GBIL vs ICSH

GBILAGoldman Sachs Access Treasury 0-1 Year ETF

ICSHAiShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF

In short

GBIL Treasuries only, and the whole under-one-year slice: bills plus old notes and bonds in their final 12 months. Goldman's 2016-vintage cash park charges 0.12% net of a waiver through December 29, 2026.

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

GBIL The Fund seeks to track the FTSE US Treasury 0-1 Year Composite Select Index, which measures U.S. Treasury securities with no more than 12 months remaining maturity. It is passively managed and generally sells securities only when the index removes them.

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

• GBIL Treasuries only: securities with 12 months or less left to run, so no corporate credit sneaks in the way it can at ultra-short bond peers like ICSH and VUSB.
• Passive to the letter, generally selling only when the index drops a security, and it has tracked that index about as tightly as this category gets.
• Costs 0.12% net of a waiver through December 29, 2026 (0.14% gross), below the category median fee.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively and pays monthly income, one of the stronger implementations in its peer 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

• GBIL Cheaper bill funds exist: VBIL at 0.06%, CLIP at 0.07%, TBLL at 0.08%, none leaning on a waiver. GBIL's waiver runs to December 29, 2026; gross is 0.14%.
• Holding nothing but sub-one-year paper, the monthly payout resets quickly when short-term rates move, in either direction, with almost no duration to cushion prices.
• Roughly 40 Treasury positions, so results follow the short end of the curve rather than anyone's security picks.

• 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 GBIL profile⁠

Full ICSH profile⁠