Target Maturity Bond ETF for a bond ladder.

[GravitySucks]

Is anyone holding iShare Target Maturity ETFs for their bond ladder?
They pay better than CDs (of course they aren't FDIC insured), and I would hold them to maturity so the interest rate risk is not as evident, while the diversified nature of a fund keeps default risk low. Some interest rate risk is still there, but it doesn't seem the same to me as in a fund like AGG. Is that just a trick I'm playing on myself?
I am going to add IDBD and IBDH to cover minimal expenses for 2018, and half of 2019. Anyone know of a downside to these funds that I might not be considering?

 

[rbmrtn]

The bulletshares version from guggenheim has been discussed a few times.

BulletShares - Exchange Traded Funds | Guggenheim Investments - Investment Management for Financial Professionals

 

[GravitySucks]

Thanks.
Searching on Bullet brought up much more.

 

[pb4uski]

I own both iBond and Bulletshares as a CD substitute. One advantage is that I can hold them in my Vanguard IRA whereas if I used bank CDs I would need to have numerous IRA accounts to stay under the FDIC limits.

The only cautions I would make is that it can be a bit tricky to buy them in a way that minimizes the premium paid so be patient and use limit orders and the structure results in a poor yield in the maturity year but I'll probably just sell them a year befote they mature.

 

[AnIntentionalRoad]

Yes, pretty illiquid so use limits!

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