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

In the year to Nov 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ISTB returned +1.0% and NEAR +1.8%.

Which is cheaper, ISTB or NEAR?

ISTB is cheaper, by 0.19 percentage points a year. That is about $19 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 12, 2026.

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ISTB vs NEAR: Differences, Returns & Fees

Return, fees and overlap, side by side.

Return gap

+0.8 pts

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

Fee gap

0.19 pts

A year: ISTB 0.06%, NEAR 0.25%, per filings dated Feb 23, 2026

Overlap

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

Net flow

+$80m / +$177m

ISTB / NEAR, Oct 12, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026, daily basis

Risk and return

Jun 20, 2014 to Nov 6, 2026 · 646 weekly returns · each against IUSB

ISTB NEAR

Return

Total return edge NEAR +30.4% +35.5%

Annualized edge NEAR +2.2% +2.5%

Price return edge NEAR −5.3% −0.3%

Risk

Volatility edge NEAR (slight) 2.5% 2.3%

Max drawdown edge NEAR −9.0% −7.5%

Downside capture 39.1% 7.7%

Beta 0.46 0.28

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge NEAR 0.04 0.18

Sortino edge NEAR 0.06 0.22

Treynor 0.002 0.015

Calmar edge NEAR 0.24 0.33

Against the benchmark

Alpha 0.0% a year +0.4% a year

Alpha t-stat 0.14 0.71

Information ratio −0.01 0.07

Tracking error 2.9% 4.1%

Reading

From Jun 2014 to Nov 2026, NEAR returned more: +35.5% to +30.4%. NEAR swung slightly less: 2.3% to 2.5%. NEAR fell less at its worst: −7.5% to −9.0%.

Full scorecard

19 measures Open ↓

Risk and return: ISTB vs NEAR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ISTB	NEAR	IUSB	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+30.4%	+35.5%	+29.5%	NEAR	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+2.2%	+2.5%	+2.1%	NEAR	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−5.3%	−0.3%	−10.2%	NEAR	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	2.5%	2.3%	5.0%	NEAR (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	1.8%	1.9%	3.6%	ISTB (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−9.0%	−7.5%	−17.7%	NEAR	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	43.7%	22.1%	100.0%	ISTB	Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	39.1%	7.7%	100.0%	NEAR	Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.46	0.28	1.00	NEAR lower	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.84	0.37	1.00	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.04	0.18	0.03	NEAR	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.06	0.22	0.04	NEAR	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.002	0.015	0.001	NEAR	Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.24	0.33	0.12	NEAR	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IUSB	IUSB	IUSB		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	0.0% a year	+0.4% a year	0.0%	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	0.14	0.71		Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−0.5% to +0.6%	−0.6% to +1.4%		Both include zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.01	0.07		NEAR	Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	2.9%	4.1%	0.0%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 646 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Pair scorecard

ISTB costs 0.19 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.8 points.

ISTB vs NEAR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ISTB	NEAR
Return
Measure	ISTB	NEAR
Total return, 1 year	+1.0%	+1.8%
Benchmark
Measure	ISTB	NEAR
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Universal 1-5 Year Index	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	ISTB	NEAR
Expense ratio	0.06%	0.25%
Net assets	$5.3bn	$5.3bn
Holdings
Measure	ISTB	NEAR
Holdings in common	7%

Method

Key numbers

+1.0%

ISTB total return, 1 year

+1.8%

NEAR total return, 1 year

0.06%

ISTB expense ratio

0.25%

NEAR expense ratio

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, ISTB and NEAR hold 7% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

7% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first ISTB NEAR

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2029 0.47% 0.47%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jan 31, 2029 0.45% 1.42%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Mar 15, 2028 0.51% 0.31%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2029 0.29% 2.83%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 31, 2028 0.28% 1.30%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jul 31, 2028 0.27% 0.70%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Sep 15, 2028 0.26% 0.25%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jan 15, 2029 0.22% 3.76%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 15, 2029 0.20% 1.83%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 30, 2028 0.17% 3.32%

T-Mobile USA Inc, due Apr 15, 2030 0.04% 0.13%

Bank of America Corp, due Dec 20, 2028 0.04% 0.07%

Only in one fund ↓

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 Nov 30, 2030 0.83%

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

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Sep 30, 2030 0.79%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 31, 2030 0.78%

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

Only in NEAR

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 30, 2027 12.04%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jul 31, 2027 1.08%

ECMC Group Student Loan Trust 2026-2, due May 25, 2076 0.44%

Citigroup Inc, due May 7, 2028 0.43%

Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Trust 2017-SMP, due Dec 15, 2034 0.33%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc/The, due Sep 10, 2027 0.29%

Curzon Mortgages NO 2 PLC, due Jul 28, 2049 0.22%

SMB Private Education Loan Trust 2022-D, due Oct 15, 2058 0.22%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

ISTB iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF NEAR iShares Short Duration Bond Active ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index Actively managed

Total return, 1 year +1.0% +1.8%

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

Gap to its benchmark +2.0 pts vs IUSB +2.8 pts vs IUSB

Expense ratio 0.06% 0.25%

Holdings 7602 2021

Net assets $5.3bn $5.3bn

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

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About each fund

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.

NEAR

NEAR is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Nov 12, 2026 it returned +1.8% with distributions reinvested, against −1.0% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.25% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, ISTB or NEAR?: In the year to Nov 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ISTB returned +1.0% and NEAR +1.8%.
Which is cheaper, ISTB or NEAR?: ISTB is cheaper, by 0.19 percentage points a year. That is about $19 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

DFSD vs ISTB BSCS vs ISTB BSCT vs ISTB CGSD vs ISTB DFSD vs NEAR GVI vs NEAR BSCS vs NEAR BSCT vs NEAR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

ISTB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ISTB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ISTB ↗

NEAR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

NEAR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for NEAR ↗

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

Open data →

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

Net assets on Nov 12, 2026: $5.3bn for iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF and $5.3bn for iShares Short Duration Bond Active ETF.

ISTB on its own →NEAR on its own →

Growth of 100

ISTB and NEAR

Total return, distributions reinvested, 1 year.

ISTB +1.0%NEAR +1.8%

Nov 12, 2025Nov 12, 2026

ISTB +1.0%, NEAR +1.8%: NEAR +0.8 pts ahead, 1 year, Nov 12, 2025 to Nov 12, 2026.