AVSF vs NUSA: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Avantis Short-Term Fixed Income ETF

AVSFBNYSE Arca

Nuveen ESG 1-5 Year U.S. Aggregate Bond

NUSACNYSE Arca

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

NUSA −0.01pt a year

AVSF0.15%NUSA0.14%

Avg volume · 30D

AVSF 8.5×the volume

AVSF62.8KNUSA7.41K

5Y return · a year

AVSF +0.4pt

AVSF+2.1%NUSA+1.7%

AVSF vs NUSA Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+10.7%AVSF+8.7%NUSA

Expense ratio: AVSF 0.15%; NUSA 0.14%, better
Fund size: AVSF $642M; NUSA $37M
1Y total return: AVSF +1.8%, better; NUSA +1.3%
Yield (12M): AVSF 4.36%, better; NUSA 3.92%
Holdings: AVSF 485; NUSA 356
Avg volume (30D): AVSF 62.8K sh, better; NUSA 7.41K sh
NAV per share: AVSF $45.99; NUSA $22.88
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for AVSF, NUSA, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	AVSF	NUSA
Cost30% weight	B60	A72Higher
Mission25% weight	Not scored	Not scored
Risk15% weight	C43	C43
Tradability15% weight	A71Higher	D38
Holdings10% weight	A82Higher	D38
Durability5% weight	B66Higher	D38

Rank among Short-Term Core Bond funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. AVSF and NUSA 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 ›

AVSF ranks 3rd and NUSA 7th 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
Rank 6CEVSDEaton Vance Short Duration Income ETFScore 53
Rank 7CNUSANuveen ESG 1-5 Year U.S. Aggregate BondScore 52
Rank 8CSBNDColumbia Short Duration Bond ETFScore 45

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

AVSFBAvantis Short-Term Fixed Income ETF

NUSACNuveen ESG 1-5 Year U.S. Aggregate Bond

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.

NUSA An ESG screen applied to the quiet end of the bond market: roughly 300 investment-grade bonds maturing inside five years, for 0.14% a year while the typical core-bond fund charges more than double that.

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.

NUSA The fund seeks to track the investment results of its index, which is designed to capture the 1-5 year segment of the U.S. aggregate bond market.

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.

NUSA 0.14% a year against a core-bond peer median closer to 0.36%. Getting a values screen without paying a premium for it is unusual.
Follows the Bloomberg MSCI 1-5 Year U.S. Aggregate ESG Select Index, so the screen is published index rules rather than a manager's discretion.
Holding the 1-5 year slice of the aggregate market mechanically dampens price swings when rates move, versus a fund that owns the full maturity ladder.
Pays monthly and has been running since 2017, a long history for an ESG-screened bond index fund.

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.

NUSA A small fund that trades thinly, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than the household-name core bond ETFs.
Unscreened rivals such as BND, SPAB and SCHZ charge 0.03%. The ESG filter here costs about a tenth of a percentage point more per year.
The screen leaves out issuers a standard aggregate index holds, and the short maturity band is a different job from a full-market core bond position.

Full AVSF profile⁠

Full NUSA profile⁠

AVSF vs NUSA Holdings

How AVSF and NUSA differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile92.9%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for AVSF and NUSA.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in AVSF and NUSA, widest gap first
Country	More in AVSFMore in NUSA	AVSF	NUSA
United States	NUSA +5.7 points	86.7%	92.4%
Canada	AVSF +2.2 points	4.1%	1.9%
United Kingdom	AVSF +1.7 points	2.4%	0.7%
Netherlands	AVSF +0.7 points	0.7%	0.0%
South Korea	NUSA +0.6 points	0.0%	0.6%
Ireland	AVSF +0.5 points	0.5%	0.0%
Other countries (16)	AVSF +1.2 points	5.6%	4.4%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

AVSF10.4%
NUSA23.8%

Securities held

AVSF480
NUSA355

Asset class

AVSF: Fixed Income
NUSA: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. AVSF holds 480 securities, NUSA 355.

All 485 AVSF holdings⁠All 356 NUSA 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 NUSA Cost

Overpaying AVSF vs NUSA

$205

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

AVSF 0.15%
$3,137
NUSA 0.14%
$2,932

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

AVSF 0.15%
NUSA 0.14%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	AVSF	NUSA	Overpaying
10	$274	$256	$18
20	$1,071	$1,000	$71
30	$3,137	$2,932	$205

Expense ratio

0.15%AVSF
0.14%NUSA, cheaper

NUSA0.14%AVSF0.15%

0.03%0.45%

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

NUSA 4th cheapest of 12 funds

AVSF 5th cheapest of 12 funds

AVSF vs NUSA Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): AVSF 4.36%, better; NUSA 3.92%
Payout (12M): AVSF $2.00; NUSA $0.90
Last payment: AVSF $0.17; NUSA $0.08
Ex-dividend: AVSF Oct 6, 2026; NUSA Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: AVSF Oct 8, 2026; NUSA Oct 2, 2026
Frequency: AVSF Monthly; NUSA Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

AVSFMonthly · 45 paymentsAll AVSF payments⁠

NUSAMonthly · 46 paymentsAll NUSA payments⁠

AVSF vs NUSA Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

AVSF
NUSA

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: AVSF 2.3%, betterNUSA 2.5%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: AVSF 0.14, betterNUSA 0.003
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: AVSF −8.3%, betterNUSA −8.8%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: AVSF 0.35NUSA 0.40; Market = 1

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