IUSB vs SCCR

IUSBAiShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF

SCCRASchwab Core Bond ETF

In short

IUSB Most core bond funds stop at investment grade. IUSB keeps going, folding high-yield USD debt into the same wrapper across roughly 18,000 bonds, for 0.06% a year.

SCCR A 2025 arrival from Schwab: total return plus income across US dollar bonds, roughly 600 positions, 0.16% a year. That is well under half the typical core bond ETF fee, though the plain index giants still undercut it.

Stated mandate

IUSB The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S.-dollar-denominated bonds spanning investment-grade and high-yield sectors.

SCCR The fund seeks total return while generating income by investing in U.S. dollar-denominated debt securities.

Why people hold it

• IUSB 0.06% a year, a fraction of what the typical broad bond fund in its category charges, and iShares has run it since 2014.
• Roughly 18,000 bonds spanning investment-grade and high-yield sectors, so one ticker covers ground a plain Agg tracker leaves on the table.ishares.com
• Tracks its index closely, trades heavily, and sits on a multi-billion-dollar asset base. Income is paid monthly.
• Among the strongest implementations in a crowded field of nearly 200 core bond funds.

• SCCR Runs 0.16% a year against a 0.36% median for the core bond crowd, so a smaller slice of the coupon goes to the manager.
• Pays monthly and spreads across about 600 US dollar debt securities, so no single issuer sets the tone.
• The portfolio matches the mandate on the label closely, and it stands in the top tier of a very crowded core bond field.
• Already a multi-billion-dollar fund with Schwab's bond desk behind it, which is rare shelf space for a fund this new.

Worth knowing

• IUSB That high-yield sleeve is the trade-off: more credit risk than an investment-grade-only fund, and more movement when spreads widen.
• BND, SPAB and SCHZ charge 0.03%, half IUSB's fee, but they stay inside investment grade.
• Payouts land monthly, but the amount floats with the coupons underneath. Nothing about the income stream is fixed.

• SCCR Cheaper seats exist in the same aisle: BND, SPAB and Schwab's own SCHZ each charge 0.03%, a fraction of this fee.
• Launched in February 2025, so the track record is short and covers only one stretch of the rate cycle.
• This is rate-sensitive core bond exposure: when yields rise, bond prices fall, and the fund moves with them.

Full IUSB profile⁠

Full SCCR profile⁠