Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, the iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Credit Bond Fund
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at the iShares ETF and see what CAPS investors are saying about it right now.
CSJ facts
| Inception | January 2007 |
| Total Net Assets | $9.6 billion |
| Investment Approach | Seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance of the Barclays U.S. 1-3 Year Credit Bond Index. The underlying index measures the performance of investment grade corporate debt and sovereign, supranational, local authority and non-U.S. agency bonds that have a remaining maturity of greater than or equal to one year and less than three years. |
| Expense Ratio | 0.2% |
| 1-Year / 3-Year / 5-Year Annualized Return | 2.5% / 2.5% / 4% |
| Dividend Yield | 1.7% |
| Alternatives |
Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index ETF Vanguard Short-term Bond ETF |
Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 69% of the 93 members who have rated the iShares ETF believe it will underperform the S&P 500 going forward.
Just last month, one of those Fools, All-Star TerryHogan, succinctly summed up the bear case for our community: "The yields on their holdings are already too low to give any substantial gains, with the exception of the Italian bonds they hold, which could also get even worse. Bond funds will not outperform from these yield levels in anything but a strong bear market."
If you want market-thumping returns, you need to protect your portfolio from any undue risk. Luckily, our special report on ETFs highlights three funds that are poised to soar in the next recovery. It's 100% free, but it won't last forever, so click here to access it now.
Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.
