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

In the year to Nov 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ISTB returned +1.0% and USTB +2.6%.

Which is cheaper, ISTB or USTB?

ISTB is cheaper, by 0.27 percentage points a year. That is about $27 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 USTB: Differences, Returns & Fees

Return, fees and overlap, side by side.

Return gap

+1.6 pts

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

Fee gap

0.27 pts

A year: ISTB 0.06%, USTB 0.33%, per filings dated Feb 23, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026

Overlap

Share of the two books held in common, holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026

Net flow

–

Needs daily flows for both funds

Risk and return

Nov 3, 2017 to Nov 6, 2026 · 470 weekly returns

ISTB USTB

Return

Total return edge USTB +23.2% +35.4%

Annualized edge USTB +2.3% +3.4%

Price return edge USTB −5.1% −0.2%

Risk

Volatility edge USTB 2.8% 2.2%

Max drawdown edge USTB −9.0% −5.2%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge USTB −0.13 0.31

Sortino edge USTB −0.18 0.39

Calmar edge USTB 0.26 0.66

Reading

From Nov 2017 to Nov 2026, USTB returned more: +35.4% to +23.2%. USTB swung less: 2.2% to 2.8%. USTB fell less at its worst: −5.2% to −9.0%.

Full scorecard

9 measures Open ↓

Risk and return: ISTB vs USTB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ISTB	USTB	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+23.2%	+35.4%	USTB	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+2.3%	+3.4%	USTB	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−5.1%	−0.2%	USTB	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	2.8%	2.2%	USTB	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	2.0%	1.7%	USTB	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−9.0%	−5.2%	USTB	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.13	0.31	USTB	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.18	0.39	USTB	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.26	0.66	USTB	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 470 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Pair scorecard

ISTB costs 0.27 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.6 points.

ISTB vs USTB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ISTB	USTB
Return
Measure	ISTB	USTB
Total return, 1 year	+1.0%	+2.6%
Benchmark
Measure	ISTB	USTB
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Universal 1-5 Year Index	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	ISTB	USTB
Expense ratio	0.06%	0.33%
Net assets, ISTB as of Nov 12, 2026 and USTB as of Jun 30, 2026	$5.3bn	$2.2bn
Holdings
Measure	ISTB	USTB
Holdings in common	4%

Method

Key numbers

+1.0%

ISTB total return, 1 year

+2.6%

USTB total return, 1 year

0.06%

ISTB expense ratio

0.33%

USTB expense ratio

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, ISTB and USTB hold 4% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

4% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first ISTB USTB

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 30, 2031 0.46% 0.66%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Dec 31, 2028 0.35% 1.38%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 30, 2028 0.31% 0.58%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 31, 2030 0.31% 1.57%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jan 31, 2031 0.30% 1.25%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2027 0.25% 1.75%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 31, 2027 0.20% 0.75%

Salesforce Inc, due Mar 15, 2029 0.03% 0.09%

Salesforce Inc, due Mar 15, 2028 0.02% 0.22%

Centene Corp, due Dec 15, 2029 0.02% 0.11%

Meta Platforms Inc, due May 15, 2031 0.02% 0.18%

JPMorgan Chase & Co, due Apr 23, 2030 0.02% 0.13%

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 USTB

U S TREASURY NOTE, due Aug 15, 2029 1.00%

ANTERO RESOURCES CORP 0.98%

U S TREASURY NOTE, due Dec 15, 2026 0.68%

KEURIG DR PEPPER INC 0.57%

CITIGROUP INC, due Dec 31, 2199 0.51%

AMERICAN EXPRESS CO, due Dec 31, 2199 0.48%

ENSTAR FINANCE LLC, due Jan 15, 2042 0.46%

VIDEOTRON LTD 0.45%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

ISTB iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF USTB VictoryShares Short-Term Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares VictoryShares

What it is Tracks an index Actively managed

Total return, 1 year +1.0% +2.6%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.0% (IUSB) not measured

Gap to its benchmark +2.0 pts vs IUSB not measured

Expense ratio 0.06% 0.33%

Holdings 7602 1034

Net assets, ISTB as of Nov 12, 2026 and USTB as of Jun 30, 2026 $5.3bn $2.2bn

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

Client brief:

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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.

USTB

USTB is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Nov 12, 2026 it returned +2.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.33% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, ISTB or USTB?: In the year to Nov 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ISTB returned +1.0% and USTB +2.6%.
Which is cheaper, ISTB or USTB?: ISTB is cheaper, by 0.27 percentage points a year. That is about $27 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

ISTB vs SLQD BSCV vs ISTB ISTB vs JSCP BSCU vs ISTB NEAR vs USTB DFSD vs USTB BSCS vs USTB BSCT vs USTB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

ISTB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ISTB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ISTB ↗

USTB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

USTB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

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 USTB, data as of Nov 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/istb-vs-ustb

Open data →

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

Net assets: $5.3bn on Nov 12, 2026 for iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF, and $2.2bn on Jun 30, 2026 for VictoryShares Short-Term Bond ETF.

ISTB on its own →USTB on its own →

Growth of 100

ISTB and USTB

Total return, distributions reinvested, 1 year.

ISTB +1.0%USTB +2.6%

Nov 12, 2025Nov 12, 2026

ISTB +1.0%, USTB +2.6%: USTB +1.6 pts ahead, 1 year, Nov 12, 2025 to Nov 12, 2026.