NUSB vs VUSB: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Nuveen Ultra Short Income

NUSBBNasdaq

Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF

VUSBACboe

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

VUSB −0.07pt a year

NUSB0.17%VUSB0.10%

Avg volume · 30D

VUSB 385.5×the volume

NUSB5.21KVUSB2.01M

NUSB vs VUSB Performance

Nov 4, 2025 – Nov 4, 2026

+3.9%NUSB+3.7%VUSB

Expense ratio: NUSB 0.17%; VUSB 0.10%, better
Fund size: NUSB $155M; VUSB $9.9B
1Y total return: NUSB +3.9%, better; VUSB +3.7%
Yield (12M): NUSB 4.16%; VUSB 4.28%, better
Holdings: NUSB 140; VUSB 1352
Avg volume (30D): NUSB 5.21K sh; VUSB 2.01M sh, better
NAV per share: NUSB $25.15; VUSB $49.45
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for NUSB, VUSB, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	NUSB	VUSB
Cost30% weight	C54	A84Higher
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	C46	C53Higher
Tradability15% weight	C43	B67Higher
Holdings10% weight	A72	A86Higher
Durability5% weight	D37	A88Higher

Rank among Cash & Ultra-Short Income funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. NUSB 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 NUSB 32nd 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 82
Rank 3AVBILVanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETFScore 81
Rank 3AVUSBVanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETFScore 81
Rank 5ASGOViShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETFScore 80
Rank 31BWEEKRoundhill Weekly T-Bill ETFScore 65
Rank 32BNUSBNuveen Ultra Short IncomeScore 63
Rank 32BOBILUS Treasury 12 Month Bill ETFScore 63

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

NUSBBNuveen Ultra Short Income

VUSBAVanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF

In short

NUSB Nuveen's 2024 entry in the cash-parking aisle: an actively run bond fund that keeps duration near a year or less, leans investment grade, pays monthly, and charges less than the typical ultra-short ETF.

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

NUSB The actively managed ETF seeks total return consistent with preservation of capital. It invests at least 80% in income-producing fixed-income securities, primarily investment grade, while seeking duration of one year or less, except that duration may reach two years in certain market conditions.

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

NUSB Charges 0.17%, under the 0.20% median for cash-alternative ETFs and a hair below JPST's 0.18%.
Run by people, not an index: at least 80% in income-producing fixed income, primarily investment grade, with duration targeted at one year or less.nuveen.com
Pays monthly, spread across roughly 140 positions, so income lands on a regular cadence instead of quarterly.

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

NUSB Thinly traded next to the category's household names, so bid-ask spreads can matter more on bigger orders.
Cheap, not cheapest: ICSH runs 0.08% in the same aisle.
Duration can stretch toward two years in certain market conditions, and holdings are primarily rather than exclusively investment grade. Not a T-bill stand-in.

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 NUSB profile⁠

Full VUSB profile⁠

NUSB vs VUSB Holdings

How NUSB and VUSB differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile87.9%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for VUSB.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in NUSB and VUSB, widest gap first
Country	Gap	NUSB	VUSB
United States	NUSB +8.4 points	85.3%	76.9%
United Kingdom	VUSB +3.5 points	0.0%	3.5%
Cayman Islands	VUSB +2.5 points	0.0%	2.5%
Japan	VUSB +2.1 points	0.0%	2.1%
Denmark	NUSB +1.8 points	2.1%	0.3%
Germany	VUSB +1.7 points	0.0%	1.7%
Sweden	NUSB +1.0 points	1.1%	0.1%
Switzerland	VUSB +1.0 points	0.0%	1.0%
Other countries (13)	VUSB +0.5 points	11.5%	12.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

NUSB14.2%
VUSB12.6%

Securities held

NUSB140
VUSB1,346

Asset class

NUSB: Fixed Income
VUSB: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. NUSB holds 140 securities, VUSB 1,346.

All 141 NUSB holdings⁠All 1,347 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.

NUSB vs VUSB Cost

Overpaying NUSB vs VUSB

$1,440

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

NUSB 0.17%
$3,546
VUSB 0.10%
$2,106

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

NUSB 0.17%
VUSB 0.10%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	NUSB	VUSB	Overpaying
10	$310	$183	$127
20	$1,211	$717	$494
30	$3,546	$2,106	$1,440

Expense ratio

0.17%NUSB
0.10%VUSB, cheaper

VUSB0.10%NUSB0.17%

0.03%1.00%

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

VUSB 13th cheapest of 78 funds

NUSB 33rd cheapest of 78 funds

NUSB vs VUSB Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 4, 2026

Yield (12M): NUSB 4.16%; VUSB 4.28%, better
Payout (12M): NUSB $1.05; VUSB $2.12
Last payment: NUSB $0.09; VUSB $0.18
Ex-dividend: NUSB Nov 2, 2026; VUSB Nov 2, 2026
Paid on: NUSB Nov 3, 2026; VUSB Nov 4, 2026
Frequency: NUSB Monthly; VUSB Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

NUSBMonthly · 32 paymentsAll NUSB payments⁠

VUSBMonthly · 46 paymentsAll VUSB payments⁠

NUSB vs VUSB Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: NUSB 0.4%since Apr 2024VUSB 0.8%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: NUSB 0.76since Apr 2024VUSB 0.86
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: NUSB −0.2%since Mar 2024VUSB −1.7%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: NUSB 0.01VUSB 0.10; Market = 1

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