IGLB vs LKOR

IGLBAiShares 10+ Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

LKORBNorthern Trust Credit-Scored US Long Corporate Bond ETF

In short

IGLB The long end of the iShares corporate ladder: only investment-grade company bonds with more than ten years left to run. Interest-rate sensitivity isn't a side effect here, it's the design.

LKOR Most long-corporate bond funds simply buy the market's biggest borrowers. LKOR scores issuers on quality and value first, then builds a 10-year-plus portfolio, for 0.15% net of a waiver through March 1, 2027.

Stated mandate

IGLB The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade corporate bonds with remaining maturities longer than ten years. It provides exposure to long-duration, high-quality corporate credit and seeks income.

LKOR The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the Northern Trust US Long Corporate Bond Quality Value Index.

Why people hold it

• IGLB Fee is 0.04% a year, a sliver of what the typical investment-grade corporate bond fund charges.
• Roughly 3,800 bonds in one ticker, with income paid out monthly rather than quarterly.
• The 10+ slice of a maturity-cut iShares lineup (IGSB 1-5, IGIB 5-10), so duration is chosen by picking a slice instead of blending funds.
• Tracks the ICE BofA 10+ Year US Corporate Index closely and trades actively, putting it among the stronger builds in a crowded corporate bond field.

• LKOR Bonds get graded on issuer quality (solvency, profitability, management efficiency) and valuation, then optimized toward the best composite scores and rebuilt monthly.northerntrust.com
• Hard eligibility rules: investment grade, ten-year-plus final maturity, $250 million minimum outstanding per bond. Roughly 800 holdings spread the single-name risk.northerntrust.com
• 0.15% net of a waiver through March 1, 2027 (0.16% gross) lands near the category's typical fee and matches screened peer ZTEN at 0.15%. Pays monthly.
• No style drift. The portfolio holds what the name promises: long-dated US investment-grade corporates, tracked by representative sampling, no credit reaching, no overlays.flexshares.com

Worth knowing

• IGLB Ten-years-and-out maturities mean the sharpest price swings in investment-grade corporates when yields move. Duration is the feature and the risk.
• Company bonds, not Treasuries: prices react to credit spreads as well as rates, and investment grade still carries downgrade risk.
• No short-maturity ballast by design, so nothing inside the fund steadies the ride when the long end sells off.

• LKOR Plain market-weighted rivals cost far less: VCLT at 0.03%, IGLB and SPLB at 0.04%. The credit screen carries the burden of justifying the gap.
• A small fund that trades lightly. On any given order the bid-ask spread can cost you more than a year of the expense ratio.
• Ten-year-plus maturities mean heavy interest-rate sensitivity. Prices move sharply when yields shift, and no quality score offsets that.northerntrust.comflexshares.com

Full IGLB profile⁠

Full LKOR profile⁠