IGIB vs SPIB

IGIBAiShares 5-10 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

SPIBAState Street SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Corporate Bond ETF

In short

IGIB A precision tool, not a catch-all: IGIB owns only the 5-to-10-year slice of the US investment-grade corporate market, about 3,000 bonds deep, for 0.04% a year. Trading since 2007.

SPIB The middle of the corporate bond curve in one ticker: investment-grade company debt maturing in one to ten years, thousands of issues deep, for 0.04% a year. Trading since 2009.

Stated mandate

IGIB The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade corporate bonds with remaining maturities of five to ten years.

SPIB The fund seeks to track the Bloomberg Intermediate US Corporate Index and provide exposure to U.S. corporate bonds with maturities of at least 1 year and less than 10 years.

Why people hold it

• IGIB Four basis points a year (0.04%), a fraction of the typical fund in its investment-grade corporate group, and it has tracked its ICE BofA index closely.
• A maturity dial, not a grab bag: this is the 5-10 year rung, with sibling IGSB covering 1-5 years at the same 0.04% fee.ishares.com
• About 3,000 bonds spread issuer risk thin, and income is paid monthly.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that has been trading since 2007 and changes hands actively.

• SPIB 0.04% a year sits at the floor of the investment-grade corporate group, a hair off the cheapest name in the top tier (VCIT, 0.03%).
• One fund covers the whole 1-to-10-year span. iShares splits that same range across two tickers (IGSB for 1-5 years, IGIB for 5-10).
• Roughly 5,000 bonds spread single-issuer risk thin, and the fund has tracked its Bloomberg corporate benchmark closely.
• Heavily traded, pays monthly, and rates as one of the stronger implementations in the investment-grade corporate peer group.

Worth knowing

• IGIB Five-to-ten-year bonds move more with interest rates than short-dated credit such as IGSB's 1-5 year band. That duration is the point, and the trade-off.
• Pure corporate credit, no Treasuries in the mix, so company credit risk rides along with the rate risk.ishares.com
• VCIT sits a basis point lower at 0.03% in the same intermediate-corporate lane.

• SPIB Pure corporate credit. No Treasuries or agency paper in the mix to cushion a widening in company spreads.
• Intermediate maturities move more on rate swings than a short-dated corporate fund such as IGSB.
• The monthly payout floats with market yields and the bonds the index holds. It is not a fixed amount.

Full IGIB profile⁠

Full SPIB profile⁠