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BFOR vs ISTB

Barron's 400 ETF vs iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF

BFOR

Barron's 400 ETF

ALPS

Annual cost

0.65%

Fund size

$211M

ISTB

iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF

iShares

Annual cost

0.06%

Fund size

$4.7B

Key differences

  • ISTB costs 0.59% less per year.
  • ISTB is significantly larger than BFOR — larger funds tend to be more liquid and less likely to close.
  • BFOR is classified as equity, while ISTB is fixed income — different risk/return profiles.
  • Over the last 3 years, BFOR has delivered higher annualized returns.

Side-by-side comparison

BFORISTB
Annual cost (TER)0.65%0.06%
Fund size (AUM)$211M$4.7B
Since20132012
Dividend yield0.55%4.20%
Asset classequityfixed income
Regionnorth americanorth america
Strategyindex trackingindex tracking
CAGR 1Y+22.3%+4.4%
CAGR 3Y+20.1%+4.7%
CAGR 5Y+10.0%+1.8%
Sharpe 3Y0.940.47
Volatility 1Y14.92%1.77%
Max drawdown-41.27%-9.34%

Green dot indicates the better value for that metric. Performance data is historical and does not predict future results.

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