A sound investment process and strong management team underpin BlackRock Flexible Income ETF's Morningstar Medalist Rating of Silver. The portfolio maintains a sizable cost advantage over competitors, priced within the cheapest fee quintile among peers.  

 The strategy's investment process inspires confidence and earns an Above Average Process Pillar rating. Independent of the rating, analysis of the strategy's portfolio shows it has maintained an overweight in corporate bonds and an underweight in junk bonds compared with category peers. The strategy’s management team earns an Above Average People Pillar rating. The strategy's parent organization earns the firm an Above Average Parent Pillar rating. People Pillar and Parent Pillar ratings for this strategy are indirectly assigned by a Morningstar analyst rather than algorithmically derived. Please see the notes following each pillar section for more details. The details of assigning methods can be found in each pillar section.

Analyst Rating

iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

Morningstar's style-agnostic evaluation of this fund's process seeks to understand whether the strategy has a performance objective and sensible, repeatable execution. Blackrock Flexible Income ETF earns an Above Average Process Pillar rating.    The most significant contributor to the rating is the parent firm's five-year risk-adjusted success ratio of 58%. The measure indicates the percentage of a firm's funds that survived and beat their respective category's median Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return for the period. The depth of the portfolio management team also bolsters the rating. With five portfolio managers, the fund is well-staffed. Lastly, the process is limited by the experience of the management team, which averages six years at this fund.

 Compared with other funds in the Multisector Bond Morningstar Category, this fund, historically, hews closely to peers' credit and interest-rate sensitivity over the past few years. Opening the analysis to additional factors, the portfolio has displayed biases over time, whether towards or away from certain fixed-income instruments. Relative to the category average, the managers have been an overweight corporate debt in recent years. In the latest month, the strategy has relatively overweighted corporate debt compared with its peers as well. Additionally, there's been a notable bias away from junk bonds over the past few years. Similarly, in recent months, the strategy also had less exposure to below B bonds than peers. Finally, during the past few years, the fund leaned meaningfully towards debt with 10- to 15-year maturities. In this month, the strategy also leaned more towards debt with 10- to 15-year maturities compared with its peers.

  The portfolio's average surveyed credit quality is on par with peers, with both the fund and the average being rated BB.

Above Average

Process

Blackrock Flexible Income ETF earns an Above Average People Pillar rating. Rick Rieder’s veteran status, with 15 years of listed portfolio management experience, brings a wealth of experience to the table. The average Morningstar Rating of the strategies they currently manage is 3.0 stars, indicating that their risk-adjusted returns have been in line with the category average. Rick Rieder draws on a supporting cast of four additional listed managers. Together they average six years of listed portfolio management experience.  None of the portfolio managers here invest in this fund. This hurts the rating because manager investment would align their interests with the strategy's investors. 

 Note: The People Pillar rating is indirectly assigned by an analyst. The longest-tenured manager of the fund also manages a different product rated by an analyst. Their analyst-assigned People Pillar rating is combined here with the People scores (algorithmic or analyst-assigned) for the fund’s other managers on a tenure-weighted basis.

People

BlackRock offers compelling options across asset classes and vehicles. It earns an Above Average rating for Parent. 
The firm’s approximately USD 8 trillion in assets under management, as of Sept. 30, 2022, gives it unparalleled scale and influence. It is a market-leading index fund provider globally, and its iShares exchange-traded fund franchise offers a low-cost lineup of core funds that investors can use to build a well-diversified portfolio for dirt cheap. The firm can be more adventurous in its ETF launches than some peers, so not everything it launches is appropriate for the masses. As a result, it is likely to have more ETF closures than peers that stick to the basic building blocks.  
The firm’s active fixed-income and multi-asset efforts also stand out as some of the best in the industry. Those benefit from BlackRock’s commitment to building a first-class risk management system via its Aladdin analytics software. The software is also available for sale to other firms and has proved to be a popular option for competitors, a testament to its usefulness. 
More recently, the firm has shifted its focus to ESG offerings and incorporating ESG across its investment lineup, leading to a political backlash in the United States.
BlackRock isn’t the best at everything it tries to do, but retail investors, financial advisors, and large institutions could all build robust portfolios using BlackRock’s products.

