Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DFSD vs IBDU: Differences, Returns & Fees
On Jul 31, 2026 DFSD's duration was 2.9 years and IBDU's 2.6; IBDU charges 0.10% to DFSD's 0.16%.
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Net assets: $7.1bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional Short-Duration Fixed Income ETF, and $4.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares iBonds Dec 2029 Term Corporate ETF.
Pair scorecard
IBDU costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.2 points.
| Measure | DFSD | IBDU |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +1.1% | +1.3% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | Bloomberg December 2029 Maturity Corporate Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.16% | 0.10% |
| Net assets, DFSD as of Jul 31, 2026 and IBDU as of Oct 27, 2026 | $7.1bn | $4.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 12% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 26, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026 · 256 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: DFSD against AGG, Nov 26, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026; IBDU against IUSB, Sep 27, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026.
DFSD returned more: +11.9% to +6.8%. DFSD swung less: 2.5% to 5.4%. DFSD fell less at its worst: −8.3% to −17.6%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DFSD | IBDU | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +11.9% | +6.8% | DFSD | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +2.3% | +1.3% | DFSD | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −6.7% | −13.2% | DFSD | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 2.5% | 5.4% | DFSD | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 1.9% | 4.0% | DFSD | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −8.3% | −17.6% | DFSD | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 39.0% | 109.0% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 32.6% | 100.2% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.35 | 1.21 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.72 | 0.80 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | −0.69 | −0.46 | IBDU | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | −0.87 | −0.63 | IBDU | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | −0.048 | −0.003 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.28 | 0.08 | DFSD | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | AGG | IUSB | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.2% a year | +1.7% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.40 | 1.21 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −1.4% to +0.9% | −1.1% to +4.4% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.60 | 0.34 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 4.0% | 3.9% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 256 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, DFSD and IBDU hold 12% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.
half
12% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DFSD and IBDU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DFSD and IBDU are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. DFSD follows No index, actively managed and IBDU follows Bloomberg December 2029 Maturity Corporate Index.
- Holdings in common. 12% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026).
- One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 DFSD returned +1.1% and IBDU +1.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 0.2 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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DFSD
DFSD is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.1% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.16% a year.
IBDU
IBDU tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.3% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.10% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, DFSD or IBDU?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFSD returned +1.1% and IBDU +1.3%.
- Which is cheaper, DFSD or IBDU?
- IBDU is cheaper, by 0.06 percentage points a year. That is about $6 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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, DFSD against IBDU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfsd-vs-ibdu
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). DFSD against IBDU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfsd-vs-ibdu
[DFSD against IBDU (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfsd-vs-ibdu)
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