ICSH vs VRIG

ICSHAiShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF

VRIGBInvesco Variable Rate Investment Grade 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.

VRIG Most funds in the cash corner just roll Treasury bills. VRIG is the active floating-rate alternative: securitized and corporate paper whose coupons reset with short-term rates, built for current income with very low duration.

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.

VRIG The actively managed ETF seeks current income while maintaining low portfolio duration as its primary objective; capital appreciation is secondary.

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.

• VRIG Coupons reset as short-term rates move, which is how the fund keeps portfolio duration low while pursuing current income. Rate swings move floaters less than fixed-coupon bonds.invesco.com
• Active, not an index clone. Managers range across floating-rate securitized, corporate and agency paper, with at least 80% of net assets in investment-grade variable rate instruments.invesco.com
• Pays income monthly and spreads the work across roughly 400 positions instead of a short stack of bills.
• Trading since 2016, so the strategy has a track record covering both rising and falling short-term rates, and it stays actively traded on the screen.

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.

• VRIG It charges 0.30% a year, against 0.19% for the typical fund in its short-duration group and 0.06% to 0.08% for bill trackers like VBIL and ICSH. Active credit work costs more.
• This is credit, not Treasury bills. The 80% investment-grade floor leaves room for lower-rated and fixed-rate holdings, and securitized paper can move when markets get stressed.invesco.com
• Floating coupons cut both ways. When short-term rates fall, the interest the portfolio collects resets lower with them.invesco.com

Full ICSH profile⁠

Full VRIG profile⁠