IBDU vs VBCC

IBDUAiShares iBonds Dec 2029 Term Corporate ETF

VBCCAVanguard Target Maturity 2029 Corporate Bond ETF

In short

IBDU Buy one ticker, get hundreds of investment-grade corporate bonds that all come due in 2029. Then the fund winds up on or about December 15, 2029 and pays out what's left: a bond's end date with an ETF's diversification.

VBCC Vanguard's version of a single rung on a bond ladder: investment-grade corporates that all mature in 2029, wrapped in an ETF at 0.08% a year, under the typical fee in the target-maturity aisle.

Stated mandate

IBDU The fund seeks to track an index of investment-grade corporate bonds that mature in 2029.

VBCC The fund seeks to follow a market-weighted index of U.S.-dollar-denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds scheduled to mature in 2029.

Why people hold it

• IBDU Acts like a single bond: it terminates on or about December 15, 2029 and distributes its remaining net assets, a defined end date instead of a perpetual fund's rolling duration.sec.gov
• Hundreds of investment-grade corporate bonds in one wrapper, with each issuer needing $300 million or more of face value to enter the index. One sour name gets diluted.sec.gov
• 0.10% a year, level with Invesco's 2029 BulletShares rung (BSCT) and at the cohort median, and it sits among the more tradable names in this group.
• Pays monthly, and the 2029 rung slots beside other dated funds if you want a ladder with set end dates rather than a rolling maturity.ishares.com

• VBCC At 0.08% a year it undercuts the target-maturity median and the established 2029 corporate rungs from iShares (IBDU) and Invesco (BSCT), both at 0.10%.
• Every bond in the index is scheduled to mature in 2029, so the portfolio has an end date instead of rolling on forever like a standard bond fund.
• Investment-grade US dollar corporates, market-weighted. No high-yield sleeve, no manager leaning on favorite issuers.
• Stacks up among the stronger builds in a crowded target-maturity field, on the back of low cost and a straightforward investment-grade portfolio.

Worth knowing

• IBDU Not a bond held to par: the fund does not seek to return any predetermined amount at maturity or in periodic distributions, and price moves with rates and credit until then.sec.gov
• In the final months, the bonds mature into cash and cash-like instruments, so the fund's yield drifts toward prevailing money market rates before the wind-up.ishares.com
• Corporate credit, not government paper, and the index includes non-US developed-market issuers. The same-year iShares Treasury rung (IBTJ) charges 0.07%.sec.gov

• VBCC Launched in 2026, so live history is short and it trades less actively than the long-running iShares and Invesco ladders. Limit orders matter more here.
• Corporate credit, not Treasuries. An investment-grade issuer can still be downgraded or miss a payment, and a 2029 maturity date does not erase that.
• Income is paid quarterly, so cash arrives four times a year rather than monthly.

Full IBDU profile⁠

Full VBCC profile⁠