The values shown for вЂњmarket value,вЂќ вЂњweight,вЂќ and вЂњnotional valueвЂќ (the вЂњcalculated valuesвЂќ) are based off of a price provided by a third-party pricing vendor for the portfolio holding and do not reflect the impact of systematic fair valuation (вЂњthe vendor priceвЂќ). Review the MSCI methodologies behind Sustainability Characteristics using the links below. For more information regarding a fund's investment strategy, please see the fund's prospectus. Unless otherwise stated in fund documentation and included within a fundвЂ™s investment objective, the metrics do not change a fundвЂ™s investment objective or constrain the fundвЂ™s investable universe, and there is no indication that an ESG or Impact focused investment strategy or exclusionary screens will be adopted by a fund. The metrics are not indicative of how or whether ESG factors will be integrated into a fund. Sustainability Characteristics should not be considered solely or in isolation, but instead are one type of information that investors may wish to consider when assessing a fund. They are provided for transparency and for information purposes only. Sustainability Characteristics do not provide an indication of current or future performance nor do they represent the potential risk and reward profile of a fund. Alongside other metrics and information, these enable investors to evaluate funds on certain environmental, social and governance characteristics. For his older clients who are near retirement or already retired, Harrison splits bond portВfolios between a ladder and a blend of actively managed bond funds and bond index funds that invest in the total bond market, high-yield debt and inflation-protected securities.Sustainability Characteristics provide investors with specific non-traditional metrics.

вЂњMost of my clients need some growth,вЂќ she says.ДЇinally, itвЂ™s a good idea to balance a target-maturity ETF ladder with other fixed-income funds. And it allows her to be more aggressive with the rest of their portfolio. вЂњThey donвЂ™t have to worry about the stock market crashing, because they have this money set aside to cover living expenses,вЂќ says Goan. Interest rates are likely to stay zero-bound for some time, but a shorter time frame allows investors to be вЂњnimbleвЂќ if rates rise, he says.ДЄmy Goan, a certified planner in Issaquah, Wash., builds even shorter ladders of two years for some of her clients. So this year, for example, his clients will hold equal investments in ETFs maturing in 2021, 2022, 20. Harrison, the Overland Park financial planner, prefers to build ladders that go out only four years. Given how low interest rates are these days, a shorter ladder may be better than a longer one.

But over that stretch, the ladder portfolio suffered only about half of the benchmarkвЂ™s volatility. That falls short of the 9.1% gain in the Bloomberg Barclays US Corporate Bond index. We back-tested the ladder and found that this portfolio would have returned 4.8% over the past 12 months.

According to the BulletShares tool, such a portfolio would currently yield 0.70% overall. You can put $20,000 in each of the five funds with target years between 20. Say you want to build a five-year, $100,000 portfolio with Invesco BulletShares investment-grade corporate ETFs.

Ishare bond etfs