IGBH vs USIG

IGBHBiShares Interest Rate Hedged Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF

USIGAiShares Broad USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

In short

IGBH Long corporate credit without the long-bond rate ride: IGBH holds investment-grade bonds maturing in 10+ years, then swaps away most of the duration. 0.14% net of a waiver through February 28, 2027.

USIG Most investment-grade corporate bond funds hand you one slice of the maturity curve. USIG takes the whole thing, thousands of US dollar corporate bonds from short-dated to long, for four basis points a year.

Stated mandate

IGBH The fund tracks an index intended to reduce interest-rate risk in a portfolio of long-duration investment-grade corporate bonds, using interest-rate swaps to manage duration.

USIG The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade corporate bonds.

Why people hold it

• IGBH Owns investment-grade corporates maturing past ten years, then layers on up to ten interest-rate swaps of staggered maturities to hold portfolio duration near zero.sec.gov
• 0.14% net of a waiver through February 28, 2027 (0.39% gross): below the category median, and the same net fee as unhedged LQD at 0.14%, derivatives overlay included.
• Trading since 2015 on BlackRock's own hedged index, pays monthly, and the rate-hedge wrapper is a rarity in a category stacked with plain trackers.

• USIG Costs 0.04% a year, against a category median near 0.19%. CORP, which tracks the same ICE BofA US Corporate Index, charges 0.41%.
• One ticker, the full USD investment-grade corporate curve: thousands of bonds, short to long. Slice funds like IGSB (1-5 year) and IGIB (5-10 year) each cover one segment.ishares.com
• Running since 2007, it has tracked its index with very little drift and is one of the more actively traded funds in its category.
• Interest lands monthly, and this is a multi-billion-dollar fund that ranks among the strongest implementations in its peer group.

Worth knowing

• IGBH The swaps target rate risk, not credit risk. Spread widening can still move long-dated corporates, and a series of swaps is an approximate offset, not an exact one.sec.gov
• Gross fee is 0.39%. The 0.14% net rate rests on a waiver running through February 28, 2027, and renewal past that date is the issuer's call.
• Plain corporate bond trackers cost less (SPBO at 0.03%, USIG at 0.04%) for anyone who wants the duration rather than paying to hedge it off.

• USIG Owning the whole curve means long-dated bonds ride along, so the price swings more when rates move than a short-maturity slice such as IGSB.
• This is corporate credit, not Treasuries. Investment grade at purchase, but prices can fall when spreads widen or an issuer is downgraded.ishares.com
• VCIT edges it on fee at 0.03%, though that fund stays in intermediate maturities rather than the full curve.

Full IGBH profile⁠

Full USIG profile⁠