LDRH vs SCYB

LDRHBiShares iBonds 1-5 Year High Yield and Income Ladder ETF

SCYBASchwab High Yield Bond ETF

In short

LDRH A whole high-yield bond ladder in one ticker. LDRH tracks an index of iShares iBonds high yield funds that all mature inside six years, and it pays monthly. The DIY version means buying and rolling every rung yourself.

SCYB Three basis points for the broad US high-yield corporate market. Schwab undercuts a category where the typical fund charges more than ten times as much, spreading the bet across roughly 1,800 bonds and paying monthly.

Stated mandate

LDRH The fund seeks to track an index composed of iShares iBonds High Yield and Income ETFs with maturities under six years.

SCYB The fund follows a rules-based strategy intended to track the high-yield bond market, primarily through bonds in the Bloomberg Barclays US Corporate High Yield Total Return Index and similar derivatives.

Why people hold it

• LDRH One trade replaces a stack of dated bond funds: the index is built from iShares iBonds High Yield and Income ETFs maturing under six years.ishares.com
• 0.35% expense ratio, below the 0.40% median for high-yield bond funds, which is unusual for a fund that holds other funds.
• Income lands monthly, and the short rungs keep the portfolio's rate sensitivity contained by design.
• Tracks its stated ladder index closely and lands in the upper half of the high-yield bond group on our review.

• SCYB 0.03% a year against a category median of 0.40%. Even the cheap rivals sit above it: SPHY at 0.05%, USHY at 0.08%.
• Tracks the same Bloomberg US Corporate High Yield index as BKHY, which charges 0.22%. Same map, cheaper toll.
• Roughly 1,800 bonds, so no single issuer's blowup drives the outcome. Rules-based and passive, and it has hugged its index closely.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively and pays monthly, which matters in a corner of the market where getting out cheaply is half the job.

Worth knowing

• LDRH Plain broad high-yield index funds cost a fraction of this: SCYB runs 0.03% and SPHY 0.05%. The ladder structure is what the extra fee buys.
• A 2024 launch that is still small and thinly traded next to the category's household names, so spreads can be wider than you would see in SPHY or USHY.
• The rungs hold below-investment-grade credit. Short maturities shorten the wait, they do not remove default risk.

• SCYB High yield means below-investment-grade credit. These bonds behave more like stocks than Treasuries when the economy sours, and the extra income is the payment for that risk.
• Launched in 2023, so it has a shorter record than rivals that have traded through more credit cycles.
• The strategy can hold derivatives alongside the bonds themselves to track the index, one layer beyond plain bond ownership.

Full LDRH profile⁠

Full SCYB profile⁠