BlackRock Bond ETF Plunge Shows How Fast Traders Can Be Spooked
- Firm’s iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF drops most on record
- The drop was pared after BlackRock completed cash redemptions
A logo sits on display at the entrance to the Blackrock Inc. offices in London, U.K.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A BlackRock Inc. exchange-traded fund that invests in short-term bonds suffered an unprecedented plunge on rumors the firm was restricting cash redemptions.
The $6.2 billion iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF, one of the biggest exchange-traded funds that primarily holds debt maturing in less than three years, fell as much as 8.9% on Thursday -- 34 times its biggest intraday drop in 2019. It pared the decline late in the day as BlackRock paid out cash redemptions, closing down 6.2%.