As loads of money pile into bond exchange traded funds (ETFs), the competition is tougher than ever before. Providers are rolling out new and better products to lure the lion’s share of the assets.
Investors now have more choices then ever before when it comes to bond investing. With the growing availability of bond ETFs and the need for providers to bring their A game with such funds has resulted in a better product for investors. [Bond ETFs That Yield More Than Treasuries.]
Since the financial crisis soured investors on the equities market, assets in bond ETFs have surged to more than $130 billion from as little as $20.5 billion at the end of 2006, according to Morningstar. Ian Salisbury for The Wall Street Journal reports that in 2006, just one ETF firm, iShares, offered investors bond ETFs of any variety. Today about a dozen providers offer fixed-income options. [Vanguard ETFs Are Tops With Advisors.]
iShares still offers the most comprehensive roster of fixed-income ETFs and a greater number of funds with attractive trading volumes. However, long established providers such as Vanguard, State Street, Market Vectors, PIMCO, and PowerShares are offering up bond ETFs in many varieties, while ProShares and Direxion offer inverse and leveraged plays. In turn, investors get the reward of the best product at the best price.
To see all of the available bond ETF options, visit the ETF Analyzer. Once you’re there, you can also sort by yield, performance and more.
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.