Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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BIL vs PULS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BIL's duration was 0.2 years on Jun 30, 2026 and PULS's 0.7 on May 29, 2026; BIL charges 0.14% to PULS's 0.15%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $48.7bn for SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF and $19.8bn for PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF.

At a glance
+3.7%
BIL total return, 1 year
+4.0%
PULS total return, 1 year
0.14%
BIL expense ratio
0.15%
PULS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BIL costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.3 points; BIL is 2.5 times larger.

BIL vs PULS: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureBILPULS
Return
Total return, 1 year+3.7%+4.0%
Benchmark
What it tracksBloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill IndexNo index, actively managed
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.14%0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$48.7bn$19.8bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonreport dates differ

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 29, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Apr 20, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026 · 444 weekly returns
BIL PULS
Return
Total return edge PULS +24.4% +32.2%
Annualized edge PULS +2.6% +3.3%
Price return edge BIL +0.1% −0.9%
Risk
Volatility edge BIL 0.3% 1.9%
Max drawdown edge BIL −0.2% −5.9%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge PULS −0.75 0.27
Sortino edge PULS −0.96 0.32
Calmar edge BIL 13.19 0.57
Reading

PULS returned more: +32.2% to +24.4%. BIL swung less: 0.3% to 1.9%. BIL fell less at its worst: −0.2% to −5.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured
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Risk and return: BIL vs PULS: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureBILPULSEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+24.4%+32.2%PULSPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+2.6%+3.3%PULSTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+0.1%−0.9%BILPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility0.3%1.9%BILSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation0.2%1.6%BILLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−0.2%−5.9%BILDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe−0.750.27PULSReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino−0.960.32PULSReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar13.190.57BILAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 444 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

BIL SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF PULS PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF
What it is Tracks an index of 1-3 month T-bills Actively managed
Total return, 1 year +3.7% +4.0%
Expense ratio 0.14% 0.15%
Holdings 26 553
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $48.7bn $19.8bn

BIL and PULS on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-6739145290

BIL and PULS are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

  1. What each follows. BIL follows Bloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index and PULS follows No index, actively managed.
  2. Number of holdings. BIL holds 26 positions and PULS holds 553.
  3. One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 BIL returned +3.7% and PULS +4.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 0.3 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
BIL

BIL tracks an index of 1-3 month T-bills. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.7% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.14% a year.

PULS

PULS is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BIL or PULS?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BIL returned +3.7% and PULS +4.0%.
Which is cheaper, BIL or PULS?
BIL is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
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ETFIQ, BIL against PULS, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bil-vs-puls

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