A strong management team and sound investment process underpin iShares 0-5 Year Invmt Grade Corp Bd ETF's Morningstar Medalist Rating of Silver. The portfolio maintains a cost advantage over competitors, priced within the least expensive fee quintile among peers.  

 The strategy’s management team earns an Above Average People Pillar rating. The strategy's investment approach stands out and earns an Above Average Process Pillar rating.  The strategy's parent organization earns the firm an Above Average Parent Pillar rating. People Pillar and Parent Pillar ratings for this strategy are indirectly assigned by a Morningstar analyst rather than algorithmically derived. Please see the notes following each pillar section for more details. The details of assigning methods can be found in each pillar section.

Analyst Rating

iShares 0-5 Year Invmt Grade Corp Bd ETF earns an Above Average Process Pillar rating. Morningstar's evaluation of this security's process aims to determine the likelihood that it will outperform its Morningstar Category benchmark on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. This fund tracks an index, which increases its process rating. Historical data, such as Morningstar's Active/Passive Barometer, shows that passively managed funds have generally outperformed their active counterparts, especially over longer time horizons. The process is limited by the fund's weak long-term risk-adjusted performance. This can be seen in its five-year alpha calculated relative to the category index, which suggests that the process has struggled over that period.

The investment strategy as stated in the fund's prospectus is: 

The investment seeks to track the investment results of the Markit iBoxx® USD Liquid Investment Grade 0-5 Index composed of U.S. dollar-denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds with remaining maturities of less than five years.  The fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of the underlying index, and and the fund will invest at least 90% of its assets in fixed income securities of the types included in the underlying index. The index is designed to reflect the performance of U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade corporate debt.  

 This strategy's 12-month yield is 3.1%, lower than its average peers' 3.7%. Plus, its 30-day SEC yield (a measure similar to yield-to-maturity) sits at 5.1%. A lower yield tends to indicate lower credit risk. But that isn't always the case. Over the past 12 months, the average yield of the fund has been lower than the average yield of its Morningstar Category peers. The portfolio's average surveyed credit quality is on par with peers, with both the fund and the average being rated A. In terms of long-term interest-rate risk, this strategy is on par with peers. The longer a strategy's duration, the more sensitive it is to shifts in interest rates. This fund, with a 2.1-year duration, is expected to gain 2.1% of its net asset value if interest rates drop by 1 percentage point, and vice versa.

Above Average

Process

iShares’s team is strong compared with others in the industry, resulting in an Above Average People Pillar rating. There are two managers listed on the fund: James Mauro, Karen Uyehara. The team is well equipped, with an average of 13 years of portfolio management experience. Together, they manage a total of 114 strategies, with a Silver asset-weighted average Morningstar Medalist Rating, indicating the potential to deliver positive alpha relative to the category median in aggregate.  

 Note: This People Pillar rating is indirectly assigned by an analyst. Morningstar analysts evaluate the People Pillar for passive products at the brand level and may also differentiate by asset class. There is at least one other passive strategy at the firm that is covered by a Morningstar analyst, so the People Pillar rating of the fund is inherited from the rating that the Morningstar analyst assigned to investment vehicles under the same brand name.

People

BlackRock offers compelling options across asset classes and vehicles. It earns an Above Average rating for Parent. 
The firm’s approximately USD 8 trillion in assets under management, as of Sept. 30, 2022, gives it unparalleled scale and influence. It is a market-leading index fund provider globally, and its iShares exchange-traded fund franchise offers a low-cost lineup of core funds that investors can use to build a well-diversified portfolio for dirt cheap. The firm can be more adventurous in its ETF launches than some peers, so not everything it launches is appropriate for the masses. As a result, it is likely to have more ETF closures than peers that stick to the basic building blocks.  
The firm’s active fixed-income and multi-asset efforts also stand out as some of the best in the industry. Those benefit from BlackRock’s commitment to building a first-class risk management system via its Aladdin analytics software. The software is also available for sale to other firms and has proved to be a popular option for competitors, a testament to its usefulness. 
More recently, the firm has shifted its focus to ESG offerings and incorporating ESG across its investment lineup, leading to a political backlash in the United States.
BlackRock isn’t the best at everything it tries to do, but retail investors, financial advisors, and large institutions could all build robust portfolios using BlackRock’s products.

