Acorns Advisers Loads Up On ISTB With 794K Shares
Key Points
Acorns Advisers added 793,589 shares in ISTB, raising exposure by $40.69 million.
The transaction represents a 0.3% change in 13F reportable AUM.
Post-trade, the fund holds 10.99 million ISTB shares, valued at $536.88 million.
ISTB is now 4.2% of fund AUM, ranking as the 5th-largest holding.
On Nov. 13, 2025, Acorns Advisers, LLC disclosed a purchase of 793,589 shares of iShares Trust - iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF (NASDAQ:ISTB), an estimated $40.70 million increase in position value.
What happened
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated Nov. 13, 2025, Acorns Advisers, LLC reported buying 793,589 additional shares of the ISTB ETF. The stake’s value increased to $536.88 million, comprising 4.2% of the fund’s $12.71 billion in reportable assets.
What else to know
- This purchase makes ISTB the fund's 5th-largest holding.
- Top holdings after this filing:
- NYSEMKT:VOO: $5.51 billion (43% of AUM)
- NASDAQ:IXUS: $2.93 billion (23% of AUM)
- ARCX:AGG: $1.26 billion (9.9% of AUM)
- NYSEMKT:IJH: $855.90 million (6.7% of AUM)
- NASDAQ:ISTB: $536.88 million (4.2% of AUM)
- As of Dec. 31, 2025, ISTB shares were priced at $48.76, up 6% over the past year, trailing the S&P 500 by 12.6 percentage points.
- Dividend yield stands at 4.1%. Shares are 0.5% below their 52-week high.
Company overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Fund AUM 9 (as of last quarterly filing) | $12,713,074 |
| ETF Price (as of market close Dec. 31, 2025) | $48.76 |
| Dividend yield | 4.1% |
| One-year total return | 6% |
Company snapshot
- The fund's investment strategy focuses on tracking a broad index of U.S. dollar-denominated, investment-grade bonds with maturities ranging from one to five years, aiming to provide diversified short-term fixed income exposure.
- The portfolio primarily consists of high-quality government, corporate, and securitized bonds, with at least 90% of assets invested in fixed income securities included in the benchmark index.
- The fund utilizes a passively managed ETF structure designed for cost-efficient access to the short-term bond market segment.
iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF (ISTB) is a large, passively managed fund that offers targeted exposure to short-term, investment-grade U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. Its strategy emphasizes liquidity and risk mitigation by focusing on securities with maturities between one and five years. The ETF's scale and diversified holdings make it a core fixed income allocation for investors seeking income and capital preservation with moderate interest rate risk.
Foolish take
ISTB is on a strong run to close 2025, growing in price for seven consecutive months this year. Acorns Advisers continues to invest heavily in iShares ETF, where all of the different ETFs by the brand comprise 53.6% of the fund's holdings, making it the largest brand of ETFs in the portfolio.
Acorns' holding of ITSB decreased by 0.01% compared to the fund's total holdings in Q3 2025, and in the previous quarter, the fund sold 723,895 shares of the ETF. However, those do not indicate a significant shift in the fund's investment strategy.
The fund remains bullish on the bond market, S&P, and the international market. It increased holdings of AGG in Q3 2025, the ETF that tracks the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.
The fund has also maintained a strong position in VOO and IJH, both of which are heavily tied to the S&P 500. Internationally, IXUS remains the second-largest ETF holding, as it tracks the performance of small to large-cap stocks outside the U.S. While Acorn Advisers' change in ISTB may not have significantly shifted its overall strategy, the ETF remains one to watch.
Glossary
ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund): An investment fund traded on stock exchanges, holding a basket of assets like stocks or bonds.
AUM (Assets Under Management): The total market value of investments managed by a fund or investment firm.
13F reportable AUM: The portion of a fund’s assets required to be disclosed in quarterly SEC filings by institutional managers.
Dividend yield: Annual dividends paid by a fund or stock, expressed as a percentage of its current price.
Investment-grade bonds: Bonds rated as relatively low risk of default by credit rating agencies.
Fixed income: Investments that pay regular interest, such as bonds, which typically provide steady income.
Passively managed: An investment strategy aiming to replicate the performance of a specific index, rather than actively selecting securities.
Benchmark index: A standard index used to measure the performance of a fund or investment manager.
Capital preservation: An investment goal focused on protecting the original amount invested from loss.
Interest rate risk: The risk that changes in interest rates will affect the value of fixed income investments.
Securitized bonds: Bonds backed by pools of financial assets, such as mortgages or loans, rather than by a single issuer.
Liquidity: How easily an asset can be bought or sold in the market without affecting its price.
Adé Hennis has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.