iShares iBonds Dec 2026 Term Corporate ETF

iShares iBonds Dec 2026 Term Corporate ETF (IBDR) holds investment-grade US dollar corporate bonds that mature in 2026. Unlike most bond funds, it has an end date. It plans to close and pay out its remaining assets around December 15, 2026. It costs 0.10% a year and pays income monthly, with a trailing yield of 4% as of October 27, 2026. That yield is expected to drift toward money market rates as its bonds mature.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, IBDR returned +3.9%, 1st of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +1.9% and its 10-year +3.0%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 16.1% and regained its old high 2.4 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-8.3%); its best was 2019 (+14.8%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 16.1% (Mar 4, 2020 to Mar 20, 2020), recovered by Jun 2, 2020.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 229 securities; the ten largest made up 11.63% of assets, and 23.91% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

The bonds mature in 0.2 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 3.36%.

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $240.9M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.34%, +0.31%, +0.34%.

IBDR tracks the Bloomberg December 2026 Maturity Corporate Index. That index starts with the Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Index and keeps only bonds due between January 1 and December 15, 2026. Each bond must be fixed-rate, in US dollars, at least $300 million in size, and rated investment-grade. Investment-grade means rated Baa3/BBB- or higher, a sign the rating agencies see a relatively low risk of default. Bonds are weighted by market value, and each issuer is usually capped at 3%. BlackRock's adviser uses representative sampling. It buys a selection of bonds that together match the index's profile, so it doesn't have to own every bond.

The index rebalanced monthly until its final rebalance on June 30, 2026. Since then, the list has been frozen, except that any bond cut below investment-grade is removed. As bonds mature, the cash is held rather than reinvested in new bonds. By July 31, 2026, cash made up 23.91% of assets, and the average time to maturity was 0.2 years.

Around December 15, 2026, the fund will liquidate and send its remaining net assets to shareholders. It does not promise to return any set amount. Its monthly payouts change as bonds mature, which makes it different from owning a single bond with a fixed coupon.

• IBDR charges 0.1% a year, versus an average of 0.13% for the similar funds below (6th of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $8 in the first year and $— over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

As of July 31, 2026, its bonds had an average of 0.2 years left to maturity, and the fund plans to close around December 15, 2026, so it now behaves more like a cash holding than a long-term bond fund.

Earlier, when its bonds had years left to run, IBDR fell 16.1% in March 2020 and recovered by June 2, 2020. In the 2022 rate shock it dropped 10.4% and took about 22 months to recover. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -8.31%. It launched in 2016, so it has no 2008 record. Now that its maturities are measured in weeks, price swings have shrunk: its deepest drop over the year to October 27, 2026, was 0.1%.

It pays income monthly, with a 4% trailing yield, but that yield may slide toward money market rates. The cash returned in December will need reinvesting, possibly at lower rates. Costs are 0.10% a year, or about $8 on $10,000 in the first year. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

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