Barclays Global Launches Two Bond ETFs

Barclay's Global Investors announced November 7 the availability on NYSE Arca of two new fixed-income ETFs designed to provide investors with low-cost access to the municipal and agency markets.

The iShares S&P Short Term National Municipal Bond Fund (SUB) tracks the 1,725-issue S&P National 0-5 Year Municipal Bond Index, which is market value weighted and measures the performance of the short-term investment-grade segment of the U.S. municipal bond market. The expense ratio of the muni ETF is 0.25%. Each bond must have a rating of at least BBB- by S&P, Baa3 by Moody's, or BBB- by Fitch.

The iShares Barclays Agency Bond Fund (AGZ) is designed to track the Barclays Capital U.S. Agency Index, which measures the performance of the agency sector of the U.S. government bond market. The ETF is composed of investment-grade U.S. dollar-denominated debentures issued by government and government-related agencies, including Fannie Mae, includes both callable and non-callable agency securities that are publicly-issued by U.S. government agencies, quasi-federal corporations, and corporate and foreign debt guaranteed by the U.S. government. Its expense ratio is 0.20%. Each bond within the index must have a rating of at least BBB- by S&P's, Baa3 by Moody's, or BBB- by Fitch.