TUSI vs XHLF

TUSICTouchstone Ultra Short Income ETF

XHLFABondBloxx Bloomberg Six Month Target Duration US Treasury ETF

In short

TUSI Most ultra-short funds buy T-bills and call it a day. TUSI is actively managed, roaming across maturities and instrument types in search of total return, at 0.25% net of a waiver through April 29, 2027.

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

TUSI The Fund seeks maximum total return while preserving capital. It invests at least 80% of assets in fixed-income securities and uses a diversified portfolio spanning different maturities and instruments.

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

Why people hold it

• TUSI The mandate in plain English: maximum total return while preserving capital, with at least 80% in fixed income spread across different maturities and instruments.
• Benchmarked to the ICE BofA 3-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index, so the active calls are measured against plain bills rather than a softer yardstick.
• No style drift. What the portfolio actually holds lines up closely with the ultra-short income mandate it advertises.
• Pays monthly, which suits a cash-adjacent sleeve, and the fund has been live since its 2022 launch.

• 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

• TUSI Active costs money: 0.25% net of a waiver through April 29, 2027 sits above the category median and above bill trackers like VBIL (0.06%) and CLIP (0.07%).
• The gross fee is 0.43%, so that 0.25% rests on the contractual waiver, which the board can end and which runs through April 29, 2027.sec.gov
• Not a pure Treasury fund. Shareholder reports break the portfolio out by S&P and Moody's credit ratings, so results ride on credit as well as rates.sec.gov

• 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 TUSI profile⁠

Full XHLF profile⁠