GSY vs VUSB: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Invesco Ultra Short Duration ETF

GSYBNYSE Arca

Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF

VUSBACboe

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

VUSB −0.12pt a year

GSY0.22%VUSB0.10%

Avg volume · 30D

VUSB 2.1×the volume

GSY932KVUSB1.97M

5Y return · a year

GSY +0.3pt

GSY+4.0%VUSB+3.7%

GSY vs VUSB Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+21.4%GSY+20.0%VUSB

Expense ratio: GSY 0.22%; VUSB 0.10%, better
Fund size: GSY $4.01B; VUSB $9.9B
1Y total return: GSY +3.9%, better; VUSB +3.7%
Yield (12M): GSY 4.21%; VUSB 4.27%, better
Holdings: GSY 416; VUSB 1348
Avg volume (30D): GSY 932K sh; VUSB 1.97M sh, better
NAV per share: GSY $50.02; VUSB $49.62
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for GSY, VUSB, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	GSY	VUSB
Cost30% weight	D27	A84Higher
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	B58Higher	C53
Tradability15% weight	A74Higher	B66
Holdings10% weight	A92Higher	A90
Durability5% weight	A88	A89Higher

Rank among Cash & Ultra-Short Income funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. GSY and VUSB 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 ›

VUSB ranks 3rd 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 3AVUSBVanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETFScore 81
Rank 4ATBLLInvesco Short Term Treasury ETFScore 80
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

VUSBAVanguard Ultra-Short Bond 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 GSY profile⁠

Full VUSB profile⁠

GSY vs VUSB Holdings

How GSY and VUSB differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile94.3%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for GSY and VUSB.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in GSY and VUSB, widest gap first
Country	More in GSYMore in VUSB	GSY	VUSB
United States	GSY +3.2 points	80.1%	76.9%
France	GSY +1.4 points	2.0%	0.6%
United Kingdom	VUSB +1.3 points	2.2%	3.5%
Switzerland	VUSB +1.0 points	0.0%	1.0%
Japan	VUSB +0.9 points	1.2%	2.1%
Australia	VUSB +0.8 points	0.8%	1.6%
Ireland	GSY +0.7 points	1.5%	0.8%
Germany	VUSB +0.5 points	1.2%	1.7%
Other countries (14)	VUSB +0.8 points	11.0%	11.8%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

GSY9.8%
VUSB11.2%

Securities held

GSY414
VUSB1,342

Asset class

GSY: Fixed Income
VUSB: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. GSY holds 414 securities, VUSB 1,342.

All 414 GSY holdings⁠All VUSB 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 VUSB Cost

Overpaying GSY vs VUSB

$2,452

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

GSY 0.22%
$4,558
VUSB 0.10%
$2,106

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

GSY 0.22%
VUSB 0.10%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	GSY	VUSB	Overpaying
10	$401	$183	$218
20	$1,561	$717	$844
30	$4,558	$2,106	$2,452

Expense ratio

0.22%GSY
0.10%VUSB, cheaper

VUSB0.10%GSY0.22%

0.03%1.00%

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

VUSB 13th cheapest of 78 funds

GSY 57th cheapest of 78 funds

GSY vs VUSB Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): GSY 4.21%; VUSB 4.27%, better
Payout (12M): GSY $2.11; VUSB $2.12
Last payment: GSY $0.18; VUSB $0.18
Ex-dividend: GSY Oct 19, 2026; VUSB Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: GSY Oct 23, 2026; VUSB Oct 5, 2026
Frequency: GSY Monthly; VUSB Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

GSYMonthly · 46 paymentsAll GSY payments⁠

VUSBMonthly · 45 paymentsAll VUSB payments⁠

GSY vs VUSB Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

GSY
VUSB

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: GSY 0.6%, betterVUSB 0.8%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: GSY 1.29, betterVUSB 0.86
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: GSY −1.4%, betterVUSB −1.7%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: GSY 0.07VUSB 0.10; Market = 1

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