BILS vs ICSH: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

State Street SPDR Bloomberg 3-12 Month T-Bill ETF

BILSANYSE Arca

iShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF

ICSHACboe

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

ICSH −0.06pt a year

BILS0.14%ICSH0.08%

Avg volume · 30D

ICSH 4.9×the volume

BILS337KICSH1.64M

5Y return · a year

ICSH +0.4pt

BILS+3.6%ICSH+4.0%

BILS vs ICSH Performance

Nov 2, 2021 – Nov 2, 2026

+19.4%BILS+21.4%ICSH

Expense ratio: BILS 0.14%; ICSH 0.08%, better
Fund size: BILS $3.97B; ICSH $8.97B
1Y total return: BILS +3.6%; ICSH +3.7%, better
Yield (12M): BILS 4.02%; ICSH 4.50%, better
Holdings: BILS 30; ICSH 408
Avg volume (30D): BILS 337K sh; ICSH 1.64M sh, better
NAV per share: BILS $99.37; ICSH $50.47
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for BILS, ICSH, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	BILS	ICSH
Cost30% weight	A76	A89Higher
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	C41	C50Higher
Tradability15% weight	A79Higher	A76
Holdings10% weight	C54	A95Higher
Durability5% weight	A80	A90Higher

Rank among Cash & Ultra-Short Income funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. BILS and ICSH are both graded against the same 78 Cash & Ultra-Short Income funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Cash & Ultra-Short Income⁠

Category · 78 funds

See all 78 ›

ICSH ranks 1st and BILS 15th of 78 funds in the Cash & Ultra-Short Income Category.

Rank 1AICSHiShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETFScore 84
Rank 2ACLIPGlobal X 1-3 Month T-Bill ETFScore 82
Rank 13ATRSYXtrackers US 0-1 Year Treasury ETFScore 76
Rank 15ABILSState Street SPDR Bloomberg 3-12 Month T-Bill ETFScore 75
Rank 15ABKUIBNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETFScore 75

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

BILSAState Street SPDR Bloomberg 3-12 Month T-Bill ETF

ICSHAiShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF

In short

BILS Most T-bill ETFs park at the very front of the curve. BILS deliberately steps out to bills with 3 to 12 months left to run, one rung further along the same government ladder, from the SPDR bond shop.

ICSH BlackRock's active cash-parking sleeve, live since 2013: roughly 250 ultra-short investment-grade bonds and money market instruments, run for current income with preservation of capital, at 0.08% a year.

Stated mandate

BILS The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Bloomberg 3-12 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index, providing exposure to U.S. Treasury Bills with remaining maturities of 3 to 12 months.

ICSH The fund seeks current income consistent with preservation of capital through actively managed exposure to ultra-short-term investment-grade bonds and money market instruments.

Why people hold it

BILS Targets the 3-to-12-month rung of the bill curve. Where sibling BIL sits in 1-3 month paper, BILS holds the next maturities out.ssga.com
A compact book of roughly 40 Treasury bills, direct obligations of the US government. No corporate paper, no credit tiers to decode.ssga.com
Tracks its Bloomberg bill index closely and pays monthly. A multi-billion-dollar fund with steady day-to-day trading behind it.

ICSH At 0.08% a year it undercuts the typical cash-alternative ETF, which charges about 0.20%, and comes in below top-rated rivals like FLUD and JPST.
Actively managed rather than a fixed ladder: the team picks across ultra-short investment-grade bonds and money market instruments, spread over roughly 250 positions.ishares.com
Trading since 2013 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that changes hands actively, giving it one of the longer records in the cash-alternative aisle.
Sits in the top quartile of its cash-alternative peer group, helped by high-quality holdings and low cost.

