IGSB vs QSIG

IGSBAiShares 1-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

QSIGCWisdomTree U.S. Short-Term Corporate Bond Fund

In short

IGSB Corporate credit with the rate risk dialed down: roughly 4,700 investment-grade bonds, none maturing past five years, for four basis points. iShares has run it since 2007.

QSIG Most short-term corporate bond funds buy whoever borrowed the most. QSIG screens issuers on fundamentals first, then tilts toward the better-paying bonds, and mails the income out monthly.

Stated mandate

IGSB The fund seeks to track an index containing U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade corporate bonds with remaining maturities from one through five years.

QSIG The Fund seeks current income and, secondarily, capital appreciation.

Why people hold it

• IGSB Four basis points a year, a fraction of the typical investment-grade corporate bond fund's fee and level with the cheapest tier of its peer group.
• One-to-five-year maturities mean prices move less when rates move than long-dated corporate funds. Same corporate credit, shorter leash.ishares.com
• Thousands of individual bonds tracking the ICE BofA 1-5 Year US Corporate Index, with income paid monthly.ishares.com
• Trading since 2007, actively traded, and one of the strongest builds in the investment-grade corporate group on cost, portfolio and execution.

• QSIG The index does homework: it screens issuers on cash flow, profitability and leverage, then tilts toward those offering more income. Weighting is not a borrowing-size popularity contest.wisdomtree.comsec.gov
• Short-dated investment-grade paper spread across roughly 500 bonds, so no single borrower steers the portfolio. Income is paid monthly.
• 0.18% for an active-style screen wrapped in an index, close to what the typical investment-grade corporate bond ETF charges. Running since 2016, so the rules have real mileage.

Worth knowing

• IGSB Short maturities cut both ways: less price damage when rates rise, less lift when they fall.
• These are company bonds, not Treasuries. Investment grade, but credit spreads can widen and prices move with them.
• Only the front of the curve. Sibling IGIB runs 5-10 years and USIG spans broad maturities, both at the same fee.

• QSIG Thinly traded with modest assets next to the category heavyweights, which usually shows up as wider bid-ask spreads at the moment of trading.
• Plain cap-weighted rivals like VCIT, IGSB and SPIB charge a fraction of QSIG's 0.18%. The fundamental screen is what the extra fee buys.
• Short maturities cut interest-rate sensitivity in both directions: less pain when yields rise, less lift when they fall. Corporate credit risk stays on the table.wisdomtree.com

Full IGSB profile⁠

Full QSIG profile⁠