Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or VUSB?

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and VUSB returned +3.7%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, QUAL or VUSB?

QUAL charges 0.15% a year and VUSB charges 0.10%, so VUSB is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

QUAL vs VUSB: how they differ

QUAL and VUSB hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and QUAL returned more over the year.

iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and VUSB hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in QUAL	Only in VUSB
MICROSOFT 7.67%	United States Treasury Bill 4.24%
APPLE 7.10%	United States Treasury Note/Bond 0.68%
NVIDIA 6.44%	PNC Financial Services Group Inc/The 0.59%
META PLATFORMS CLASS A 4.32%	United States Treasury Note/Bond 0.53%
ELI LILLY 3.62%	Regions Bank/Birmingham AL 0.52%
LAM RESEARCH 3.59%	US Bancorp 0.51%
TJX 3.23%	Charles Schwab Corp/The 0.50%
VISA CLASS A 3.21%	Truist Bank 0.45%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Sep 10, 2026.

QUAL and VUSB on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF	VUSB Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	Vanguard
What it is	MSCI USA Quality Factor	Ultra-Short Bond
Total return, 1 year	+16.0%	+3.7%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−1.5 pts	−13.8 pts
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.10%
Holdings	121	1281

QUAL in plain words

QUAL is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +16.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 121 positions, with the top ten at 44.4%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

VUSB in plain words

VUSB is a cash and treasury bills tracking the Ultra-Short Bond. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +3.7% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.10% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or VUSB?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and VUSB returned +3.7%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, QUAL or VUSB?: QUAL charges 0.15% a year and VUSB charges 0.10%, so VUSB is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

QUAL against VUSB, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, QUAL against VUSB, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qual-vs-vusb Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources