Which returned more over the last year, DFSD or ISTB?

In the year to Nov 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFSD returned +1.1% and ISTB +1.0%.

Which is cheaper, DFSD or ISTB?

ISTB is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 12, 2026.

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DFSD vs ISTB: Differences, Returns & Fees

Return, fees and overlap, side by side.

Return gap

+0.1 pts

1 year to Nov 12, 2026: DFSD ahead, total return

Fee gap

0.10 pts

A year: DFSD 0.16%, ISTB 0.06%, per filings dated Feb 23, 2026 and Feb 27, 2026

Overlap

10%

Share of the two books held in common, holdings dated Jul 31, 2026

Net flow

–

Needs daily flows for both funds

Risk and return

Nov 26, 2021 to Nov 6, 2026 · 258 weekly returns

DFSD ISTB

Return

Total return edge DFSD +12.6% +11.3%

Annualized edge DFSD (slight) +2.4% +2.2%

Price return edge ISTB (slight) −6.2% −6.0%

Risk

Volatility edge DFSD 2.4% 2.8%

Max drawdown edge ISTB (slight) −8.3% −8.1%

Downside capture 32.6% 39.1%

Beta 0.36 0.46

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge Tie −0.65 −0.66

Sortino edge DFSD (slight) −0.82 −0.88

Treynor −0.044 0.002

Calmar edge DFSD (slight) 0.29 0.27

Against the benchmark

Alpha −0.2% a year 0.0% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.30 0.14

Information ratio 0.58 −0.01

Tracking error 4.0% 2.9%

Each against its own benchmark: DFSD against AGG, Nov 26, 2021 to Nov 5, 2026; ISTB against IUSB, Jun 20, 2014 to Nov 6, 2026.

Reading

From Nov 2021 to Nov 2026, DFSD returned more: +12.6% to +11.3%. DFSD swung less: 2.4% to 2.8%. ISTB fell slightly less at its worst: −8.1% to −8.3%.

Full scorecard

19 measures Open ↓

Risk and return: DFSD vs ISTB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	DFSD	ISTB	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+12.6%	+11.3%	DFSD	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+2.4%	+2.2%	DFSD (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−6.2%	−6.0%	ISTB (slight)	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	2.4%	2.8%	DFSD	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	1.9%	2.0%	DFSD (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−8.3%	−8.1%	ISTB (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	39.4%	43.7%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	32.6%	39.1%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.36	0.46	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.72	0.84	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.65	−0.66	Tie	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.82	−0.88	DFSD (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	−0.044	0.002		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.29	0.27	DFSD (slight)	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	0.0% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.30	0.14	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−1.3% to +1.0%	−0.5% to +0.6%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	0.58	−0.01		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	4.0%	2.9%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 258 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Pair scorecard

ISTB costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points.

DFSD vs ISTB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	DFSD	ISTB
Return
Measure	DFSD	ISTB
Total return, 1 year	+1.1%	+1.0%
Benchmark
Measure	DFSD	ISTB
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	Bloomberg U.S. Universal 1-5 Year Index
Cost and size
Measure	DFSD	ISTB
Expense ratio	0.16%	0.06%
Net assets, DFSD as of Jul 31, 2026 and ISTB as of Nov 12, 2026	$7.1bn	$5.3bn
Holdings
Measure	DFSD	ISTB
Holdings in common	10%

Method

Key numbers

+1.1%

DFSD total return, 1 year

+1.0%

ISTB total return, 1 year

0.16%

DFSD expense ratio

0.06%

ISTB expense ratio

What they share

10%

By the books each fund has filed, DFSD and ISTB hold 10% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

10% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first DFSD ISTB

U S TREASURY NOTE, due Jan 31, 2028 0.57% 0.51%

U S TREASURY NOTE, due Jan 15, 2028 1.12% 0.50%

U S TREASURY NOTE, due Jan 31, 2028 1.07% 0.42%

U S TREASURY NOTE, due Feb 15, 2028 0.59% 0.38%

U S TREASURY NOTE, due Sep 30, 2028 0.71% 0.38%

U S TREASURY NOTE, due May 31, 2029 0.34% 0.65%

U S TREASURY NOTE, due Feb 28, 2029 0.32% 0.54%

U S TREASURY NOTE, due Aug 31, 2030 0.27% 0.78%

U S TREASURY NOTE, due Sep 30, 2030 0.22% 0.79%

U S TREASURY NOTE, due Jul 31, 2029 0.21% 0.73%

U S TREASURY NOTE, due Dec 31, 2030 0.18% 0.61%

U S TREASURY NOTE, due Jan 31, 2029 0.14% 0.46%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in DFSD

NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT BOND, due May 15, 2030 2.35%

The DFA Short Term Investment Fund 1.85%

CDP FINANCIAL INC, due Jan 24, 2030 0.51%

CDP FINANCIAL INC, due Jun 5, 2029 0.35%

BLACKROCK FUNDING INC, due Mar 14, 2029 0.34%

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CORP, due Jun 2, 2030 0.32%

NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT BOND, due Apr 20, 2029 0.28%

BANQUE FEDERATIVE DU CREDIT MUTUEL SA, due Jan 22, 2030 0.28%

Only in ISTB

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 15, 2028 1.08%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 28, 2030 0.90%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Oct 31, 2030 0.88%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jan 31, 2031 0.81%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2030 0.75%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Oct 31, 2029 0.74%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jul 15, 2028 0.74%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 30, 2029 0.65%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

DFSD Dimensional Short-Duration Fixed Income ETF ISTB iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer Dimensional iShares

What it is Actively managed Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +1.1% +1.0%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.3% (AGG) −1.0% (IUSB)

Gap to its benchmark +2.4 pts vs AGG +2.0 pts vs IUSB

Expense ratio 0.16% 0.06%

Holdings 1589 7602

Net assets, DFSD as of Jul 31, 2026 and ISTB as of Nov 12, 2026 $7.1bn $5.3bn

DFSD and ISTB on the fields both publish, as of Nov 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

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About each fund

DFSD

DFSD is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Nov 12, 2026 it returned +1.1% with distributions reinvested, against −1.3% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.16% a year.

ISTB

ISTB tracks an index. Over the year to Nov 12, 2026 it returned +1.0% with distributions reinvested, against −1.0% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, DFSD or ISTB?: In the year to Nov 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFSD returned +1.1% and ISTB +1.0%.
Which is cheaper, DFSD or ISTB?: ISTB is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

DFSD vs EVSD DFSD vs SUSB DFSD vs VSDB DFSD vs IGSB ISTB vs NEAR ISTB vs SPSB ISTB vs SPIB ISTB vs USTB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

DFSD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

DFSD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Dimensional website ↗

ISTB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ISTB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ISTB ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, DFSD against ISTB, data as of Nov 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfsd-vs-istb

Open data →

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

Net assets: $7.1bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional Short-Duration Fixed Income ETF, and $5.3bn on Nov 12, 2026 for iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF.

DFSD on its own →ISTB on its own →

Growth of 100

DFSD and ISTB

Total return, distributions reinvested, 1 year.

DFSD +1.1%ISTB +1.0%

Nov 12, 2025Nov 12, 2026

DFSD +1.1%, ISTB +1.0%: DFSD +0.1 pts ahead, 1 year, Nov 12, 2025 to Nov 12, 2026.