Not all exchange-traded products, or ETPs, are created equal. But oftentimes, investors unwittingly treat them as though they are. There are important differences in how different types of ETPs are structured as well as the exposures that they provide. Investors need to be aware of these differences. A recent proposal put before the SEC calls for clearer and more consistent labels for various categories of ETPs. I believe that better labeling is long overdue and would help investors to more confidently navigate the menu of more than 2,250 ETPs.Today: ETFs + ETNs = ETPsAt present, ETPs generally fall into one of two buckets. The first contains exchange-traded funds. ETFs represent the majority of ETPs by count and the lion's share of assets. Thus, its unsurprising that "ETF" has often been used as a catchall term in … Full Story

Following a mid-2018 makeover that left it with a much lower fee and a new benchmark, there is more to like about iShares Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF than ever before. The fund’s recent refresh has led us to revisit our take and upgrade its Morningstar Analyst Rating to Silver from Bronze.Since Aug. 1, 2018, the fund has tracked the ICE BofAML 5-10 Year U.S. Corporate Index. The index is a gauge of the performance of U.S.-dollar-denominated investment-grade corporate bonds that have maturities ranging from five to 10 years. Qualifying bonds are weighted by market value, which tilts the portfolio toward the largest issues in the market, which tend to be easy to obtain and cheap to trade. The fund’s new bogy is cleaner (it excludes supranationals, municipal bonds, and sovereign debt, which were included in its predecessor) a… Full Story