Barclays Expands iShares Fixed-Income ETF Offering

Barclays Global Investors (BGI) announced Thursday that eight new iShares fixed income exchange-traded funds (ETFs) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

This brings the number of fixed income iShares products to a total of 14 funds that cover the treasury and credit markets.

“The iShares fixed income funds also provide investors with greater trading flexibility than traditional bond mutual funds to implement their market views,’ said Lee Kranefuss, CEO of BGI’s Intermediary and ETF Business, in a press release. “Investors can place limit and stop-loss orders on ETFs that allow investors to better time entry and exit into the market.’

The eight funds and their ticker symbols are listed as follows:

  • iShares Lehman Short Treasury Bond Fund (SHV)
  • iShares Lehman 3-7 Year Treasury Bond Fund (IEI)
  • iShares Lehman 10-20 Year Treasury Bond Fund (TLH)
  • iShares Lehman 1-3 Year Credit Bond Fund (CSJ)
  • iShares Lehman Intermediate Credit Bond Fund (CIU)
  • iShares Lehman Credit Bond Fund (CFT)
  • iShares Lehman Intermediate Government/Credit Bond Fund (GVI)
  • iShares Lehman Government/Credit Bond Fund (GBF)

The iShares Funds are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on securities exchanges, and are attractive to many individual and institutional investors and financial intermediaries because of their relative low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility, the release stated.

Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial adviser, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account.

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