AVSF vs BSV: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Avantis Short-Term Fixed Income ETF

AVSFBNYSE Arca

Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF

BSVANYSE Arca

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

BSV −0.12pt a year

AVSF0.15%BSV0.03%

Avg volume · 30D

BSV 45.5×the volume

AVSF62.8KBSV2.86M

5Y return · a year

AVSF +0.2pt

AVSF+2.1%BSV+1.9%

AVSF vs BSV Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+10.7%AVSF+9.7%BSV

Expense ratio: AVSF 0.15%; BSV 0.03%, better
Fund size: AVSF $642M; BSV $69.6B
1Y total return: AVSF +1.8%, better; BSV +1.6%
Yield (12M): AVSF 4.36%, better; BSV 4.08%
Holdings: AVSF 485; BSV 3159
Avg volume (30D): AVSF 62.8K sh; BSV 2.86M sh, better
NAV per share: AVSF $45.99; BSV $77.05
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for AVSF, BSV, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	AVSF	BSV
Cost30% weight	B60	A97Higher
Mission25% weight	Not scored	Not scored
Risk15% weight	C43	C43
Tradability15% weight	A71	A86Higher
Holdings10% weight	A82Higher	B69
Durability5% weight	B66	A95Higher

Rank among Short-Term Core Bond funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. AVSF and BSV are both graded against the same 12 Short-Term Core Bond funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Short-Term Core Bond⁠

Category · 12 funds

See all 12 ›

BSV ranks 1st and AVSF 3rd of 12 funds in the Short-Term Core Bond Category.

Rank 1ABSVVanguard Short-Term Bond ETFScore 80
Rank 2AISTBiShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETFScore 75
Rank 3BAVSFAvantis Short-Term Fixed Income ETFScore 61
Rank 4BSHAGWisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond FundScore 60

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

AVSFBAvantis Short-Term Fixed Income ETF

BSVAVanguard Short-Term Bond ETF

In short

AVSF Active bond management at an index-fund price. Avantis works the short end of the curve, the 1-5 year government and credit zone, across roughly 500 positions, for 0.15% a year.

BSV The short end of Vanguard's bond lineup: investment-grade US government and corporate paper capped at one to five years, for three basis points a year. Same indexing discipline as its total-market sibling, with far less rate whiplash.

Stated mandate

AVSF The fund seeks to maximize total return by investing broadly in short-term debt obligations across sectors, maturities, and issuers. It uses active portfolio management informed by current yields, interest rates, credit metrics, and other investment considerations.

BSV The fund seeks to track a market-weighted bond index with a short-term dollar-weighted average maturity.

Why people hold it

AVSF 0.15% a year buys an actively managed bond portfolio, a fraction of what the typical fund in this cohort charges.
Anchored to the 1-5 year part of the curve, so it carries far less interest-rate sensitivity than a total-market bond fund.
Roughly 500 holdings spread across sectors, maturities and issuers. No single borrower drives the result.
Managers adjust to yields, rate levels and credit metrics instead of buying whatever the index prints. One of the stronger builds in a crowded bond cohort.

BSV Three basis points a year, against a category median around 0.36%. One of the cheapest tickets into the short end of the investment-grade bond market.
Every bond in the index matures within one to five years, which mechanically dampens how much the price moves when rates do, compared with longer-maturity bond funds.vanguard.com
Broad by design: US Treasuries, investment-grade corporates and dollar-denominated international issues, all float-adjusted and market-weighted rather than hand-picked.vanguard.com
Trading since 2007, a fund with tens of billions in assets and one of the busier tapes in its category. Income is paid out monthly.

Worth knowing

AVSF Trades lighter than the index giants, so spreads can widen. Limit orders are the sane way in and out.
Payouts don't follow a fixed calendar, so the income stream arrives unevenly.
Active costs more than plain trackers: BND, SPAB and SCHZ each charge 0.03%, though they hold the whole bond market, not the short end.

BSV A bond fund, not a savings account. The share price moves with rates and credit spreads, and short-term bond funds can and do post losing stretches.vanguard.com
Not Treasuries only. Investment-grade corporate and dollar-denominated international bonds ride along, so a slice of credit risk comes with the ladder.vanguard.com
One slice of the bond market, not the whole thing: nothing maturing past five years is in the index.vanguard.com

Full AVSF profile⁠

Full BSV profile⁠

AVSF vs BSV Holdings

How AVSF and BSV differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile92.4%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for AVSF and BSV.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in AVSF and BSV, widest gap first
Country	More in AVSFMore in BSV	AVSF	BSV
United States	BSV +4.2 points	86.7%	90.9%
Canada	AVSF +2.6 points	4.1%	1.5%
Ivory Coast	BSV +2.4 points	0.3%	2.7%
United Kingdom	AVSF +1.3 points	2.4%	1.1%
Luxembourg	AVSF +0.7 points	0.7%	0.0%
Netherlands	AVSF +0.5 points	0.7%	0.2%
Other countries (26)	AVSF +1.5 points	5.1%	3.6%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

AVSF10.4%
BSV9.8%

Securities held

AVSF480
BSV3,154

Asset class

AVSF: Fixed Income
BSV: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. AVSF holds 480 securities, BSV 3,154.

All 485 AVSF holdings⁠All BSV holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

AVSF vs BSV Cost

Overpaying AVSF vs BSV

$2,499

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

AVSF 0.15%
$3,137
BSV 0.03%
$638

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

AVSF 0.15%
BSV 0.03%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	AVSF	BSV	Overpaying
10	$274	$55	$219
20	$1,071	$216	$855
30	$3,137	$638	$2,499

Expense ratio

0.15%AVSF
0.03%BSV, cheaper

BSV0.03%AVSF0.15%

0.03%0.45%

Middle half of Short-Term Core Bond funds
Median 0.20%

BSV cheapest of 12 funds

AVSF 5th cheapest of 12 funds

AVSF vs BSV Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): AVSF 4.36%, better; BSV 4.08%
Payout (12M): AVSF $2.00; BSV $3.15
Last payment: AVSF $0.17; BSV $0.27
Ex-dividend: AVSF Oct 6, 2026; BSV Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: AVSF Oct 8, 2026; BSV Oct 5, 2026
Frequency: AVSF Monthly; BSV Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

AVSFMonthly · 45 paymentsAll AVSF payments⁠

BSVMonthly · 45 paymentsAll BSV payments⁠

AVSF vs BSV Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

AVSF
BSV

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: AVSF 2.3%, betterBSV 2.4%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: AVSF 0.14, betterBSV 0.06
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: AVSF −8.3%BSV −8.0%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: AVSF 0.35BSV 0.38; Market = 1

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