At The Money: How Fixed-Income Investors can use ETFs to their Best Advantage.

Fixed-income ETFs have fundamentally transformed bond market accessibility by providing intraday liquidity, price transparency, and a diverse range of investment options that were previously difficult to obtain through traditional dealer-driven channels. Steve Laipply, Global Head of iShares Fixed Income ETFs at BlackRock, highlights that unlike mutual funds, which price only once daily, these ETFs allow investors to trade at known prices, offering a critical advantage during periods of market volatility. Since the 2019 ETF rule and the 2020 pandemic, the sector has expanded to over 1,000 products, including active strategies and inflation-hedged instruments like TIPS. Investors are increasingly utilizing these tools to capture income opportunities while maintaining a high-quality, intermediate-duration tilt. Diversification across the yield curve remains essential for navigating current uncertainty surrounding Federal Reserve policy and shifting interest rate expectations.