Which returned more over the last year, BSV or SLV?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BSV returned +1.0% and SLV +14.9%.

Which is cheaper, BSV or SLV?

BSV is cheaper, by 0.47 percentage points a year. That is about $47 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

BSV vs SLV: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BSV is a bond index fund and SLV a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SLV returned +14.9% against +1.0%.

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Net assets: $45.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF, and $26.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Silver Trust.

BSV on its own →SLV on its own →

At a glance

+1.0%

BSV total return, 1 year

+14.9%

SLV total return, 1 year

0.03%

BSV expense ratio

0.50%

SLV expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BSV costs 0.47 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.9 points; BSV is 1.5 times larger.

BSV vs SLV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BSV	SLV
Return
Measure	BSV	SLV
Total return, 1 year	+1.0%	+14.9%
Drawdown
Measure	BSV	SLV
Below its high		53.5%, high on Jan 28, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	BSV	SLV
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Government/Credit Float Adjusted Index	Silver
Cost and size
Measure	BSV	SLV
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.50%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$45.4bn	$30.0bn
Holdings
Measure	BSV	SLV
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

BSV Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF SLV iShares Silver Trust

Where it sits Bond ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer Vanguard iShares

What it is Tracks an index of Short-Term Bond Holds silver

Total return, 1 year +1.0% +14.9%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +15.0% (SIVR)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.1 pts vs SIVR

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.50%

Holdings 3157 not counted

Net assets, BSV as of Sep 30, 2026 and SLV as of Oct 28, 2026 $45.4bn $26.9bn

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

Alert

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.

SLV

Its expense ratio is 0.50% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

SLV holds silver. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.9% with distributions reinvested, against +15.0% for its benchmark, the price of silver. It sat 53.5% below its high of Jan 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BSV or SLV?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BSV returned +1.0% and SLV +14.9%.
Which is cheaper, BSV or SLV?: BSV is cheaper, by 0.47 percentage points a year. That is about $47 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

BSV vs GLD BSV vs GLDM BSV vs IAU BSV vs SIVR IGSB vs SLV SLV vs SPSB SLV vs VCSH MBB vs SLV

Where to next

BSV on its own →SLV on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →BSV dividend history →BSV holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

BSV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BSV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for BSV ↗

iShares page for SLV ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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