Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SLQD vs VCSH: Differences, Returns & Fees
SLQD's duration was 2.2 years on Jul 31, 2026 and VCSH's 2.7 on May 31, 2026; VCSH charges 0.03% to SLQD's 0.06%.
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Net assets: $2.4bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares 0-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, and $43.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
VCSH costs 0.03 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.6 points; VCSH is 18.3 times larger.
| Measure | SLQD | VCSH |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +1.9% | +1.3% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade 0-5 Index | Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.06% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $2.4bn | $43.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 59% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 25, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026 · 678 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: SLQD against IUSB, Jun 20, 2014 to Oct 23, 2026; VCSH against SCHJ, Oct 18, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026.
VCSH returned slightly more: +38.3% to +36.8%. SLQD swung slightly less: 3.5% to 3.9%. SLQD fell slightly less at its worst: −10.3% to −11.3%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SLQD | VCSH | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +36.8% | +38.3% | VCSH (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +2.4% | +2.5% | VCSH (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −1.0% | −3.0% | SLQD | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 3.5% | 3.9% | SLQD (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 2.5% | 2.8% | SLQD (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −10.3% | −11.3% | SLQD (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 42.6% | 98.3% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 34.8% | 98.3% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.58 | 0.95 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.65 | 0.99 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.14 | 0.16 | VCSH (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.20 | 0.22 | VCSH (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.007 | −0.003 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.24 | 0.22 | SLQD (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | IUSB | SCHJ | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.4% a year | 0.0% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.63 | −0.29 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.8% to +1.6% | −0.4% to +0.3% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.12 | −0.06 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 3.0% | 0.5% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 678 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SLQD and VCSH hold 59% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.
half
59% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SLQD and VCSH on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SLQD and VCSH are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. SLQD follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade 0-5 Index and VCSH follows Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index.
- Size. SLQD has $2.4bn in net assets and VCSH $43.9bn (net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026); VCSH is 18.3 times larger.
- Holdings in common (similar). 59% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and May 31, 2026).
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
VCSH
VCSH tracks an index of Short-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.3% with distributions reinvested, against +1.3% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, SLQD or VCSH?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SLQD returned +1.9% and VCSH +1.3%.
- Which is cheaper, SLQD or VCSH?
- VCSH is cheaper, by 0.03 percentage points a year. That is about $3 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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.
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ETFIQ, SLQD against VCSH, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/slqd-vs-vcsh
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SLQD against VCSH. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/slqd-vs-vcsh
[SLQD against VCSH (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/slqd-vs-vcsh)
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