Worth knowing

BILS The 0.14% fee matches the category median but runs above the cheapest bill funds, like XONE at 0.03% and VBIL at 0.06%.
Longer maturities move more when rates shift. Small moves by bond standards, but not as flat a line as a 0-3 month bill fund.
Income resets as bills mature and roll into new ones, so payouts track wherever short-term Treasury rates sit at the time.ssga.com

ICSH Not a money market fund. The share price floats, and preservation of capital is the stated aim, not a promise.ishares.com
It holds investment-grade corporate paper alongside money market instruments, so it carries credit risk a Treasury-bill-only fund does not.ishares.com
It pays monthly, but the amount rides short-term rates, and as an active fund its results can drift from its 6-month T-bill reference index either way.

Full BILS profile⁠

Full ICSH profile⁠

BILS vs ICSH Holdings

How BILS and ICSH differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile75.4%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for BILS.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in BILS and ICSH, widest gap first
Country	More in BILSMore in ICSH	BILS	ICSH
United States	BILS +24.6 points	100.0%	75.4%
Canada	ICSH +4.5 points	0.0%	4.5%
United Kingdom	ICSH +3.3 points	0.0%	3.3%
Australia	ICSH +3.1 points	0.0%	3.1%
Sweden	ICSH +3.1 points	0.0%	3.1%
New Zealand	ICSH +2.6 points	0.0%	2.6%
Japan	ICSH +1.4 points	0.0%	1.4%
Luxembourg	ICSH +1.3 points	0.0%	1.3%
Other countries (10)	ICSH +5.4 points	0.0%	5.4%

Outside the US: ICSH 98% developed, 2% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

BILS52.6%
ICSH10.0%

Securities held

BILS10
ICSH407

Asset class

BILS: Fixed Income
ICSH: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. BILS holds 10 securities, ICSH 407.

All 37 BILS holdings⁠All 251 ICSH 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.

BILS vs ICSH Cost

Overpaying BILS vs ICSH

$1,146

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

BILS 0.1353%
$2,835
ICSH 0.08%
$1,689

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

BILS 0.1353%
ICSH 0.08%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	BILS	ICSH	Overpaying
10	$247	$147	$100
20	$967	$575	$392
30	$2,835	$1,689	$1,146

Expense ratio

0.14%BILS
0.08%ICSH, cheaper

ICSH0.08%BILS0.14%

0.03%1.00%

Middle half of Cash & Ultra-Short Income funds
Median 0.18%

ICSH 10th cheapest of 78 funds

BILS 19th cheapest of 78 funds

BILS vs ICSH Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 2, 2026

Yield (12M): BILS 4.02%; ICSH 4.50%, better
Payout (12M): BILS $3.98; ICSH $2.26
Last payment: BILS $0.33; ICSH $0.18
Ex-dividend: BILS Nov 2, 2026; ICSH Nov 2, 2026
Paid on: BILS Pays Nov 5, 2026; ICSH Pays Nov 5, 2026
Frequency: BILS Monthly; ICSH Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

BILSMonthly · 46 paymentsAll BILS payments⁠

ICSHMonthly · 46 paymentsAll ICSH payments⁠

BILS vs ICSH Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

BILS
ICSH

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: BILS 0.3%, betterICSH 0.4%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: BILS −0.57ICSH 0.87, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: BILS −0.3%, betterICSH −0.7%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: BILS 0.02ICSH 0.04; Market = 1

Popular comparisons

BILSAvsCLIPA
State Street SPDR Bloomberg 3-12 Month T-Bill ETF · Global X 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF
Expense ratio
0.14% · 0.07%
Category
ICSHAvsCLIPA
iShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF · Global X 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF
Expense ratio
0.08% · 0.07%
Category
BILSAvsVBILA
State Street SPDR Bloomberg 3-12 Month T-Bill ETF · Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF
Expense ratio
0.14% · 0.06%
Category
ICSHAvsVBILA
iShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF · Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF
Expense ratio
0.08% · 0.06%
Category
BILSAvsVUSBA
State Street SPDR Bloomberg 3-12 Month T-Bill ETF · Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.14% · 0.10%
Category
ICSHAvsVUSBA
iShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF · Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.08% · 0.10%
Category