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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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BSV vs SHY: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BSV's duration was 2.5 years on Jun 30, 2026 and SHY's 1.8 on Aug 31, 2026; BSV charges 0.03% to SHY's 0.15%.

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Net assets: $45.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF, and $27.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF.

BSV on its own →SHY on its own →
At a glance
+1.0%
BSV total return, 1 year
+1.6%
SHY total return, 1 year
0.03%
BSV expense ratio
0.15%
SHY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BSV costs 0.12 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.6 points; BSV is 1.7 times larger.

BSV vs SHY: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureBSVSHY
Return
Total return, 1 year+1.0%+1.6%
Benchmark
What it tracksBloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Government/Credit Float Adjusted IndexICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.03%0.15%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026$45.4bn$26.3bn
Holdings
Holdings in common40%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Apr 20, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,018 weekly returns
BSV SHY
Return
Total return edge BSV +60.9% +42.5%
Annualized edge BSV +2.5% +1.8%
Price return edge BSV +2.0% +1.5%
Risk
Volatility edge SHY 2.3% 1.4%
Max drawdown edge SHY −8.1% −5.6%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge BSV 0.40 0.19
Sortino edge BSV 0.58 0.29
Calmar edge SHY (slight) 0.30 0.33
Reading

BSV returned more: +60.9% to +42.5%. SHY swung less: 1.4% to 2.3%. SHY fell less at its worst: −5.6% to −8.1%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
Risk and return: BSV vs SHY: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureBSVSHYEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+60.9%+42.5%BSVPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+2.5%+1.8%BSVTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+2.0%+1.5%BSVPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility2.3%1.4%SHYSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation1.6%0.9%SHYLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−8.1%−5.6%SHYDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.400.19BSVReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.580.29BSVReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.300.33SHY (slight)Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,018 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

40%

By the books each fund has filed, BSV and SHY hold 40% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

40% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BSV SHY
US TREASURY N/B, due Jan 31, 2028 1.12% 1.71%
US TREASURY N/B, due Mar 31, 2028 0.81% 1.33%
US TREASURY N/B, due Oct 31, 2027 0.75% 1.16%
US TREASURY N/B, due Aug 31, 2027 0.75% 0.82%
US TREASURY N/B, due Dec 31, 2027 0.89% 0.73%
US TREASURY N/B, due Jul 31, 2029 0.72% 1.30%
US TREASURY N/B, due Jun 30, 2029 0.71% 1.47%
US TREASURY N/B, due Apr 30, 2028 0.68% 0.71%
US TREASURY N/B, due May 31, 2028 0.67% 1.34%
US TREASURY N/B, due Apr 30, 2029 0.62% 1.51%
US TREASURY N/B, due Aug 15, 2027 0.57% 1.48%
US TREASURY N/B, due Sep 15, 2027 0.56% 1.39%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in BSV
US TREASURY N/B, due Feb 28, 2030 0.88%
US TREASURY N/B, due Jul 15, 2027 0.80%
US TREASURY N/B, due Nov 15, 2030 0.79%
US TREASURY N/B, due May 31, 2031 0.78%
US TREASURY N/B, due Dec 31, 2029 0.77%
US TREASURY N/B, due Feb 15, 2031 0.77%
US TREASURY N/B, due Jul 31, 2027 0.75%
US TREASURY N/B, due Aug 15, 2030 0.75%
Only in SHY
U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 15, 2029 1.00%
U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jul 15, 2029 0.79%
U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jul 31, 2028 0.76%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BSV Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF SHY iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF
Issuer Vanguard iShares
What it is Tracks an index of Short-Term Bond Tracks an index of 1-3 Year Treasury Bond
Total return, 1 year +1.0% +1.6%
Its benchmark over the same days not measured +1.7% (BBSB)
Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.1 pts vs BBSB
Expense ratio 0.03% 0.15%
Holdings 3157 90
Net assets, BSV as of Sep 30, 2026 and SHY as of Oct 27, 2026 $45.4bn $27.4bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-7D3E1987C5

BSV and SHY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

  1. What each follows. BSV follows Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Government/Credit Float Adjusted Index and SHY follows ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index.
  2. Holdings in common. 40% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026).
  3. Number of holdings. BSV holds 3,157 positions and SHY holds 90.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
BSV

BSV tracks an index of Short-Term Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.

SHY

SHY tracks an index of 1-3 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.6% with distributions reinvested, against +1.7% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BSV or SHY?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BSV returned +1.0% and SHY +1.6%.
Which is cheaper, BSV or SHY?
BSV is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
BSV vs VGSHBSV vs IEIBSV vs LQDBSV vs IGSBIGSB vs SHYSHY vs SPSBSHY vs VCSHJAAA vs SHY
Where to next
BSV on its own →SHY on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →BSV dividend history →BSV holdings →SHY dividend history →SHY holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
BSV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
BSV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
Vanguard page for BSV ↗
SHY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
SHY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
iShares page for SHY ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

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ETFIQ, BSV against SHY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bsv-vs-shy

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.