BSV
Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF · Vanguard
Bonds & Treasuries
1Y Return
+3.0%
Expense Ratio
0.03%
AUM
$45B
Dividend Yield
4.02%
Avg Annual Growth (10Y)
-0.0%
Issuer
Vanguard

Overview

Investment-grade bonds maturing in 1-5 years — about 70% Treasuries plus high-grade corporates, the classic middle ground between cash and a full bond fund.

Top Holdings

TickerHoldingWeight
USTUS Treasuries 1-5yr~68%
CORPIG Corporates 1-5yr~27%
Agencies & other~5%

Fund Details

Index
Bloomberg US 1-5 Year Gov/Credit
# Holdings
~2,700
Inception
Apr 2007
Exchange
NYSE Arca
Structure
Open-End Fund
Distribution
Monthly
Avg Annual Growth (10Y)
-0.0%
Avg Annual Yield (10Y)
2.46%

Investment Thesis

BSV occupies the sweet spot for money that is not cash but cannot tolerate real drawdowns: with a duration around 2.6 years it earns meaningfully more than bills while losing far less than long bonds when rates rise — it fell about 8% peak-to-trough in 2022's historic rate shock versus over 30% for TLT. At 0.04% it is the cheapest broad short-duration fund available.

Who It's For

Investors with a 2-4 year horizon, bond allocations that prioritise stability over yield-chasing, and anyone who found out in 2022 how much duration risk a 'safe' bond fund can carry.

10-Year History

Annual Closing Price
YearClose% Chg
2016$76.92--
2017$77.07+0.2%
2018$76.76-0.4%
2019$78.61+2.4%
2020$80.81+2.8%
2021$78.71-2.6%
2022$72.49-7.9%
2023$73.94+2.0%
2024$74.90+1.3%
2025$76.32+1.9%
Annual Dividend Yield
YearYield
20162.10%
20172.10%
20182.30%
20192.60%
20202.20%
20211.40%
20221.20%
20232.60%
20244.10%
20254.02%
Annual AUM
YearAUM% Chg
2016$20B--
2017$21B+5.0%
2018$23B+9.5%
2019$24B+4.3%
2020$26B+8.3%
2021$27B+3.8%
2022$29B+7.4%
2023$31B+6.9%
2024$33B+6.5%
2025$35B+6.1%

Historical figures are ETFHub estimates modelled from asset-class return patterns and may differ from official fund records. Data as of August 2026.

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