ICSH vs YEAR: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF

ICSHACboe

AB Ultra Short Income ETF

YEARCNYSE Arca

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

ICSH −0.17pt a year

ICSH0.08%YEAR0.25%

Avg volume · 30D

ICSH 11.3×the volume

ICSH1.68MYEAR149K

3Y return · a year

ICSH +0.2pt

ICSH+4.9%YEAR+4.7%

ICSH vs YEAR Performance

Nov 7, 2025 – Nov 9, 2026

+3.7%ICSH+3.2%YEAR

Expense ratio: ICSH 0.08%, better; YEAR 0.25%
Fund size: ICSH $8.9B; YEAR $1.59B
1Y total return: ICSH +3.7%, better; YEAR +3.2%
Yield (12M): ICSH 4.12%, better; YEAR 3.98%
Holdings: ICSH 400; YEAR 157
Avg volume (30D): ICSH 1.68M sh, better; YEAR 149K sh
NAV per share: ICSH $50.35; YEAR $50.14
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for ICSH, YEAR, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	ICSH	YEAR
Cost30% weight	A89Higher	F18
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	C52Higher	C43
Tradability15% weight	A74Higher	B59
Holdings10% weight	A95Higher	C53
Durability5% weight	A90Higher	B63

Rank among Cash & Ultra-Short Income funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. ICSH and YEAR 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 YEAR 57th of 78 funds in the Cash & Ultra-Short Income Category.

Rank 1AICSHiShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETFScore 84
Rank 2ACLIPGlobal X 1-3 Month T-Bill ETFScore 81
Rank 57CUYLDAngel Oak Ultrashort Income ETFScore 54
Rank 57CYEARAB Ultra Short Income ETFScore 54
Rank 61CMMKTTexas Capital Government Money Market ETFScore 53

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

ICSHAiShares Ultra Short Duration Bond Active ETF

YEARCAB 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.

YEAR The fund that put AllianceBernstein in the ETF business. An active ultra-short bond portfolio that reaches past T-bills into investment-grade corporates and money-market paper, keeps duration under a year, and pays monthly.

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.

YEAR The fund is actively managed and seeks current income with preservation of capital. It primarily invests in high-quality, investment-grade fixed-income and cash-equivalent securities with duration of one year or less, including corporate securities, Treasuries, repurchase agreements, money-market funds and other high-quality money-market 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.

YEAR Actively managed, so duration, sector mix and individual bonds can shift inside the under-one-year window rather than following a fixed ladder.alliancebernstein.com
Wider toolkit than government-only cash funds like SBIL and IQMM: investment-grade corporates, Treasuries, repos, CDs, commercial paper and money-market funds.
A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades with reasonable regularity and distributes income monthly, spread across roughly 160 short-dated positions.
One of AllianceBernstein's first two ETFs, launched in 2022, backed by a fixed income desk the firm has run for decades.prnewswire.com

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.

YEAR At 0.25% a year, it prices above the middle of the cash-alternative group, and cheaper options including ICSH and JPST sit in the same aisle.
Corporate credit and money-market paper are not T-bills. Capital preservation is a stated goal, not a floor, and the share price can move.alliancebernstein.com
Duration under one year ties the income stream tightly to short-term rates, so the monthly payout rises and falls with them.

Full ICSH profile⁠

Full YEAR profile⁠

ICSH vs YEAR Holdings

How ICSH and YEAR differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile85.1%
Asset classBonds100%

Sector

ICSH and YEAR share no Sector name, so they cannot be compared by Sector.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in ICSH and YEAR, widest gap first
Country	Gap	ICSH	YEAR
United States	YEAR +10.6 points	73.6%	84.2%
Australia	ICSH +2.9 points	3.9%	1.0%
Sweden	ICSH +2.8 points	3.3%	0.5%
New Zealand	ICSH +2.4 points	2.4%	0.0%
France	YEAR +1.8 points	1.1%	2.9%
Switzerland	ICSH +1.7 points	1.7%	0.0%
Japan	YEAR +1.4 points	1.4%	2.8%
Germany	ICSH +1.3 points	1.3%	0.0%
Other countries (7)	ICSH +2.7 points	11.2%	8.5%

Outside the US: ICSH 100% developed, 0% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

ICSH10.1%
YEAR53.4%

Securities held

ICSH400
YEAR153

Asset class

ICSH: Bonds
YEAR: Bonds

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. ICSH holds 400 securities, YEAR 153.

All 250 ICSH holdings⁠All 154 YEAR 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 YEAR Cost

Overpaying YEAR vs ICSH

$3,470

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

ICSH 0.08%
$1,689
YEAR 0.25%
$5,159

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

ICSH 0.08%
YEAR 0.25%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	ICSH	YEAR	Overpaying
10	$147	$455	$308
20	$575	$1,769	$1,194
30	$1,689	$5,159	$3,470

Expense ratio

0.08%ICSH, cheaper
0.25%YEAR

ICSH0.08%YEAR0.25%

0.03%1.00%

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

ICSH 10th cheapest of 78 funds

YEAR 62nd cheapest of 78 funds

ICSH vs YEAR Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 9, 2026

Yield (12M): ICSH 4.12%, better; YEAR 3.98%
Payout (12M): ICSH $2.07; YEAR $1.99
Last payment: ICSH $0.18; YEAR $0.17
Ex-dividend: ICSH Nov 2, 2026; YEAR Nov 2, 2026
Paid on: ICSH Nov 5, 2026; YEAR Nov 5, 2026
Frequency: ICSH Monthly; YEAR Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

ICSHMonthly · 46 paymentsAll ICSH payments⁠

YEARMonthly · 46 paymentsAll YEAR payments⁠

ICSH vs YEAR 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%, betterYEAR 0.9%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: ICSH 0.87, betterYEAR 0.21
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: ICSH −0.7%YEAR −0.6%since Sep 2022
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: ICSH 0.04YEAR 0.09; Market = 1

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