BlackRock’s iShares has added a municipal bond ETF to help investors extend a bond ladder strategy in face of a rising interest rate environment.
BlackRock launched the iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Muni Bond ETF (Cboe: IBMN), which has a 0.18% expense ratio.
The iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Muni Bond ETF tries to reflect the performance of the S&P AMT-Free Municipal Series Dec 2025 Index, which is comprised of investment-grade, non-callable U.S. municipal bonds maturing in December 2025.
IBMN joins the other muni iBonds, including:
- iShares iBonds Sep 2017 Term Muni Bond ETF (NYSEArca: IBMF)
- iShares iBonds Sep 2018 Term Muni Bond ETF (NYSEArca: IBMG)
- iShares iBonds Sep 2019 Term Muni Bond ETF (NYSEArca: IBMH)
- iShares iBonds Sep 2020 Term Muni Bond ETF (NYSEArca: IBMI)
- iShares iBonds Dec 2021 Term Muni Bond ETF (NYSEArca: IBMJ)
- iShares iBonds Dec 2022 Term Muni Bond ETF (NYSEArca: IBMK)
- iShares iBonds Dec 2023 Term Muni Bond ETF (BATS: IBML)
- iShares iBonds Dec 2024 Term Muni Bond (BATS: IBMM)
These defined-maturity bond funds typically buy bonds that mature in the year the ETF will terminate, ensuring that investors can collect the bonds’ face value at maturity, along with a steady income stream along the way. Consequently, investors are meant to buy-and-hold these securities until maturity.
Like the new ETF’s name suggests, IBMN will provide exposure to investment-grade municipal bonds that mature in 2025 to help investors gain exposure to tax-exempt income, expand on a bond ladder and manage interest rate risk.