ICSH vs TUSI

ICSHAiShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF

TUSICTouchstone Ultra Short Income ETF

In short

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.

TUSI Most ultra-short funds buy T-bills and call it a day. TUSI is actively managed, roaming across maturities and instrument types in search of total return, at 0.25% net of a waiver through April 29, 2027.

Stated mandate

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.

TUSI The Fund seeks maximum total return while preserving capital. It invests at least 80% of assets in fixed-income securities and uses a diversified portfolio spanning different maturities and instruments.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• TUSI The mandate in plain English: maximum total return while preserving capital, with at least 80% in fixed income spread across different maturities and instruments.
• Benchmarked to the ICE BofA 3-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index, so the active calls are measured against plain bills rather than a softer yardstick.
• No style drift. What the portfolio actually holds lines up closely with the ultra-short income mandate it advertises.
• Pays monthly, which suits a cash-adjacent sleeve, and the fund has been live since its 2022 launch.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• TUSI Active costs money: 0.25% net of a waiver through April 29, 2027 sits above the category median and above bill trackers like VBIL (0.06%) and CLIP (0.07%).
• The gross fee is 0.43%, so that 0.25% rests on the contractual waiver, which the board can end and which runs through April 29, 2027.sec.gov
• Not a pure Treasury fund. Shareholder reports break the portfolio out by S&P and Moody's credit ratings, so results ride on credit as well as rates.sec.gov

Full ICSH profile⁠

Full TUSI profile⁠