iShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Treasury ETF

iShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Treasury ETF (IBTH) holds U.S. Treasury notes that mature in 2027 and tracks the ICE 2027 Maturity US Treasury Index. Most bond funds run indefinitely, but this one has an end date: around December 15, 2027, it plans to close and pay out its remaining assets. Its expense ratio is 0.07%, below the 0.12% average of similar Treasury funds. It pays income monthly.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, IBTH returned +2.9%, 5th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +0.9%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-9.7%); its best was 2025 (+5.3%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 16.1% (Aug 4, 2020 to Oct 20, 2022), not yet recovered.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 51 securities; the ten largest made up 27.23% of assets.

The bonds mature in 0.9 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 3.12%.

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors added a net $135.2M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.20%, +0.14%, +0.31%.

IBTH, from BlackRock, tracks the ICE 2027 Maturity US Treasury Index. To qualify, a bond must be a publicly issued U.S. Treasury note or bond that matures between January 1 and December 15, 2027. It also needs a fixed coupon and at least $1 billion outstanding, not counting amounts the Federal Reserve holds. The index leaves out inflation-linked Treasuries, Treasury bills, STRIPS and issues sold mainly to retail investors. Each bond is weighted by the market value of its amount outstanding. As of July 31, 2026, the fund held 51 Treasury issues. The largest was about 2.9% of assets, and the top ten made up 27%.

The index rebalances on the last calendar day of each month. Interest received during the month sits as cash until then and is then reinvested. The fund uses representative sampling, which means it may hold a sample of index bonds with similar traits rather than every bond. It must keep at least 80% of its assets in index bonds. It may use derivatives for up to 10%, but it held none as of July 31, 2026.

In the fund's last six months, money from maturing bonds goes into the remaining index bonds or into cash equivalents. Those can include money market funds, which charge their own fees. By December 15, 2027, the fund expects to hold almost all cash. It will then close and pay out its net assets. It does not promise any set payout, and its board can extend the end date.

• IBTH charges 0.07% a year, versus an average of 0.12% for the similar funds below (2nd of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $7 in the first year and $— over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It holds short-dated U.S. Treasuries with small price swings and a fixed end date, so it may suit money set aside for spending around late 2027.

IBTH launched in February 2020, after the 2008 crisis and just after the start of the 2020 COVID crash, so it has no record for either. In the 2022 bear market it fell 11% as rising interest rates pushed bond prices down. It took about 30 months, until April 2025, to recover. Its worst calendar year was 2022, when it lost 9.79%. Its deepest drop was 16.1%, from August 2020 to October 2022, and it had still not fully regained that peak as of October 27, 2026. Anyone who had to cash out in late 2022 would have taken a loss.

As of July 31, 2026, its bonds had an average of 0.9 years left to maturity, so its price reacts far less to rate changes than it did in 2022. One-year volatility (how much its price moves around) was 0.7% as of October 27, 2026. It pays income monthly, with a trailing 12-month yield of 3.76%, and costs 0.07% a 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).