CLIP vs PULS

CLIPAGlobal X 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF

PULSAPGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF

In short

CLIP Treasury bills, one to three months out, at half the fee of the category's longtime giant. Global X launched CLIP in 2023 as the cheap challenger in the parking-lot corner of the bond market, and it has hugged its index tightly since.

PULS The active pick in a cash-parking aisle stocked with index trackers. PGIM's desk hand-selects short investment-grade fixed, floating and variable-rate debt, charges 0.15% a year, and pays monthly.

Stated mandate

CLIP CLIP seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Solactive 1-3 month US T-Bill Index. It invests in U.S. government Treasury bills with remaining maturities from one month to under three months.

PULS Seeks total return from current income and capital appreciation, consistent with preservation of capital. It primarily invests in investment-grade, U.S.-dollar-denominated short-term fixed, variable, and floating-rate debt instruments.

Why people hold it

• CLIP 0.07% a year, half the 0.14% median for its bill-fund cohort and half what category veteran BIL charges for the same one-to-three-month exposure.
• The mandate fits on one line: US Treasury bills maturing in one month to under three, roughly two dozen of them. Government paper only, no corporate credit slipped in.globalxetfs.com
• Sticks to the Solactive 1-3 month US T-Bill Index about as tightly as anything in its peer group, which is the entire job description for a bill fund.
• Distributes monthly, and it has already gathered billions in assets, so it is no thin-ice launch.

• PULS Actively run, not index-bound: managers choose among investment-grade, dollar-denominated short-term fixed, variable and floating-rate debt, measured against the ICE BofA US 3-Month Treasury Bill Index.
• 0.15% a year puts active management at the same price as index-run ultra-short rivals like SHV and DUSB, and below the cohort's typical fee.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, which matters when the job is parking cash you may want back quickly.
• Monthly distributions and a spread of roughly 500 positions, running since its 2018 launch.

Worth knowing

• CLIP Income comes straight off short-term Treasury rates. Monthly payouts move up and down with those rates rather than sitting at a fixed level.
• It opened in 2023, so the track record is short next to the bill funds it undercuts on fee.
• Volume is respectable, not the deepest in the cohort, and a hair cheaper exists (Vanguard's VBIL at 0.06%). At these fee levels the gap is rounding error.

• PULS This is corporate-style credit, not Treasuries. A pure T-bill fund like SHV skips the credit risk that comes with investment-grade paper.
• Preserving capital is a stated aim, not a promise. It's an ETF, so the share price floats with rates and credit conditions.
• No index to hold it to. Results ride on the manager's calls against a 3-month T-bill yardstick, for better or worse.

Full CLIP profile⁠

Full PULS profile⁠