BSV vs NUSA: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF

BSVANYSE Arca

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

NUSACNYSE Arca

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

BSV −0.11pt a year

BSV0.03%NUSA0.14%

Avg volume · 30D

BSV 385.2×the volume

BSV2.86MNUSA7.41K

5Y return · a year

BSV +0.2pt

BSV+1.9%NUSA+1.7%

BSV vs NUSA Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+9.7%BSV+8.7%NUSA

Expense ratio: BSV 0.03%, better; NUSA 0.14%
Fund size: BSV $69.6B; NUSA $37M
1Y total return: BSV +1.6%, better; NUSA +1.3%
Yield (12M): BSV 4.08%, better; NUSA 3.92%
Holdings: BSV 3159; NUSA 356
Avg volume (30D): BSV 2.86M sh, better; NUSA 7.41K sh
NAV per share: BSV $77.05; NUSA $22.88
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for BSV, NUSA, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	BSV	NUSA
Cost30% weight	A97Higher	A72
Mission25% weight	Not scored	Not scored
Risk15% weight	C43	C43
Tradability15% weight	A86Higher	D38
Holdings10% weight	B69Higher	D38
Durability5% weight	A95Higher	D38

Rank among Short-Term Core Bond funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. BSV 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 ›

BSV ranks 1st 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 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

BSVAVanguard Short-Term Bond ETF

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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 BSV profile⁠

Full NUSA profile⁠

BSV vs NUSA Holdings

How BSV and NUSA differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile95.8%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for BSV and NUSA.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in BSV and NUSA, widest gap first
Country	More in BSVMore in NUSA	BSV	NUSA
Supranational	BSV +2.5 points	2.7%	0.2%
United States	NUSA +1.5 points	90.9%	92.4%
Luxembourg	NUSA +0.5 points	0.0%	0.5%
Other countries (28)	NUSA +0.4 points	6.4%	6.8%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

BSV9.8%
NUSA23.8%

Securities held

BSV3,154
NUSA355

Asset class

BSV: Fixed Income
NUSA: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. BSV holds 3,154 securities, NUSA 355.

All BSV 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.

BSV vs NUSA Cost

Overpaying NUSA vs BSV

$2,294

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

BSV 0.03%
$638
NUSA 0.14%
$2,932

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

BSV 0.03%
NUSA 0.14%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	BSV	NUSA	Overpaying
10	$55	$256	$201
20	$216	$1,000	$784
30	$638	$2,932	$2,294

Expense ratio

0.03%BSV, cheaper
0.14%NUSA

BSV0.03%NUSA0.14%

0.03%0.45%

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

BSV cheapest of 12 funds

NUSA 4th cheapest of 12 funds

BSV vs NUSA Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): BSV 4.08%, better; NUSA 3.92%
Payout (12M): BSV $3.15; NUSA $0.90
Last payment: BSV $0.27; NUSA $0.08
Ex-dividend: BSV Oct 1, 2026; NUSA Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: BSV Oct 5, 2026; NUSA Oct 2, 2026
Frequency: BSV Monthly; NUSA Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

BSVMonthly · 45 paymentsAll BSV payments⁠

NUSAMonthly · 46 paymentsAll NUSA payments⁠

BSV vs NUSA Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

BSV
NUSA

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: BSV 2.4%, betterNUSA 2.5%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: BSV 0.06, betterNUSA 0.003
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: BSV −8.0%, betterNUSA −8.8%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: BSV 0.38NUSA 0.40; Market = 1

Popular comparisons

BSVAvsISTBA
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF · iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.03% · 0.06%
Category
NUSACvsISTBA
Nuveen ESG 1-5 Year U.S. Aggregate Bond · iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.14% · 0.06%
Category
BSVAvsAVSFB
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF · Avantis Short-Term Fixed Income ETF
Expense ratio
0.03% · 0.15%
Category
NUSACvsAVSFB
Nuveen ESG 1-5 Year U.S. Aggregate Bond · Avantis Short-Term Fixed Income ETF
Expense ratio
0.14% · 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
NUSACvsSHAGB
Nuveen ESG 1-5 Year U.S. Aggregate Bond · WisdomTree Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund
Expense ratio
0.14% · 0.12%
Category