GBIL vs VUSB

GBILAGoldman Sachs Access Treasury 0-1 Year ETF

VUSBAVanguard Ultra-Short Bond 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.

VUSB Vanguard's first actively managed bond ETF, run by its in-house fixed income team and priced at 0.10%. It holds investment-grade paper maturing inside two years: a step past a money fund, well short of a real bond fund.

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.

VUSB The fund seeks current income with limited price volatility while investing in diversified high- and medium-quality fixed-income securities. It expects to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 0–2 years.

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.

• VUSB At 0.10%, it costs half the typical ultra-short bond ETF and undercuts the other leaders in the group: SHV, PULS, FLDR and DUSB all charge 0.15%.
• Active, not adventurous. The managers buy investment-grade bonds (A3-or-better high quality plus BBB-tier medium quality) and hold average maturity to zero-to-two years.vanguard.com
• Income lands monthly, sourced from roughly 170 bonds, so no single issuer drives the outcome.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, and the same portfolio team also runs a similar Vanguard ultra-short fund.vanguard.com

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.

• VUSB This is not a money market fund. No fixed $1 share price, and the market price can trade above or below the value of the holdings.vanguard.com
• The mandate allows BBB-tier credit, a notch of risk a Treasury-only neighbor like SHV doesn't take.vanguard.com
• Bonds this short reprice with short-term rates, so the monthly payout drifts up and down instead of holding a set level.vanguard.com

Full GBIL profile⁠

Full VUSB profile⁠