IBTG vs IBTK

IBTGAiShares iBonds Dec 2026 Term Treasury ETF

IBTKAiShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term Treasury ETF

In short

IBTG A bond with a ticker. IBTG holds U.S. Treasuries maturing in 2026, then winds itself down and hands back the proceeds like a maturing note. Seven basis points a year, and one rung in a suite built for laddering.

IBTK A single rung of a Treasury ladder in ETF form: IBTK owns only U.S. government bonds maturing in 2030, so it behaves more like one bond with an end date than an open-ended bond fund.

Stated mandate

IBTG The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. Treasury bonds that mature in 2026.

IBTK The fund seeks to follow an index made up of U.S. Treasury bonds that mature in 2030.

Why people hold it

• IBTG Defined end date: it holds Treasuries maturing in 2026 and terminates on or about October or December 15 of its named year, then pays out what is left.ishares.comishares.com 2
• U.S. Treasury debt only, so no issuer credit calls to second-guess, and the income shows up monthly.
• Costs 0.07% a year, level with the typical defined-maturity Treasury fund and the same rate as sibling rungs IBTH, IBTI, IBTJ and IBTK.
• Billion-dollar asset base, close tracking of its ICE Treasury maturity index, and steady on-screen trading: one of the stronger implementations in the Treasury ladder group.

• IBTK Charges 0.07% a year against a 0.10% median for target-maturity bond funds. Cheap matters most where the underlying asset is plain Treasuries.
• Tracks the ICE 2030 Maturity US Treasury Index tightly, one of the cleaner implementations among the 126 target-maturity funds we cover.
• U.S. Treasuries only. No corporate credit in the basket, so what you get is government paper with a 2030 finish line.
• One rung in a stackable set: sibling IBTJ does the same job for 2029 at the same 0.07% fee, letting maturities be laddered year by year.

Worth knowing

• IBTG In the final months the portfolio shifts into cash and cash-like instruments, so income varies over time and that stretch earns whatever cash rates happen to be.ishares.com
• Termination is the design, not a surprise: liquidation proceeds land in your account, reinvesting is your call, and a gain or loss versus cost basis is a taxable event.ishares.com
• Not a guarantee. iShares states investors may experience losses, including near or at the termination date, and the share price moves with rates along the way.ishares.com

• IBTK Built around one date. As 2030 approaches the bonds' remaining life shortens, so rate sensitivity fades and the fund starts acting like short-term paper.
• Before that date it still moves with rates. A defined maturity is not a defined price along the way.
• Moderately traded rather than heavily traded, a concentrated slice of the Treasury curve held by a couple dozen issues.

Full IBTG profile⁠

Full IBTK profile⁠