Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF
$49.52−0.04 (−0.07%)
- Expense ratio
- 0.10%
- Fund size
- $10.2B
- 1Y return
- +3.5%
- Yield · Last 12 months
- 4.29%
- Volume · 30D
- 1.9M sh
- NAV per share
- $49.56
- 52W range
The ETF.net VUSB Grade
Score 81 of 100 sits in the A band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.
Cost
What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.AScore 84Category rankMission
How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.AScore 100Category rankRisk
How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.CScore 52Category rankTradability
How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.BScore 65Category rankHoldings
What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.AScore 91Category rankDurability
Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.AScore 89Category rank
Our read on VUSB
AVanguard's first actively managed bond ETF, run by its in-house fixed income team and priced at 0.10%. It holds investment-grade paper maturing inside two years: a step past a money fund, well short of a real bond fund.
The fund seeks current income with limited price volatility while investing in diversified high- and medium-quality fixed-income securities. It expects to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 0–2 years.
Why people hold it
- At 0.10%, it costs half the typical ultra-short bond ETF and undercuts the other leaders in the group: SHV, PULS, FLDR and DUSB all charge 0.15%.
- Active, not adventurous. The managers buy investment-grade bonds (A3-or-better high quality plus BBB-tier medium quality) and hold average maturity to zero-to-two years.personal1.vanguard.com
- Income lands monthly, sourced from roughly 170 bonds, so no single issuer drives the outcome.
- A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, and the same portfolio team also runs a similar Vanguard ultra-short fund.personal1.vanguard.com
Worth knowing
- This is not a money market fund. No fixed $1 share price, and the market price can trade above or below the value of the holdings.personal1.vanguard.com
- The mandate allows BBB-tier credit, a notch of risk a Treasury-only neighbor like SHV doesn't take.personal1.vanguard.com
- Bonds this short reprice with short-term rates, so the monthly payout drifts up and down instead of holding a set level.personal1.vanguard.com
VUSB Holdings
- Bonds
- —
- 10%
- United States Treasury Bill 08/05/2027
Sectors
- Technology100.0%
VUSB Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Returns run to the Sep 22, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | VUSB |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +2.2% |
| 1 month | −0.1% |
| 3 months | +0.8% |
| 1 year | +3.5% |
| 3 years | +5.2% |
| 5 years | +3.6% |
| 10 years | — |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | VUSB |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +2.2% | |
| 2025 | +5.2% | |
| 2024 | +5.7% | |
| 2023 | +5.5% | |
| 2022 | −0.4% | |
| 2021 | +0.0% |
VUSB in the news
ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on VUSB yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.
VUSB Dividends
- 4.29%
- $2.13
- $0.17 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
| Ex-date | Pay date | Amount per share |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 3, 2026 | $0.17 |
| Aug 3, 2026 | Aug 5, 2026 | $0.17 |
| Jul 1, 2026 | Jul 6, 2026 | $0.18 |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Jun 3, 2026 | $0.17 |
| May 1, 2026 | May 5, 2026 | $0.18 |
| Apr 1, 2026 | Apr 6, 2026 | $0.18 |
| Mar 2, 2026 | Mar 4, 2026 | $0.17 |
| Feb 2, 2026 | Feb 4, 2026 | $0.18 |
| Dec 18, 2025 | Dec 22, 2025 | $0.18 |
| Dec 1, 2025 | Dec 3, 2025 | $0.18 |
| Nov 3, 2025 | Nov 5, 2025 | $0.19 |
| Oct 1, 2025 | Oct 3, 2025 | $0.19 |
VUSB Risk
- 0.7%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 0.88
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −1.8%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.10
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
VUSB Cost
- The middle half of Cash & Ultra-Short Income funds
- Median 0.19%
12 of the 77 Cash & Ultra-Short Income funds charge less.