Handpicked Selection of Best Bond ETFs

The Definitive Guide to Bond Index Investing - Best ETFs
This is the ETF selection part of our definitive guide to Bond Index Investing.
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Let’s dive into the Best Bond ETFs.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- We selected the Best UCITS ETFs from reputable Asset Managers, large enough to reduce closure risk, with established track record, liquid, cheap and widely available.
- The Best Global Bond Government ETF is xxx.
- The Best Global Aggregate Bond ETF is xxxx
- The Best European Government Bond ETF is xxx
- The Best European Aggregate Bond ETFs is xxx.
- The Best UK Government Bond ETFs is xxxx.
- The Best Short-Term Government Bond ETF is xxxx
- The Best Short-Term Investment Grade Bond ETFs is xxxx
Here is the full analysis
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How we rank ETFs
Our Selection Criteria
- Reputable – Only Established Asset Managers with a preference for Tier 1 players like BlackRock (iShares), Vanguard and State Street (SPDR). Strong performance from local players, including DWS (Xtrackers), Amundi (and Lyxor) or HSBC, justifies consideration.
- Large – A minimum Fund size $200m (unless justified) to reduce the commercial risk of ETF closure. We combine distributing and accumulating share classes.
- Established – Unless justified, a 3-year ETF Performance track record is required.
- Cheap – Tracking Difference is a comprehensive backwards-looking measure. A positive 3-Year Tracking Difference below, from Institutional Data sources, including Bloomberg, reflects outperformance against Net Tax Index. In practice, this outperformance is lower as the most punitive tax treatment is applied to benchmarks, but it helps in the relative ranking of ETFs. TER is a forward-looking measure, but less comprehensive.
- Available and Liquid – All ETFs should be available from some of the most used brokers like Interactive Brokers or DEGIRO. We also monitor industry flows to give preference to funds with high daily volumes.
Our Prioritisation
The below tables list the Top 3-5 Funds. Our prioritisation is based on Portfolio Management experience and is a balancing act between the above overarching and asset-specific criteria. For example, we may override marginal Tracking Difference outperformance with reputation or liquidity considerations.
For instance, we prefer the iShares MSCI World UCITS ETF to the marginally better-performing competitors due to brand, higher liquidity, and the fund being the reference name in its asset class.
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Today's prices are not coming back!
In 2024, we Will be increasing coaching service prices.
Sometimes individual sessions are very helpful to get past your investing concerns. Our readers asked us to create a coaching service. And we’re proud to say, that some of them even ditched their Financial Advisors, after experiencing the value we provide. Some of the topics we recently discussed include:
- How much money do I need to retire with higher inflation?
- Medium Term or Long Term Bonds with today’s yields?
- Risks and Returns of Money Market Funds
- Asset Allocation for 10-15 year goals with narrowing returns between Equities & Bonds
- Merits of UK Trusts that invest in unlisted companies
- Traps with choosing brokers – PFOF & Risks of moving to another country
- International Situations – Choosing ETFs when leaving Europe
GLOBAL ETFs
Asset Class Criteria
- Aligned with Market Practice – Unhedged Currency.
- Tax efficient – Irish Domiciled ETFs reduce US Companies’ Dividend Tax from 30% to 15%.
- Simple – For Global exposure, Investors choose physical replication.
Global ETF SELECTION
Rank | Global(World) ETF | 3Y TD | TER | Acc. | Dist. | Replication | Size | Inception | Domicile | Benchmark | Acc ISIN | Dist ISIN | Rank Category |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Vanguard FTSE ALL-World UCITS ETF | 0.0% | 0.22% | ✓ | ✓ | Physical | 13.9 | 05/2012 | Ireland | FTSE All World Net Total Return Index | IE00BK5BQT80 | IE00B3RBWM25 | Large & Mid Caps |
2 | iShares MSCI ACWI UCITS ETF | -0.1% | 0.20% | ✓ | ✘ | Physical | 6.3 | 10/2011 | Ireland | MSCI All Country World Net Total Return Index | IE00B6R52259 | ✘ | Large & Mid Caps |
3 | SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI ETF UCITS ETF | 0.1% | 0.17% | ✓ | ✘ | Physical | 0.5 | 05/2011 | Ireland | MSCI ACWI IMI Net Total Return Index | IE00B3YLTY66 | ✘ | With Small Caps |
Best Global ETF
Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF
Best Alternative
iShares MSCI ACWI UCITS ETF
The iShares MSCI ACWI UCITS ETF is leading in TER. BlackRock also has the strongest Brand Name among Institutional Investors and the biggest Asset Manager in the World in terms of Assets Under management. Up until 2021, this ETF was the most expensive in terms of TER and didn’t rank that well in terms of Tracking Difference. As of February 2021, the TER decreased from 0.6% to 0.2%. This change is expected to bring Tracking Difference on par with Vanguard.
State Street provides the option of investing in World’s small caps through the SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI UCITS ETF. In Q1 2023, the TER has been lowered from 0.4% to 0.17%. But, you will rely on a correct sampling. SPDR also has an MSCI ACWI ETF, not tracking small caps, but it is much smaller than rivals and has a worse TD.
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Next Steps
Not sure which Index to choose? This ETF selection results from our deep dives into different asset classes. Start by having a look at the sections of our definitive guide to Equity Index Investing.