GXIG vs SKOR

GXIGBGlobal X Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

SKORANorthern Trust Credit-Scored US Corporate Bond ETF

In short

GXIG An active corporate bond fund that runs a quant multifactor model and a deep neural network across the US investment grade market, then holds a concentrated slate of about 100 bonds instead of shadowing a thousand-name index.

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

GXIG The Fund seeks total return through both income and capital appreciation.

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

• GXIG At 0.15%, it undercuts the typical fund in its investment grade corporate cohort (0.19% median) while running an active book rather than an index.globalxetfs.com
• Security selection leans on machines: sub-adviser Mirae Asset uses a quantitative multifactor model and a deep neural network to screen the corporate bond universe.globalxetfs.com
• About 100 bonds, not thousands, so manager conviction actually shows up in the portfolio. Income is paid monthly.
• Buying individual corporate bonds is clunky for retail accounts. This delivers the exposure in one exchange-traded line.globalxetfs.com

• 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

• GXIG Thinly traded and still small, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than the giant index alternatives in this space.
• The active call costs real money: VCIT charges 0.03%, and USIG, SPIB and IGIB 0.04%. GXIG asks several times that for a model-driven portfolio.
• Launched in 2025, so there is little history yet showing how the model handles a full credit cycle.

• 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 GXIG profile⁠

Full SKOR profile⁠