Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VCSH vs VGLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
On May 31, 2026 VCSH's duration was 2.7 years and VGLT's 13.5; both charge 0.03%.
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Net assets on Sep 30, 2026: $43.9bn for Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF and $10.4bn for Vanguard Long-Term Treasury ETF.
Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.03% a year; their one-year returns differ by 8.0 points; VCSH is 4.2 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | VCSH | VGLT |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +1.3% | −6.7% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 38.8%, high on Aug 4, 2020 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index | Bloomberg U.S. Long Treasury Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $43.9bn | $10.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 4, 2009 to Oct 23, 2026 · 881 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: VCSH against SCHJ, Oct 18, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026; VGLT against SCHQ, Oct 18, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026.
VCSH returned more: +59.9% to +46.2%. VCSH swung less: 3.5% to 12.7%. VCSH fell less at its worst: −11.3% to −45.6%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VCSH | VGLT | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +59.9% | +46.2% | VCSH | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +2.8% | +2.3% | VCSH | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +2.8% | −13.0% | VCSH | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 3.5% | 12.7% | VCSH | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 2.5% | 9.1% | VCSH | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −11.3% | −45.6% | VCSH | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 98.3% | 99.5% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 98.3% | 99.8% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.95 | 1.00 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.99 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.37 | 0.12 | VCSH | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.52 | 0.17 | VCSH | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | −0.003 | −0.058 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.25 | 0.05 | VCSH | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | SCHJ | SCHQ | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | 0.0% a year | 0.0% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.29 | −0.24 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.4% to +0.3% | −0.4% to +0.3% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.06 | −0.04 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.5% | 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, 881 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VCSH and VGLT hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VCSH and VGLT on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VCSH and VGLT do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VCSH follows Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index and VGLT follows Bloomberg U.S. Long Treasury Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated May 31, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VCSH returned +1.3% and VGLT −6.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 8.0 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
VGLT
VGLT tracks an index of Long-term Treasury. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −6.7% with distributions reinvested, against −6.7% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Long Treasury Index. It sat 38.8% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.
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.
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ETFIQ, VCSH against VGLT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vcsh-vs-vglt
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VCSH against VGLT. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vcsh-vs-vglt
[VCSH against VGLT (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vcsh-vs-vglt)
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