PFIG vs SKOR

PFIGBInvesco Fundamental Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

SKORANorthern Trust Credit-Scored US Corporate Bond ETF

In short

PFIG Most corporate bond funds hand the biggest weight to whoever borrowed the most. PFIG's index sizes issuers by sales, cash flow, dividends and book assets instead, sticking to US public companies in the 1-10 year maturity band.

SKOR Most investment-grade corporate bond funds just buy the market. SKOR scores every eligible bond on issuer quality and relative value, then weights toward the winners, and stays in the one-to-under-10-year maturity lane.

Stated mandate

PFIG The Fund seeks to track the investment results of its specified underlying index before fees and expenses, investing primarily in securities from that index.

SKOR The Fund seeks to provide pre-fee investment results generally corresponding to the price and yield performance of the Northern Trust US Corporate Bond Quality Value Index.

Why people hold it

• PFIG Weight comes from four accounting measures of company size (book assets, gross sales, gross dividends, cash flow), not from how much debt an issuer has outstanding.sec.gov
• The 1-10 year maturity band keeps it in short-to-intermediate territory, so price swings from rate moves are milder than long-dated corporate bond funds.researchaffiliates.com
• Spreads risk across roughly 800 investment grade bonds and pays income monthly.
• Running since 2011, and it sits in the upper half of the investment grade corporate bond funds we grade.

• SKOR Rules-based scoring, not just size: the index optimizes toward proprietary quality and value scores instead of handing the biggest weight to whoever borrowed the most.sec.gov
• 0.15% net of a waiver through March 1, 2027 (0.16% gross), below the category median and level with the big brand-name corporate bond funds QLTA (0.15%) and LQD (0.14%).
• Tracking has been tight against its index, and it sits in the upper tier of investment-grade corporate bond ETFs on our review.
• Workmanlike plumbing: trading since 2014, over a billion dollars in assets, roughly 1,300 bonds, each issue $250 million or larger, with monthly payouts.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• PFIG 0.22% a year, above the category median and well above the plain index giants (VCIT, USIG, SPIB) at 0.03%-0.04%. The fundamental screen is what the extra buys.
• Thinly traded and modest in size, so spreads can run wider than the category heavyweights. Limit orders matter more here.
• Issuers must be US-domiciled public companies, and the fund samples the index rather than buying every bond in it.sec.govinvesco.com

• SKOR Plain-vanilla rivals cost less: SPBO and VTC each charge 0.03%. The scoring screen is what the extra buys.
• Maturities stop short of 10 years, so it skips the long end of the corporate curve and the extra rate sensitivity that comes with it.sec.govflexshares.com
• The record spans two methodologies: the fund switched its objective and underlying index effective April 30, 2020.flexshares.comsec.gov

Full PFIG profile⁠

Full SKOR profile⁠