FXB vs USDU

FXBBInvesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust

USDUCWisdomTree Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund

In short

FXB One-ticker access to the pound. FXB is a grantor trust whose value aims to reflect the dollar price of sterling, plus any accrued interest, less expenses. Live since 2006, it's an original in a very small corner of the ETF market.

USDU Betting on the buck, but broadly: USDU is actively managed against a dollar basket spanning developed and emerging-market currencies, weighted by market liquidity and trade flows with the US, with short-term Treasuries as collateral.

Stated mandate

FXB The Trust seeks to reflect the U.S.-dollar price of British Pound Sterling, plus accrued interest if any, after deducting its expenses and liabilities.

USDU The Fund seeks total returns before fees and expenses that exceed the Bloomberg Dollar Total Return Index and provides broad exposure to the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies.

Why people hold it

• FXB One job, plainly stated: reflect the dollar price of the pound, plus any accrued interest, after expenses. A grantor trust tied to sterling, not a manager's macro call.invesco.com
• 0.40% a year, the standard rate across Invesco's CurrencyShares lineup (FXE, FXF and FXY all charge the same) and right at the single-currency median.
• Trading since 2006, one of the longest continuous runs among single-currency funds, and one of the stronger implementations in that small group.
• Whatever interest accrues on the trust's sterling above expenses goes out on a monthly schedule rather than piling up inside the wrapper.

• USDU The basket reaches past the usual majors into emerging-market currencies, picked for liquidity and their countries' trade flows with the US, and reweighted once a year.sec.govbbhub.io
• Dollar exposure is built with short-dated currency forwards; the portfolio itself holds Treasury bills, money market instruments and cash equivalents.sec.gov
• The benchmark also reflects money market rate differences between the US and the countries behind the foreign currencies, not just spot moves.sec.gov
• Trading since December 2013 and built as a registered 1940 Act fund, with currency weights actively set rather than locked to the index.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• FXB Thinly traded next to mainstream ETFs, so spreads and order size matter more here than in a big index fund.
• One currency, one exposure. Sterling versus the dollar drives the entire result, and the 0.40% fee comes off the top each year.
• Interest is conditional, not fixed: payouts depend on what accrues on the trust's sterling after expenses, so the cadence is monthly but the amounts are not set.

• USDU At 0.51% with no fee waiver, it sits above the currency-fund median and above single-currency trusts like FXE and FXY at 0.40% (also unwaived).
• Active means no index to hold it to: weights are the manager's call, so results can diverge from the Bloomberg Dollar Total Return Index in either direction.sec.gov
• Moderately traded rather than a volume monster, so spreads and order type matter more here, and income goes out annually or semiannually, not monthly.

Full FXB profile⁠

Full USDU profile⁠