GIGB vs IGBH

GIGBAGoldman Sachs Access Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

IGBHBiShares Interest Rate Hedged Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF

In short

GIGB Most investment-grade corporate bond funds just buy the biggest borrowers. Goldman's index screens the market on liquidity and fundamentals first, then spreads the money across roughly 1,600 bonds for 0.08% a year.

IGBH Long corporate credit without the long-bond rate ride: IGBH holds investment-grade bonds maturing in 10+ years, then swaps away most of the duration. 0.14% net of a waiver through February 28, 2027.

Stated mandate

GIGB The Fund seeks to track the FTSE Goldman Sachs Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index, which measures U.S.-dollar-denominated investment-grade corporate bonds meeting liquidity and fundamental screening criteria.

IGBH The fund tracks an index intended to reduce interest-rate risk in a portfolio of long-duration investment-grade corporate bonds, using interest-rate swaps to manage duration.

Why people hold it

• GIGB Costs 0.08% a year, well under the typical investment-grade corporate bond ETF's 0.19%.
• The index screens US dollar investment-grade corporates for liquidity and fundamentals rather than simply following who borrowed the most.gsam.com
• Tracks that index about as tightly as passive bond funds get, and holds roughly 1,600 bonds so no single issuer carries the load.
• Pays monthly, matching how corporate bond coupons tend to land in a portfolio.

• IGBH Owns investment-grade corporates maturing past ten years, then layers on up to ten interest-rate swaps of staggered maturities to hold portfolio duration near zero.sec.gov
• 0.14% net of a waiver through February 28, 2027 (0.39% gross): below the category median, and the same net fee as unhedged LQD at 0.14%, derivatives overlay included.
• Trading since 2015 on BlackRock's own hedged index, pays monthly, and the rate-hedge wrapper is a rarity in a category stacked with plain trackers.

Worth knowing

• GIGB Cheap, but not the cheapest shelf: VCIT, USIG and SPIB run at 0.03% to 0.04%. You are paying a few basis points for the screening.
• Broad-maturity corporate credit moves on two levers, interest rates and credit spreads, so it swings more than short-dated bond funds.
• A mid-sized, moderately traded fund rather than a giant, so trading spreads can run wider than the largest names in the category.

• IGBH The swaps target rate risk, not credit risk. Spread widening can still move long-dated corporates, and a series of swaps is an approximate offset, not an exact one.sec.gov
• Gross fee is 0.39%. The 0.14% net rate rests on a waiver running through February 28, 2027, and renewal past that date is the issuer's call.
• Plain corporate bond trackers cost less (SPBO at 0.03%, USIG at 0.04%) for anyone who wants the duration rather than paying to hedge it off.

Full GIGB profile⁠

Full IGBH profile⁠