TBIL vs XHLF

TBILAF/m US Treasury 3 Month Bill Fund

XHLFABondBloxx Bloomberg Six Month Target Duration US Treasury ETF

In short

TBIL One bond, one job: TBIL owns the newest 3-month Treasury bill and rolls into the next at each month's rebalance, so you hold the current 3-month rate, not a blend. Pays monthly. Flagship of the first single-security Treasury suite.

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

TBIL The Fund seeks investment results, before fees and expenses, that generally correspond to the price and yield performance of the Bloomberg US Treasury Bellwether 3M Total Return USD Unhedged Index. It normally invests at least 80% of net assets in the index components.

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

Why people hold it

• TBIL Holds one security: the most recently auctioned 3-month bill, refreshed at each month's rebalance, with that on-the-run bill written in as the fallback if the index lags an auction.fminvest.com
• Pays monthly, a faster cadence than the semi-annual coupons on the Treasury notes further out the curve.fminvest.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so getting in and out is rarely the hard part. Running since 2022 as the flagship of F/m's single-security Treasury lineup.fminvest.com

• 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

• TBIL At 0.15% it costs a bit more than the typical bill ETF and several times the cheapest options, with VBIL at 0.06% and XONE at 0.03%.
• One bond means no ladder to smooth things: at each roll the whole portfolio resets to the latest auction rate, up or down.fminvest.com
• An ETF, not a money market fund. The share price floats with the market instead of being managed to a stable $1.

• 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 TBIL profile⁠

Full XHLF profile⁠