BlackRock Expands Its Bond-Ladder ETFs

BlackRock is set to ring in the new year with some new rungs for bond ladders.

Late last week, the firm filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for at least 10 additional iBonds ETFs in its iShares line. The products would add new target maturities in existing categories, including munis, corporates, Treasurys and high yield. The product extensions follow other bond-ladder ETFs added this year by State Street and Vanguard. It all hints that, in a declining-interest-rate environment, advisors may be keen on locking in the highest possible rates they can for clients, particularly those at or near retirement.

“It’s definitely not a high-margin product for asset managers. But if they can do it at scale, when rates are in a good place for building ladders, it really helps cultivate client relationships,” said Cindy Zarker, client relationship manager at Fuse Research. That’s particularly the case, “when there’s a lot of money on the sidelines,” she said.

The Outcome Is Income

Bond ladders were all but dead a few years ago, when interest rates were extremely low, Zarker noted. Their increasing appeal in the exchange-traded fund format is happening not only as rates are still relatively high by recent standards, but more importantly as more people than ever are nearing retirement age. That’s the “peak 65” phenomenon the retirement services industry has trumpeted, with an estimated 11,000 or more people turning 65 every day in 2025. 

In October, State Street prepped some new high-yield bond ETFs as part of its MyIncome bond ladder suite that debuted last year. Then in November, the elephant in the room, Vanguard, filed for a roster of 10 corporate bond ETFs with maturities ranging from 2027 to 2036 and fees of 8 basis points. The firms are competing with the likes of Invesco and BlackRock, whose respective $28 billion BulletShares and $51.6 billion iBonds series are the biggest on the market, according to data from Morningstar Direct. BlackRock did not comment on the new iBonds ETF filings.

The forthcoming iBonds products include:

• Four term muni ETFs set to mature in December 2032 to 2035.
• One term corporate bond ETF maturing in December 2036.
• Three term Treasury ETFs maturing December 2036 to 2056.
• A high-yield and income ETF maturing in 2033, as well as a TIPS ETF maturing in October 2036.

Making a List, Checking It Twice: More asset managers want to build out target-maturity fixed income products, per data from Cerulli. That firm found 42% of asset managers interested in “customized fixed-income solutions” for clients in 2025, up from 35% who said the same in 2023. Bond-laddered ETFs are more accessible than using separately managed accounts, Fuse’s Zarker said. “It gives the advisor some flexibility in going downmarket,” she said. “For the mass market, the ETF works well.”