DUSB vs ICSH: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Dimensional Ultrashort Fixed Income ETF

DUSBANYSE Arca

iShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF

ICSHACboe

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

ICSH −0.06pt a year

DUSB0.14%ICSH0.08%

Avg volume · 30D

ICSH 4.1×the volume

DUSB397KICSH1.64M

3Y return · a year

ICSH +0.1pt

DUSB+4.8%ICSH+4.9%

DUSB vs ICSH Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

+3.7%DUSB+3.6%ICSH

Expense ratio: DUSB 0.14%; ICSH 0.08%, better
Fund size: DUSB $2.82B; ICSH $8.97B
1Y total return: DUSB +3.7%, better; ICSH +3.6%
Yield (12M): DUSB 3.92%; ICSH 4.13%, better
Holdings: DUSB 639; ICSH 408
Avg volume (30D): DUSB 397K sh; ICSH 1.64M sh, better
NAV per share: DUSB $50.62; ICSH $50.47
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for DUSB, ICSH, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	DUSB	ICSH
Cost30% weight	A76	A89Higher
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	C51	C53Higher
Tradability15% weight	B67	A76Higher
Holdings10% weight	A76	A95Higher
Durability5% weight	A75	A90Higher

Rank among Cash & Ultra-Short Income funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. DUSB 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 DUSB 14th of 78 funds in the Cash & Ultra-Short Income Category.

Rank 1AICSHiShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETFScore 85
Rank 2ACLIPGlobal X 1-3 Month T-Bill ETFScore 82
Rank 10AXONEBondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETFScore 77
Rank 14ADUSBDimensional Ultrashort Fixed Income ETFScore 76
Rank 15ABILSState Street SPDR Bloomberg 3-12 Month T-Bill ETFScore 75

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

DUSBADimensional Ultrashort Fixed Income ETF

ICSHAiShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF

In short

DUSB Most of this category just buys T-bills. Dimensional's ultrashort fund is the active one: corporates, bank paper and foreign dollar bonds, 0.14% net of a waiver through February 28, 2027.

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

DUSB The fund seeks to maximize total returns, consisting of income and capital appreciation. It generally invests in investment-grade fixed-income securities, usually maturing within one year, while maintaining a weighted average maturity of no more than one year.

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

DUSB The prospectus lets it lean into longer-dated paper when the term premium looks bigger, and stay short when it doesn't, with weighted average maturity capped at one year.sec.gov
Wider menu than a bill fund: Treasuries, agencies, corporates, commercial paper, bank obligations and dollar bonds of foreign issuers. Roughly 400 positions, paid out monthly.sec.gov
Fee sits near the category median at 0.14%, net of a waiver through February 28, 2027 (0.15% gross), and it is one of the stronger mandate implementations in the group.

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

DUSB Credit risk is the trade-off. Corporate and bank paper can widen in a stress episode in ways pure T-bill funds like VBIL and CLIP don't.sec.gov
Costs more than the index bill crowd: 0.14% net of a waiver through February 28, 2027 against 0.06% for VBIL and 0.07% for CLIP. The active work has to earn that gap.
Moderately traded and a 2023 launch, so it is younger and less busy than the category's biggest names.

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 DUSB profile⁠

Full ICSH profile⁠

DUSB vs ICSH Holdings

How DUSB and ICSH differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile90.5%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for DUSB.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in DUSB and ICSH, widest gap first
Country	More in DUSBMore in ICSH	DUSB	ICSH
United States	ICSH +2.9 points	72.5%	75.4%
Sweden	ICSH +2.7 points	0.4%	3.1%
France	DUSB +2.5 points	3.7%	1.2%
New Zealand	ICSH +1.9 points	0.7%	2.6%
Japan	DUSB +1.6 points	3.0%	1.4%
Australia	DUSB +1.6 points	4.7%	3.1%
United Kingdom	DUSB +1.0 points	4.3%	3.3%
Luxembourg	ICSH +0.8 points	0.5%	1.3%
Other countries (15)	DUSB +1.7 points	10.4%	8.7%

Outside the US: DUSB 100% developed, 0% emerging. ICSH 98% developed, 2% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

DUSB11.8%
ICSH10.0%

Securities held

DUSB622
ICSH407

Asset class

DUSB: Fixed Income
ICSH: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. DUSB holds 622 securities, ICSH 407.

All 432 DUSB 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.

DUSB vs ICSH Cost

Overpaying DUSB vs ICSH

$1,243

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

DUSB 0.14%
$2,932
ICSH 0.08%
$1,689

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

DUSB 0.14%
ICSH 0.08%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	DUSB	ICSH	Overpaying
10	$256	$147	$109
20	$1,000	$575	$425
30	$2,932	$1,689	$1,243

Expense ratio

0.14%DUSB
0.08%ICSH, cheaper

ICSH0.08%DUSB0.14%

0.03%1.00%

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

ICSH 10th cheapest of 78 funds

DUSB 20th cheapest of 78 funds

DUSB vs ICSH Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): DUSB 3.92%; ICSH 4.13%, better
Payout (12M): DUSB $1.98; ICSH $2.08
Last payment: DUSB $0.15; ICSH $0.17
Ex-dividend: DUSB Oct 20, 2026; ICSH Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: DUSB Oct 22, 2026; ICSH Oct 6, 2026
Frequency: DUSB Monthly; ICSH Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

DUSBMonthly · 37 paymentsAll DUSB payments⁠

ICSHMonthly · 45 paymentsAll ICSH payments⁠

DUSB vs ICSH Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: DUSB 0.5%ICSH 0.4%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: DUSB 0.66ICSH 0.87, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: DUSB −0.3%since Sep 2023ICSH −0.7%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: DUSB 0.01ICSH 0.04; Market = 1

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