GSY vs ICSH: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF

GSYBNYSE Arca

iShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF

ICSHACboe

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

ICSH −0.14pt a year

GSY0.22%ICSH0.08%

Avg volume · 30D

ICSH 1.8×the volume

GSY932KICSH1.64M

10Y return · a year

GSY+2.9%ICSH+2.9%

GSY vs ICSH Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+21.4%GSY+21.3%ICSH

Expense ratio: GSY 0.22%; ICSH 0.08%, better
Fund size: GSY $4.01B; ICSH $8.97B
1Y total return: GSY +3.9%, better; ICSH +3.6%
Yield (12M): GSY 4.21%, better; ICSH 4.13%
Holdings: GSY 416; ICSH 408
Avg volume (30D): GSY 932K sh; ICSH 1.64M sh, better
NAV per share: GSY $50.02; ICSH $50.47
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for GSY, ICSH, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	GSY	ICSH
Cost30% weight	D27	A89Higher
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	B58Higher	C53
Tradability15% weight	A74	A76Higher
Holdings10% weight	A92	A95Higher
Durability5% weight	A88	A90Higher

Rank among Cash & Ultra-Short Income funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. GSY 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 GSY 27th 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 27BEVSBEaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETFScore 66
Rank 27BGSYInvesco Ultra Short Duration ETFScore 66
Rank 27BXBILUS Treasury 6 Month Bill ETFScore 66

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

GSYBInvesco Ultra Short Duration ETF

ICSHAiShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF

In short

GSY The active one in a cash-parking aisle full of index trackers. GSY has been hand-picking short bonds since its 2008 launch, keeping duration under a year and aiming to earn more than Treasury bills, with income paid monthly.

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

GSY GSY seeks maximum current income while preserving capital and providing daily liquidity. It is actively managed and invests in diversified fixed-income securities with portfolio duration below one year, seeking returns above cash equivalents.

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

GSY Genuinely active, not an index clone: managers work across roughly 400 fixed-income positions with portfolio duration held below one year.
Built for the boring job it advertises: maximum current income with capital preservation and daily liquidity, distributions paid monthly.
A multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund with a track record dating to 2008, and a diversified book that ranks in the upper half of its ultra-short bond cohort.

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

GSY Active management comes at an active price: 0.22% a year, above the cohort median of 0.20% and more than double index-tracking VUSB at 0.10%.
Not a bills-only portfolio. The mandate is diversified fixed income reaching for returns above cash equivalents, so credit risk is part of the recipe, unlike Treasury-only SHV.
The ICE BofA US Treasury Bill Index is the yardstick, not the blueprint. Results come from the manager's calls and can land either side of it.

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 GSY profile⁠

Full ICSH profile⁠

GSY vs ICSH Holdings

How GSY and ICSH differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile87.5%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for GSY.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in GSY and ICSH, widest gap first
Country	More in GSYMore in ICSH	GSY	ICSH
United States	GSY +4.7 points	80.1%	75.4%
Sweden	ICSH +2.9 points	0.2%	3.1%
Canada	GSY +2.7 points	7.2%	4.5%
New Zealand	ICSH +2.6 points	0.0%	2.6%
Australia	ICSH +2.3 points	0.8%	3.1%
Cayman Islands	GSY +1.8 points	2.2%	0.4%
Luxembourg	ICSH +1.3 points	0.0%	1.3%
Germany	GSY +1.2 points	1.2%	0.0%
Other countries (12)	ICSH +1.4 points	8.3%	9.7%

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

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

GSY9.8%
ICSH10.0%

Securities held

GSY414
ICSH407

Asset class

GSY: Fixed Income
ICSH: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. GSY holds 414 securities, ICSH 407.

All 414 GSY 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.

GSY vs ICSH Cost

Overpaying GSY vs ICSH

$2,869

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

GSY 0.22%
$4,558
ICSH 0.08%
$1,689

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

GSY 0.22%
ICSH 0.08%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	GSY	ICSH	Overpaying
10	$401	$147	$254
20	$1,561	$575	$986
30	$4,558	$1,689	$2,869

Expense ratio

0.22%GSY
0.08%ICSH, cheaper

ICSH0.08%GSY0.22%

0.03%1.00%

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

ICSH 10th cheapest of 78 funds

GSY 57th cheapest of 78 funds

GSY vs ICSH Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): GSY 4.21%, better; ICSH 4.13%
Payout (12M): GSY $2.11; ICSH $2.08
Last payment: GSY $0.18; ICSH $0.17
Ex-dividend: GSY Oct 19, 2026; ICSH Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: GSY Oct 23, 2026; ICSH Oct 6, 2026
Frequency: GSY Monthly; ICSH Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

GSYMonthly · 46 paymentsAll GSY payments⁠

ICSHMonthly · 45 paymentsAll ICSH payments⁠

GSY vs ICSH Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

GSY
ICSH

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: GSY 0.6%ICSH 0.4%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: GSY 1.29, betterICSH 0.87
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: GSY −1.4%ICSH −0.7%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: GSY 0.07ICSH 0.04; Market = 1

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