IBTI vs LIFT

IBTIAiShares iBonds Dec 2028 Term Treasury ETF

LIFTCLifex 2028 Income Bucket ETF

In short

IBTI Treasuries that all mature in 2028, bundled into one ticker. IBTI trades like a fund but ages like a bond, and at 0.07% a year it undercuts the typical target-maturity peer.

LIFT —No data

Stated mandate

IBTI The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. Treasury bonds maturing in 2028.

LIFT —No data

Why people hold it

• IBTI Charges 0.07% a year against a 0.10% median for target-maturity bond funds. On a Treasury portfolio, where the yield is knowable, the fee comes straight off the top.
• Every bond in it matures in 2028, so the portfolio winds down toward a set date rather than rolling on forever like a standard bond index fund.
• US Treasuries only, about 40 of them. No corporate issuer to underwrite, just one slice of the government curve.
• Pays monthly, holds over a billion in assets, and ranks among the stronger implementations in a category otherwise full of thin, niche rungs.

LIFT —No data

Worth knowing

• IBTI The defined maturity belongs to the bonds, not to your entry price. Exit before the target year and you take whatever rates have done since.
• This is one point on the yield curve, not a ladder. Covering several maturity years means owning several of these funds.
• Treasury-only means no credit spread. Corporate-bond cousins like VBCB and IBDU take on issuer risk in exchange for the extra yield.

LIFT —No data

Full IBTI profile⁠

Full LIFT profile⁠