Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
NEAR vs SLQD: Differences, Returns & Fees
On Jul 31, 2026 NEAR's duration was 2.1 years and SLQD's 2.2; SLQD charges 0.06% to NEAR's 0.25%.
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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $5.2bn for iShares Short Duration Bond Active ETF and $2.4bn for iShares 0-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
SLQD costs 0.19 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points; NEAR is 2.2 times larger.
| Measure | NEAR | SLQD |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +1.8% | +1.9% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade 0-5 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.25% | 0.06% |
| Net assets | $5.2bn | $2.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 10% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 20, 2014 to Oct 23, 2026 · 644 weekly returns · each against IUSBNEAR and SLQD returned about the same: +34.8% and +35.0%. NEAR swung less: 2.3% to 3.6%. NEAR fell less at its worst: −7.5% to −10.3%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | NEAR | SLQD | IUSB | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +34.8% | +35.0% | +28.3% | Tie | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +2.4% | +2.5% | +2.0% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −0.4% | −1.5% | −10.7% | NEAR | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 2.3% | 3.6% | 5.0% | NEAR | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 1.9% | 2.5% | 3.6% | NEAR | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −7.5% | −10.3% | −17.7% | NEAR | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 21.9% | 42.6% | 100.0% | SLQD | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 7.7% | 34.8% | 100.0% | NEAR | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.28 | 0.58 | 1.00 | NEAR lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.37 | 0.65 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.17 | 0.12 | 0.02 | NEAR | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.20 | 0.17 | 0.02 | NEAR | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.014 | 0.007 | 0.001 | NEAR | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 0.32 | 0.24 | 0.11 | NEAR | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | IUSB | IUSB | IUSB | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.4% a year | +0.4% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.69 | 0.63 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −0.7% to +1.4% | −0.8% to +1.6% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | 0.07 | 0.12 | SLQD | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 4.1% | 3.0% | 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, 644 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, NEAR and SLQD hold 10% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.
half
10% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
NEAR and SLQD on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
NEAR and SLQD are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. NEAR follows No index, actively managed and SLQD follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade 0-5 Index.
- Holdings in common. 10% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026).
- Cost. NEAR charges 0.25% of assets a year and SLQD 0.06%, a gap of 0.19 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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NEAR
NEAR is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.8% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.25% a year.
SLQD
SLQD tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.9% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% 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, NEAR or SLQD?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, NEAR returned +1.8% and SLQD +1.9%.
- Which is cheaper, NEAR or SLQD?
- SLQD 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.
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How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, NEAR against SLQD, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/near-vs-slqd
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). NEAR against SLQD. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/near-vs-slqd
[NEAR against SLQD (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/near-vs-slqd)
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