KORP vs USIG

KORPBAmerican Century Diversified Corporate Bond ETF

USIGAiShares Broad USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

In short

KORP Most corporate-bond ETFs just clone an index. KORP is run by people: an investment-grade core with a dial that can turn toward high yield, held in a three- to seven-year duration lane.

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

KORP Seeks current income by emphasizing investment-grade debt and dynamically allocating part of the portfolio to high-yield debt. The strategy uses active fundamental and quantitative analysis and generally maintains three- to seven-year duration.

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

Why people hold it

• KORP Actively managed, not a tracker. Investment-grade core plus a sleeve that shifts into high-yield debt, a lever index funds in this category don't have.americancentury.com
• Generally runs a three- to seven-year duration, parking rate sensitivity in the intermediate zone instead of the long end.americancentury.com
• The portfolio does what the name says: roughly 400 corporate bonds, global in reach, with a stated monthly income schedule.americancentury.com
• Live since 2018 and sitting in the upper half of a crowded investment-grade corporate field, which is more than most active bond ETFs manage.

• 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

• KORP 0.29% a year is above the category median and many times what index heavyweights like VCIT and SPBO charge. The manager's judgment is the thing you're buying.
• That high-yield allocation can push credit risk past a pure investment-grade portfolio. Flexibility cuts both ways.americancentury.com
• Volume is moderate rather than heavyweight, so spreads can run wider than the most-traded names in the corporate-bond aisle.

• 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 KORP profile⁠

Full USIG profile⁠