ICSH vs XHLF: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF

ICSHACboe

BondBloxx Bloomberg Six Month Target Duration US Treasury ETF

XHLFANYSE Arca

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

XHLF −0.05pt a year

ICSH0.08%XHLF0.03%

Avg volume · 30D

ICSH 5.3×the volume

ICSH1.64MXHLF309K

3Y return · a year

ICSH +0.5pt

ICSH+4.9%XHLF+4.4%

ICSH vs XHLF Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

+3.6%ICSH+3.6%XHLF

Expense ratio: ICSH 0.08%; XHLF 0.03%, better
Fund size: ICSH $8.97B; XHLF $2.03B
1Y total return: ICSH +3.6%; XHLF +3.6%
Yield (12M): ICSH 4.13%, better; XHLF 3.75%
Holdings: ICSH 408; XHLF 29
Avg volume (30D): ICSH 1.64M sh, better; XHLF 309K sh
NAV per share: ICSH $50.47; XHLF $50.29
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for ICSH, XHLF, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	ICSH	XHLF
Cost30% weight	A89	A99Higher
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	C53Higher	C47
Tradability15% weight	A76	A79Higher
Holdings10% weight	A95Higher	D35
Durability5% weight	A90Higher	B59

Rank among Cash & Ultra-Short Income funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. ICSH and XHLF 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 XHLF 4th 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 4AVBILVanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETFScore 80
Rank 4AXHLFBondBloxx Bloomberg Six Month Target Duration US Treasury ETFScore 80
Rank 7ASGOViShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETFScore 79

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

ICSHAiShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF

XHLFABondBloxx Bloomberg Six Month Target Duration US Treasury 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.

XHLF Most cash-parking funds pick a maturity bucket. XHLF picks a number: it blends Treasury bills to an average duration of about six months, resets to that target monthly, and charges three basis points to do it.

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.

XHLF The Fund seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. Treasury securities.

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.

XHLF Costs 0.03% a year, against a typical short-Treasury peer near 0.14%. In cash-like funds, where returns come from bills everyone owns, fee is the main lever.
Tracks an index built to hold an average duration of roughly six months, rebalanced monthly, so exposure stays anchored instead of drifting as bills mature.bondbloxxetf.com
Sits in the gap between 0-3 month bill funds and one-year funds. Its sibling XONE targets a one-year duration at the same 0.03%, so the two can be mixed to dial in duration.
US Treasury bills only, no credit bets hiding in the portfolio, run in a multi-billion-dollar fund that has stayed close to its index.

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.

XHLF Six months of duration is not zero. Prices move a touch more when yields shift than in 0-3 month bill funds such as BIL or CLIP.
Income rides whatever Treasury bills happen to pay, and distributions arrive on an irregular rhythm rather than a fixed amount or schedule.
Volume is moderate next to the largest bill ETFs, so spreads can be a bit wider, which matters more on big tickets than small ones.

Full ICSH profile⁠

Full XHLF profile⁠

ICSH vs XHLF Holdings

How ICSH and XHLF differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile75.4%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for XHLF.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in ICSH and XHLF, widest gap first
Country	More in ICSHMore in XHLF	ICSH	XHLF
United States	XHLF +24.6 points	75.4%	100.0%
Canada	ICSH +4.5 points	4.5%	0.0%
United Kingdom	ICSH +3.3 points	3.3%	0.0%
Australia	ICSH +3.1 points	3.1%	0.0%
Sweden	ICSH +3.1 points	3.1%	0.0%
New Zealand	ICSH +2.6 points	2.6%	0.0%
Japan	ICSH +1.4 points	1.4%	0.0%
Luxembourg	ICSH +1.3 points	1.3%	0.0%
Other countries (10)	ICSH +5.4 points	5.4%	0.0%

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

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

ICSH10.0%
XHLF79.1%

Securities held

ICSH407
XHLF29

Asset class

ICSH: Fixed Income
XHLF: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. ICSH holds 407 securities, XHLF 29.

All 251 ICSH holdings⁠All XHLF 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.

ICSH vs XHLF Cost

Overpaying ICSH vs XHLF

$1,051

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

ICSH 0.08%
$1,689
XHLF 0.03%
$638

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

ICSH 0.08%
XHLF 0.03%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	ICSH	XHLF	Overpaying
10	$147	$55	$92
20	$575	$216	$359
30	$1,689	$638	$1,051

Expense ratio

0.08%ICSH
0.03%XHLF, cheaper

XHLF0.03%ICSH0.08%

0.03%1.00%

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

XHLF cheapest of 78 funds

ICSH 10th cheapest of 78 funds

ICSH vs XHLF Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): ICSH 4.13%, better; XHLF 3.75%
Payout (12M): ICSH $2.08; XHLF $1.89
Last payment: ICSH $0.17; XHLF $0.15
Ex-dividend: ICSH Oct 1, 2026; XHLF Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: ICSH Oct 6, 2026; XHLF Oct 6, 2026
Frequency: ICSH Monthly; XHLF Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

ICSHMonthly · 45 paymentsAll ICSH payments⁠

XHLFMonthly · 45 paymentsAll XHLF payments⁠

ICSH vs XHLF Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: ICSH 0.4%XHLF 0.3%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: ICSH 0.87, betterXHLF −0.52
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: ICSH −0.7%XHLF −0.1%since Sep 2022
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: ICSH 0.04XHLF 0.03; Market = 1

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