iShares GNMA Bond ETF

iShares GNMA Bond ETF (GNMA) is an index fund that holds mortgage-backed bonds from Ginnie Mae, a US government agency whose guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the US government. Its 12-month trailing yield was 4.44% as of October 27, 2026, and it pays monthly. Its 0.10% expense ratio is below the 0.29% peer average but above the 0.03%–0.04% charged by the larger VMBS, MBB and SPMB.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, GNMA returned -0.7%, 4th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +0.3% and its 10-year +1.0%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash, while stocks fell, it gained 0.5%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-10.8%); its best was 2025 (+8.3%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 17% (Apr 8, 2020 to Oct 20, 2022), recovered by Oct 20, 2025.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 347 securities; the ten largest made up 19.7% of assets, and 9.74% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

The bonds mature in 26 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 3.96%.

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors added a net $17.6M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.20%, +0.30%, -1.44%.

GNMA tracks the Bloomberg U.S. GNMA Bond Index of mortgage-backed pass-through securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). Pass-throughs bundle home loans and pass borrowers' monthly payments on to investors. Ginnie Mae guarantees timely payment, backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The index holds fixed-rate pools with 30- or 15-year maturities and at least $1 billion outstanding. Bloomberg weights them by market value and updates the list at each month-end.

BlackRock does not try to beat the index. It uses representative sampling: owning a mix of bonds whose duration (price sensitivity to rate changes) and yield match the index, not every pool. At least 80% of assets go into index securities and to-be-announced (TBA) trades, and all mortgage holdings must be Ginnie Mae issues. Up to 10% may go into futures, options, swaps or other bonds.

TBAs are standard contracts to buy mortgage pools later, with the exact pools named only a few days before settlement. The fund may trade them regularly, and yearly portfolio turnover was 269%. Until settlement, it holds short-term instruments such as BlackRock money market funds, whose fees holders also bear. Shares are generally created and redeemed for cash, which can force bond sales that realize capital gains.

• GNMA charges 0.1% a year, versus an average of 0.29% for the similar funds below (4th of 8, cheapest first).
• The fee includes a 0.01% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $10 in the first year and $138 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

GNMA pays monthly income from government-guaranteed mortgage bonds, but rate swings mean its price is not reliably stable.

GNMA could add monthly income with little credit risk, because Ginnie Mae's guarantee is backed by the US government. Its trailing 12-month yield was 4.44% as of October 27, 2026, and it costs 0.10% a year. Interest rates are the main risk. In the 2022 bear market the fund fell 13.6% and took about 35 months, until August 2025, to recover. 2022 was its worst calendar year, at -10.89%. Its deepest drop, 17% from April 2020 to October 2022, took 36 months to win back. Anyone forced to sell shares in late 2022 would have sold near the low. The 2020 COVID dip was only 2.5% and was recovered within days. The fund launched in 2012, so it has no record from 2008. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should weigh the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by bond funds with the closest average maturity and issuer mix (N-PORT).