker leaves on the table.ishares.com
• Tracks its index closely, trades heavily, and sits on a multi-billion-dollar asset base. Income is paid monthly.
• Among the strongest implementations in a crowded field of nearly 200 core bond funds.

Worth knowing

• GCOR The vanilla trackers (AGG, BND, SPAB, SCHZ) charge 0.03% with no waiver attached, so the screens cost a few extra basis points.
• By design it holds a different mix than the standard Agg, so its results can drift from the benchmark most core bond funds quote.lseg.com
• Moderately traded and not among the category's giants, so spreads can run wider than the mega-funds'.

• IUSB That high-yield sleeve is the trade-off: more credit risk than an investment-grade-only fund, and more movement when spreads widen.
• BND, SPAB and SCHZ charge 0.03%, half IUSB's fee, but they stay inside investment grade.
• Payouts land monthly, but the amount floats with the coupons underneath. Nothing about the income stream is fixed.

Full GCOR profile⁠

Full IUSB profile⁠