Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SPTS vs VGSH: Differences, Returns & Fees
SPTS's duration was 1.9 years on Jun 30, 2026 and VGSH's 1.8 on May 31, 2026; both charge 0.03%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about SPTS and VGSH
Net assets: $7.3bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Treasury ETF, and $35.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF.
Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.03% a year; both returned +1.7% over a year; VGSH is 4.9 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | SPTS | VGSH |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +1.7% | +1.7% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bloomberg 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index | Bloomberg U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $7.2bn | $35.1bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 87% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 9, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026 · 776 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: SPTS against AGG, Dec 9, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026; VGSH against SCHO, Aug 13, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026.
SPTS returned slightly more: +23.9% to +22.8%. VGSH swung less: 1.3% to 2.6%. VGSH fell slightly less at its worst: −5.5% to −5.8%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SPTS | VGSH | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +23.9% | +22.8% | SPTS (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +1.4% | +1.4% | SPTS (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −4.1% | −5.4% | SPTS | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 2.6% | 1.3% | VGSH | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 1.8% | 0.9% | VGSH | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −5.8% | −5.5% | VGSH (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 29.9% | 97.7% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 27.2% | 96.0% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.24 | 0.98 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.19 | 0.94 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | −0.09 | −0.26 | SPTS | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | −0.14 | −0.38 | SPTS | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | −0.010 | −0.002 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.25 | 0.25 | Tie | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | AGG | SCHO | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.3% a year | 0.0% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.49 | 0.22 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −1.5% to +0.9% | −0.1% to +0.2% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.11 | 0.07 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 4.3% | 0.3% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 776 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SPTS and VGSH hold 87% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.
half
87% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SPTS and VGSH on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SPTS and VGSH are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. SPTS follows Bloomberg 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index and VGSH follows Bloomberg U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Index.
- Size. SPTS has $7.2bn in net assets and VGSH $35.1bn (net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026); VGSH is 4.9 times larger.
- Holdings in common (similar). 87% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026).
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
SPTS
SPTS tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.7% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.
VGSH
VGSH tracks an index of Short-Term Treasury. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.7% with distributions reinvested, against +1.8% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Index.
Questions people ask
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, SPTS against VGSH, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spts-vs-vgsh
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SPTS against VGSH. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spts-vs-vgsh
[SPTS against VGSH (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spts-vs-vgsh)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.