IBTH vs IBTJ

IBTHAiShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Treasury ETF

IBTJAiShares iBonds Dec 2029 Term Treasury ETF

In short

IBTH Most bond ETFs roll on forever. This one is built to end: a basket of U.S. Treasuries clustered around a December 2027 maturity, wrapped in one ticker at a bottom-tier fee. A ladder rung you can buy in a single click.

IBTJ One rung of a Treasury ladder in a single ticker. IBTJ holds only US Treasuries maturing in 2029, giving a defined end date instead of a bond fund that rolls its maturities forever.

Stated mandate

IBTH The Fund seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. Treasury bonds.

IBTJ The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. Treasury bonds maturing in 2029, offering defined-maturity exposure for income, stability, bond-ladder construction, and interest-rate-risk management.

Why people hold it

• IBTH Costs 0.07% a year against a 0.10% median for target-maturity bond funds. On Treasuries, where the coupon does the work, fee drag is most of what you control.
• A defined end date, which a standard bond fund cannot offer. It holds Treasuries maturing around December 2027, so interest-rate sensitivity winds down as that date approaches.
• U.S. Treasury paper only, so no corporate issuer risk in the basket, unlike the corporate-bond rungs of the same family (IBDU) or Invesco's BulletShares (BSCT).
• Running since 2020, pays monthly, and ranks as one of the stronger builds in the target-maturity bond group.

• IBTJ Charges 0.07% a year, under the typical fund in its target-maturity group, and it does the job with Treasuries while most top-ranked peers (IBDU, BSCT, VBCB) hold corporate credit.
• Defined maturity does ladder work for you: roughly 30 Treasuries, all maturing in 2029, tracked against the ICE 2029 Maturity US Treasury Index.
• Hugs its index closely and ranks among the strongest implementations in its target-maturity peer group. A multi-billion-dollar iShares fund that has been trading since 2020, paying monthly.

Worth knowing

• IBTH A share is not a bond. The wind-up value follows the market value of the underlying Treasuries, not a fixed face amount you can pencil in.
• Narrow by design: roughly 50 Treasuries in one maturity window, so it moves with a single slice of the yield curve rather than the whole bond market.
• Treasury credit means no corporate spread in the yield, and the fund has a finite life, so it works as a dated tool rather than a permanent core sleeve.

• IBTJ It is one maturity year of one issuer: US Treasuries due 2029. No credit spread, no spread of maturities. A building block, not a whole bond sleeve.
• Until 2029 the share price still moves with interest rates. The defined maturity fixes the end date, not the ride getting there.
• Trading is moderate rather than headline-Treasury-ETF busy, which matters most on larger orders.

Full IBTH profile⁠

Full IBTJ profile⁠