MYCO vs VBCA

MYCODState Street My2035 Corporate Bond ETF

VBCAAVanguard Target Maturity 2027 Corporate Bond ETF

In short

MYCO Most 2035 bond rungs are index ladders. MYCO is the hand-built one: an actively managed basket of corporate bonds all maturing in 2035, chosen sector by sector and issuer by issuer.

VBCA Vanguard showed up late to the bond-ladder aisle and priced it accordingly: one rung of investment-grade corporate bonds, all maturing in 2027, wrapped in an ETF at 0.08%.

Stated mandate

MYCO The fund actively manages a portfolio primarily of corporate bonds maturing in 2035. It seeks current income and capital preservation through top-down sector allocation and bottom-up issuer and security research.

VBCA The fund seeks to track a market-weighted index of U.S.-dollar-denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds that mature in 2027.

Why people hold it

• MYCO Active in an aisle built mostly from index trackers: top-down sector allocation, bottom-up issuer and security research, measured against the ICE 2035 Maturity US Corporate Index.ssga.com
• The holdings share a maturity year, so the portfolio winds down on a known calendar rather than rolling forever like a standard corporate bond fund.ssga.com
• Stated goals are current income and capital preservation, with a monthly income policy and roughly 100 corporate bonds spreading the issuer risk.

• VBCA At 0.08%, it undercuts the target-maturity norm, where iShares iBonds and Invesco BulletShares rungs run 0.10%.
• Its bonds are scheduled to mature between January 1 and December 15, 2027, and the index has a planned liquidation around that date, so duration winds down instead of resetting forever.sec.gov
• Market-weighted and investment-grade only: a single maturity year spread across the US corporate market rather than a handful of hand-picked bonds.
• Stands among the stronger implementations in a crowded target-maturity group, on cost and portfolio discipline.

Worth knowing

• MYCO 0.15% a year sits above the target-maturity median. The big index rungs charge less (IBDU and BSCT at 0.10%, VBCB at 0.08%). That gap is the price of the active seat.
• A 2025 launch, small and thinly traded: spreads can run wider than the category's giants, and there is little live history to judge the managers on.
• This is corporate credit with a long runway. Values move with interest rates and credit spreads for years before those 2035 bonds come due.

• VBCA Launched in 2026 and still small, it trades thinly; spreads can be wider than on established bond ETFs.
• Corporate credit, not Treasuries: downgrades and defaults come with the territory. Treasury-only rungs such as IBTJ sidestep that risk.
• Short operating history, so there is limited data so far on how closely it tracks its index.

Full MYCO profile⁠

Full VBCA profile⁠