MLDR vs SCHR

MLDRBGlobal X Intermediate-Term Treasury Ladder ETF

SCHRASchwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF

In short

MLDR One ticker instead of a homemade bond ladder. MLDR follows an index that spreads US Treasuries across maturity rungs from 3 to 10 years and rolls them forward as they age. Pays monthly, costs 0.12% a year.

SCHR The belly of the Treasury curve for three basis points. Since 2010, SCHR has tracked the Bloomberg US Treasury 3-10 Year Index: government paper only, no corporate credit, income paid monthly.

Stated mandate

MLDR The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the FTSE US Treasury 3-10 Years Laddered Bond Index.

SCHR The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of an index measuring the intermediate-term U.S. Treasury bond market.

Why people hold it

• MLDR At 0.12% a year, it undercuts the median intermediate Treasury fund in its group (0.15%).
• The laddered index keeps maturities spread across the 3-to-10-year range, so bonds roll off and get reinvested on a rolling schedule rather than all at once.globalxetfs.com
• US government paper only, no corporate credit, roughly 70 positions, and cash goes out monthly. What's on the tin is what's in the fund.globalxetfs.com

• SCHR Charges 0.03% a year, a fraction of the 0.15% median for intermediate Treasury funds. In a corner of the market where yields do the heavy lifting, fee drag matters.
• Does exactly what the label says: about 100 US Treasury notes, tracking the Bloomberg US Treasury 3-10 Year Index with very tight fidelity. No credit sleeve, no derivatives detour.schwabassetmanagement.com
• Pays monthly, and it is an actively traded, multi-billion-dollar fund, which puts it among the more established options in the 3-10 year Treasury aisle.
• One of the strongest implementations in its peer group, matching SPTI at the bottom of the fee table and undercutting BBIB and the BondBloxx target-duration funds.

Worth knowing

• MLDR Plain market-weighted rivals are cheaper: SPTI and SCHR both run 0.03%. The ladder construction is what the extra buys.
• A small, thinly traded fund, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than the category's giants. Order size and order type matter more here.
• Launched in 2024, so there's not yet a long record to judge it across a full rate cycle.

• SCHR Intermediate maturities carry real rate sensitivity. When yields rise, prices on 3-10 year Treasuries fall, and this fund holds the full move.
• Treasuries only. You get no credit spread from corporate or mortgage bonds, which is the point for some investors and a limit for others.schwabassetmanagement.com
• SPTI runs the same 0.03% fee on the same slice of the curve, so the choice often comes down to brokerage plumbing rather than the funds themselves.

Full MLDR profile⁠

Full SCHR profile⁠