Parent

Blackrock Flexible Income ETF

BINC provides an actively managed approach to multisector fixed-income exposure globally. It may hold debt and income-producing securities, of any credit quality or maturity, with the objective of maximizing long-term income and capital appreciation.

The U.S. bond market has been navigating a rough past few years, and there is potential for a pickup in volatility on Wednesday as investors await a fresh reading on inflation.

How one popular bond ETF is navigating sticky inflation fears to outperform

iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

VanEck Fallen Angel High Yield Bond ETF

iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF

SPDR Portfolio High Yield Bond ETF

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF

The Federal Reserve just wrapped up another policy meeting, and markets continue to push back their expectations of a first rate cut. As of Wednesday, the federal funds futures market is pricing in 60% odds of a first cut in September.

Bond ETF Breakdown: High Yield Back in Vogue?

The market is pricing out Fed rate cuts as data has been stronger than expected, leading to a violent re-pricing in rates. Bond funds, especially active ones like BINC, are attractive in the current environment due to the significant move in rates. BINC has delivered a high total return in the past year with a low-risk profile, outperforming other bond funds and providing market alpha through its active management.

BINC: Attractive Fixed Income ETF From BlackRock (Rating Upgrade)

iShares MSCI USA ESG Optimized ETF

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iShares Core Total USD Bond Market ETF

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF

iShares National Muni Bond ETF

Invesco National AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF

iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

iShares Treasury Floating Rate Bond ETF

U.S. Weekly FundFlows Insight Report: Equity ETFs Attract Largest Weekly Net Inflows Since Dec. 20, 2023 For Fund Flows Week

Blackrock US Equity Factor Rotation ETF

JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF

JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF

Engine No 1 Transform Supply Chain ETF

Motley Fool Small-Cap Growth ETF

T.Rowe Price Small-Mid Cap ETF

Actively managed ETFs continue to gain traction. After a strong 2023, active ETFs gathered 34% of the net inflows in the first two months of 2024.

Another Strong Start For Active ETFs

BINC is a relatively new bond ETF from BlackRock. It offers investors diversified bond exposure, an average 5.3% yield, and has outperformed since inception. The fund's active investment strategy and focus on diversified exposure to bond sub-asset classes contribute to its outperformance.

BINC: Actively-Managed Bond ETF, Average 5.3% Yield, Above-Average Returns

BlackRock Flexible Income ETF is a newly launched active bond ETF managed by star manager Rick Rieder. BINC aims to provide exposure to hard-to-access fixed income sectors and has outperformed peers by betting on sectors like CLOs. Although BINC has outperformed in its short history, given its reliance on a star manager, I am hesitant to recommend the fund without more performance data to analyze.

BINC: Newly Launched Active Bond ETF

BlackRock Total Return ETF

BlackRock has listed the BlackRock Total Return ETF (BRTR) on the Nasdaq. The actively managed ETF seeks alpha opportunities across the fixed income universe.

BlackRock Launches Active Total Return ETF BRTR

JPMorgan Hedged Equity Laddered Overlay ETF

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

With more than 3,000 ETFs to cover and many new ones launching each month, it is easy to forget. For many people, S&P 500 Index-based ETFs remain the core of their portfolio.

What ETFs Were Popular in November?

BlackRock Advantage Large Cap Income ETF

iShares LifePath Target Date 2045 ETF

iShares Large Cap Deep Buffer ETF

iShares Large Cap Moderate Buffer ETF

iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF

The health of the $7 trillion U.S. ETF remains strong, with many advisors and investors pairing ETFs with other investments and new entrants joining the market. BlackRock remains the industry leader and has expanded its lineup with innovative strategies in 2023.

BlackRock's Lineup Expansion and What's Ahead

The chief investment officer of fixed income sees a strategic advantage in his actively managed fixed income ETFs.

Why BlackRock's Rick Rieder says investors 'underestimate' active fixed income ETFs

BlackRock Flexible Income ETF (BINC) is an actively managed bond fund seeking opportunities in all countries and all sectors. About 59% of assets are invested in the US, 69% has an investment grade rating, and 59% has less than 5 years to maturity. BINC has outperformed PYLD and JPIE since July, but these funds are too new to assess them based on available data.

