RAVI vs TBLL

RAVIBNorthern Trust Ultra-Short Fixed Income ETF

TBLLAInvesco Short Term Treasury ETF

In short

RAVI Active ultra-short bond investing since 2012, before most rivals existed: Northern Trust managers buying corporate, foreign and emerging-market paper, duration generally under a year. 0.25%, net of a waiver through March 1, 2027.

TBLL The bill fund that stretches to a full year. TBLL owns U.S. Treasuries maturing in one year or less and charges 0.08%, well under the typical fund in its 0-1 year Treasury group.

Stated mandate

RAVI RAVI seeks maximum current income while preserving capital and liquidity.

TBLL The fund invests primarily in U.S. Treasury obligations with maturities of one year or less and seeks exposure to the ICE U.S. Treasury Short Bond Index.

Why people hold it

• RAVI No index to track. Managers move across sectors by hand, keeping portfolio duration generally at a year or less and average maturity generally inside two years.flexshares.comsec.gov
• Reaches past Treasury bills: the fund may invest without limitation in foreign issuers, developed and emerging markets alike, alongside US corporate and asset-backed paper.flexshares.com
• Trading since 2012, which makes it one of the elder statesmen of ultra-short ETFs, with a record spanning zero rates, the 2022 hiking cycle and the years after.
• Pays monthly, and the portfolio has stayed inside its stated ultra-short, capital-preservation mandate.

• TBLL Charges 0.08% a year against a 0.14% median for its 0-1 year Treasury cohort, and undercuts BIL, the 1-3 month bill fund at 0.14%.
• Fishes the entire under-one-year curve, about 90 Treasury positions, instead of camping in 1-3 month paper like much of the peer shelf.
• Live since 2017 and a multi-billion-dollar fund, with index tracking among the tighter implementations in its 17-fund group.
• Distributions land monthly, and the portfolio is Treasury obligations only, so no corporate credit rides along.

Worth knowing

• RAVI At 0.25% (net of a waiver through March 1, 2027) it sits above the category median. Plain T-bill trackers like VBIL at 0.06% and CLIP at 0.07% cost a fraction.
• This is not a money market fund. Corporate, foreign and asset-backed holdings mean the share price floats and credit risk is real, even at short maturities.flexshares.com
• Volume is moderate rather than enormous next to the category's largest names, so spreads can widen; limit orders do more work here.

• TBLL Not the cheapest seat in the row: XONE runs 0.03% and VBIL 0.06%, so the cost gap is a few basis points.
• Reaching out to one-year maturities carries slightly more interest-rate sensitivity than a strict 1-3 month bill portfolio.
• Moderately traded rather than the volume leader of its category, so spreads deserve a look on larger orders.

Full RAVI profile⁠

Full TBLL profile⁠