BSV vs ISTB: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF

BSVANYSE Arca

iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF

ISTBANasdaq

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

BSV −0.03pt a year

BSV0.03%ISTB0.06%

Avg volume · 30D

BSV 5.5×the volume

BSV2.86MISTB523K

10Y return · a year

ISTB +0.2pt

BSV+2.0%ISTB+2.2%

BSV vs ISTB Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+9.7%BSV+10.8%ISTB

Expense ratio: BSV 0.03%, better; ISTB 0.06%
Fund size: BSV $69.6B; ISTB $5.35B
1Y total return: BSV +1.6%; ISTB +1.7%, better
Yield (12M): BSV 4.08%; ISTB 4.34%, better
Holdings: BSV 3159; ISTB 7551
Avg volume (30D): BSV 2.86M sh, better; ISTB 523K sh
NAV per share: BSV $77.05; ISTB $47.59
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for BSV, ISTB, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	BSV	ISTB
Cost30% weight	A97Higher	A89
Mission25% weight	Not scored	Not scored
Risk15% weight	C43	C45Higher
Tradability15% weight	A86Higher	A73
Holdings10% weight	B69	A79Higher
Durability5% weight	A95Higher	A90

Rank among Short-Term Core Bond funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. BSV and ISTB 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 ISTB 2nd 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

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

BSVAVanguard Short-Term Bond ETF

ISTBAiShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF

In short

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.

ISTB The Agg with the long end trimmed off, plus a dash of high yield. ISTB tracks a broad USD bond index that stops at five-year maturities, so you get core bond plumbing with a fraction of the rate sensitivity, for six basis points.

Stated mandate

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

ISTB The fund seeks to track an index of U.S.-dollar bonds rated investment grade or high yield, with remaining maturities from one to five years.

Why people hold it

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.

ISTB Six basis points a year, a fraction of the typical broad bond ETF fee. On a bond fund, every basis point of fee comes straight out of the income you keep.ishares.com
The index casts a wider credit net than the Agg: investment grade plus high yield, thousands of individual bonds deep.ishares.com
Nothing in the index matures past five years, so the portfolio carries far less interest-rate sensitivity than full-maturity core bond funds like BND, SPAB or SCHZ.ishares.com
Running since 2012, multi-billion-dollar, actively traded, and it pays income monthly rather than quarterly.

Worth knowing

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

ISTB The high yield sleeve adds credit risk that investment-grade-only short bond funds skip.ishares.com
Short maturities cut both ways: smaller price swings when rates rise, and less lift when they fall.
Not a cash substitute. The share price moves daily, and maturing bonds get replaced at whatever rates prevail, so the monthly payout drifts.ishares.com

Full BSV profile⁠

Full ISTB profile⁠

BSV vs ISTB Holdings

How BSV and ISTB differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile93.0%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for BSV.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in BSV and ISTB, widest gap first
Country	More in BSVMore in ISTB	BSV	ISTB
United States	BSV +6.6 points	90.9%	84.3%
Supranational	ISTB +0.8 points	2.7%	3.5%
Luxembourg	ISTB +0.8 points	0.0%	0.8%
France	ISTB +0.7 points	0.1%	0.8%
Hong Kong	ISTB +0.6 points	0.0%	0.6%
Other countries (35)	ISTB +3.7 points	6.3%	10.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

BSV9.8%
ISTB8.5%

Securities held

BSV3,154
ISTB7,496

Asset class

BSV: Fixed Income
ISTB: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. BSV holds 3,154 securities, ISTB 7,496.

All BSV holdings⁠All 7,582 ISTB 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.

BSV vs ISTB Cost

Overpaying ISTB vs BSV

$632

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

BSV 0.03%
$638
ISTB 0.06%
$1,270

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

BSV 0.03%
ISTB 0.06%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	BSV	ISTB	Overpaying
10	$55	$110	$55
20	$216	$432	$216
30	$638	$1,270	$632

Expense ratio

0.03%BSV, cheaper
0.06%ISTB

BSV0.03%ISTB0.06%

0.03%0.45%

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

BSV cheapest of 12 funds

ISTB 2nd cheapest of 12 funds

BSV vs ISTB Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): BSV 4.08%; ISTB 4.34%, better
Payout (12M): BSV $3.15; ISTB $2.07
Last payment: BSV $0.27; ISTB $0.17
Ex-dividend: BSV Oct 1, 2026; ISTB Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: BSV Oct 5, 2026; ISTB Oct 6, 2026
Frequency: BSV Monthly; ISTB Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

BSVMonthly · 45 paymentsAll BSV payments⁠

ISTBMonthly · 45 paymentsAll ISTB payments⁠

BSV vs ISTB Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

BSV
ISTB

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: BSV 2.4%, betterISTB 2.5%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: BSV 0.06ISTB 0.24, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: BSV −8.0%, betterISTB −8.8%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: BSV 0.38ISTB 0.39; Market = 1

Popular comparisons

BSVAvsAVSFB
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF · Avantis Short-Term Fixed Income ETF
Expense ratio
0.03% · 0.15%
Category
ISTBAvsAVSFB
iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF · Avantis Short-Term Fixed Income ETF
Expense ratio
0.06% · 0.15%
Category
BSVAvsSHAGB
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF · WisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund
Expense ratio
0.03% · 0.12%
Category
ISTBAvsSHAGB
iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF · WisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund
Expense ratio
0.06% · 0.12%
Category
BSVAvsLODIC
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF · AAM SLC Low Duration Income ETF
Expense ratio
0.03% · 0.15%
Category
ISTBAvsLODIC
iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF · AAM SLC Low Duration Income ETF
Expense ratio
0.06% · 0.15%
Category