BINC: Fast Facts After 5 Months In The Market

Hi! For this week's ETF Wrap I caught up with Rick Rieder, BlackRock's chief investment officer of global fixed income, on how he's approaching debt markets with his actively managed ETF in a bruising August for many bond funds.

How BlackRock's Rick Rieder is steering his active fixed-income ETF as bond funds struggle

Actively-managed credit ETFs are being launched at a fast pace, with BlackRock's BINC being a decent option for investors. BINC is designed to allocate to "harder-to-reach" fixed income sectors, but there are already many funds in these sectors. BINC primarily allocates to higher-quality sub investment-grade bonds, which should hold up better when valuations reverse.

BINC: New Credit ETF From BlackRock's Rieder

Capital Group Core Plus Income ETF

The VettaFi Fixed Income Symposium continued apace on Monday, turning to the subject of growing active ETF interest. Active ETFs have had a strong year so far in 2023, and not just in equities, with active ETFs playing a potent role in debt portfolios.

Active or Indexed Fixed Income — or Both?

PIMCO Active Bond ETF

Capital Group Short Duration Income ETF

Fidelity Total Bond ETF

BlackRock Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF

American Century Multisector Income ETF

In the three-year period ended 2022, 48% of actively managed investment-grade intermediate fixed income mutual funds outperformed the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index, per the SPIVA Scorecard. This contrasts with just 26% of active U.S. large-cap equity mutual funds outperforming the S&P 500 Index.

What's Inside Active Bond ETFs

BlackRock Flexible Income ETF is a new active exchange traded fund that invests in a variety of fixed income securities. The fund has current income as an objective, and a multi-sector portfolio composition approach. BINC has a low duration of 2.6 years and an overweight investment grade portfolio.

BINC: New Multi-Asset Fund From BlackRock

Simplify Stable Income ETF

Panagram Bbb-B Clo Etf

VettaFi's Fixed Income Symposium, happening on July 24th, is fast approaching. The symposium will bring together industry thought leaders.

Fixed Income Symposium Brings Thought Leaders Together

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF

Doubleline Opportunistic Bond ETF

JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF

Harbor Scientific Alpha High-Yield ETF

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

Net inflows to U.S. listed ETFs of just over $200 billion in the first half of 2023 is modest compared to the pace achieved in recent years. However, once again fixed income ETFs are punching above their weight in the U.S. and globally.

Strong First Half for Fixed Income but What's Next?

Blackrock Large Cap Value Etf

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BlackRock has listed the iShares iBonds Dec 2033 Term Corporate ETF (NYSE Arca: IBDY) on the New York Stock Exchange. The new iShares ETF provides access to a portfolio of investment-grade corporate bonds.

BlackRock's IBDY Targets Investment-Grade Corporate Bonds Maturing in 2033

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Active ETFs represent just a 6% share of the ETF markets, but advisors are gravitating toward them. The products have emerged as one of the fastest-growing categories within the ETF industry.

BlackRock's Greater Focus on Active ETFs

There's an “epic” amount of cash on the sidelines as investors assess a slowing U.S. economy and the debt-ceiling debate in Washington, according to Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock.

BlackRock's Rick Rieder sees ‘epic' cash on sidelines as he takes lead role on new ETF

BlackRock has listed two actively managed ETFs on the New York Stock Exchange. The BlackRock Large Cap Value ETF (NYSE Arca: BLCV) invests in large-cap U.S. equities that exhibit value characteristics.

BlackRock Adds to ETF Suite With Large-Cap Value & Flexible Income Funds

BlackRock

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, BlackRock expanded access to its award-winning investment platform with the launch of two active ETFs managed by Rick Rieder and Tony DeSpirito. This milestone provides clients with the best of BlackRock's investment insights in a liquid, transparent, and tax-efficient ETF wrapper. Alpha-seeking expertise, accessible through ETFs Alpha is at the heart of BlackRock, starting as an active bond manager in 1988. Since the firm's founding, clients have continued to.

News for Blackrock Flexible Income ETF ETF (BINC)