Parent

iShares 0-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

SLQD tracks a market-value-weighted index of investment-grade, USD-denominated corporate bonds with 0-5 years remaining to maturity.

SLQD is a short-term investment-grade corporate bond index ETF. The fund offers investors diversified exposure to high-quality bonds and a low but rapidly growing 3.1% yield. Although there is nothing significantly wrong with the fund, it compares unfavorably to JAAA.

SLQD: Good Short-Term Investment-Grade Bond ETF, But Better Choices Out There (Rating Downgrade)

The iShares 0-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF tracks an index of short-duration investment grade corporate bonds. SLQD has little duration and credit exposure, and thus generates little in terms of returns. SLQD has historically delivered modest returns and has not beaten inflation, making it an unattractive investment option.

SLQD: No Good Reason To Own This ETF

SLQD tracks US corporate bonds with some credit risk and a decent duration of 2 years. SLQD faces risks from higher interest rates and potential downgrades in the corporate sector as the maturity wall comes in a higher for longer likely environment. Alternatively, a deflationary situation is not inconceivable, considering inflation calculation quirks and the omen of China.

SLQD: Higher For Longer

The iShares 0-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF invests based on the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade 0-5 Index. With the two unknowns of a possible recession and/or rising short-term interest rates, SLQD provides better protection against both compared to many bond ETFs.

SLQD: Examining A Short-Term Investment-Grade Corporate ETF

SPDR Bloomberg 3-12 Month T-Bill ETF

SLQD offered a very poor return profile when we last covered it. Things have improved materially and you are now getting paid to buy the fund.

SLQD: Why We Prefer BILS Here

Markets completely expect the debt ceiling issue in the U.S. to be resolved, where Congress should raise the ceiling and allow the Treasury to refinance. However, speculation against the dollar and the credit of the Treasury could rise if things go continuously unresolved.

SLQD Is Best Avoided While The Debt Ceiling Issue Goes On

Interest rates have risen all year. Bond funds have seen declining share prices, but strong dividend growth.

SLQD: Short-Term Investment Grade Bond ETF, Low Yield, Strong Dividend Growth

iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

While the I bond yield is expected to moderate, it still remains extremely attractive as a risk-free investment. The post Consider Treasury Bonds For Fixed Income With This Eye-Watering 9.62% Yield appeared first on Investor's Business Daily.

Consider Treasury Bonds For Fixed Income With This Eye-Watering 9.62% Yield

With rate hikes continuing, and the Fed being clearer, we think that the market should forget about the implicit 'Fed Put'. Duration continues to be toxic to investors. Don't close your eyes at it just because you're getting some yield. This includes the SLQD.

SLQD Should Probably Be Cheaper

We bring you another ETF which is popular for parking cash. Investors, however, tend to focus on the trailing 12 month yield which exaggerates its attractiveness.

SLQD: Blink Twice If You Know Its Real Yield

WisdomTree U.S. High Dividend Fund

WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend Fund

iShares Select Dividend ETF

Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ETF

SPDR S&P Dividend ETF

SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF

A cash balance has many uses in a portfolio. Cash is exposed to inflation risk far more than any other asset class.

Where To Park Cash And Get Yield

Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF

Invesco BulletShares 2027 Corporate Bond ETF

Goldman Sachs Access Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

iShares 5-10 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

FlexShares Credit-Scored US Corporate Bond Index Fund

SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Corporate Bond ETF

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF

Here we discuss some corporate bond ETFs that have hit their 52-week high levels following Fed's latest announcement.

Corporate Bond ETFs Gain on Fed's New Initiatives

iShares 0-5 Years Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF: A Stable Income In Time Of Uncertainty

It is likely that SLQD will be supported by the Federal Reserve for some time, but the reality is they have limited capital to do so without stoking inflationary risks.

SLQD: Taking A Closer Look At The Federal Reserve Backstop

SLQD: A Better Option Compared To Short-Term Treasuries

AT&T

Investment: Where To Park Cash And Get Yield

News for iShares 0-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF ETF (SLQD)