Vanguard expects to launch the first U.S.-based index ETF covering the entire global investment-grade bond universe in the third quarter.
The Vanguard Total World Bond ETF will be structured as an ETF of ETFs, investing in two other Vanguard bond funds: the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) and the Vanguard Total International Bond ETF (BNDX), according to a preliminary registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Vanguard used a similar approach in its Total Corporate Bond ETF (VTC), which invests in the company's short-, intermediate- and long-term corporate bond ETFs. Unlike VTC, the new world bond ETF will invest in government bonds from the U.S. and other countries in addition to corporate securities.
The new ETF "will be simple, convenient, and highly diversified with an expense ratio in line with our current low-cost fixed income ETFs," say Vanguard Chief Investment Officer Greg Davis in a statement.