This ETF offers exposure to short term government bonds, focusing on Treasury bonds that mature in one to three years. As such, interest rate exposure for this product will be towards the low end, giving VGSH safe haven appeal as an asset that avoids both credit risk and interest rate risk. VGIT offers exposure to mid-dated Treasuries while VGLT is an option for those looking to focus on the long end of the maturity curve and enhance returns. VGSH probably doesn’t have much appeal as a core holding, since the overlap with broad-based funds such as BND will be significant. But this ETF can be a useful tool for tilting exposure towards Treasury bonds with a bias towards the shorter end of the maturity spectrum, decreasing the effective duration of a portfolio and minimizing overall volatility. Like most Vanguard ETFs, VGSH is among the cheapest options available; commission free trading in Vanguard accounts may increase the cost appeal to those keeping an eye on fees. Other options offering similar exposure include SHY and TUZ; the effective durations and yields on these products may vary slightly.
| Segment | Fixed Income: U.S. - Government, Treasury Investment Grade Short-Term |
| Category | Government, Treasury |
| Focus | Investment Grade |
| Niche | Short-Term |
| Strategy | Vanilla |
| Weighting Scheme | Market Value |
This section compares how balanced and deep this ETF is relative to its peers.
| VGSH | ETF Database Category Average | FactSet Segment Average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Holdings | 97 | 61 | 51 |
| % of Assets in Top 10 | 15.18% | 55.94% | 52.14% |
| % of Assets in Top 15 | 22.22% | 65.64% | 59.10% |
| % of Assets in Top 50 | 65.58% | 90.69% | 86.14% |
| VGSH | ETF Database Category Average | FactSet Segment Average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large (>12.9B) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Mid (>2.7B) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Small (>600M) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Micro (<600M) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
This section compares the P/E ratio of this ETF to its peers.
This section compares the dividend yield of this ETF to its peers.
| VGSH | ETF Database Category Average | FactSet Segment Average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend | $ 0.21 | $ 0.19 | $ 0.16 |
| Dividend Date | 2025-06-02 | N/A | N/A |
| Annual Dividend Rate | $ 2.65 | $ 2.28 | $ 1.90 |
| Annual Dividend Yield | 4.53% | 4.61% | 4.58% |
View charts featuring VGSH price and volume data.
View charts featuring ETF fund flow data.
5 Day Net Flows: 13.25 M 1 Month Net Flows: -497.57 M 3 Month Net Flows: 299.64 M 6 Month Net Flows: 2.59 B 1 Year Net Flows: 2.85 B 3 Year Net Flows: 7.41 B 5 Year Net Flows: 14.7 B 10 Year Net Flows: 22.46 BView charts that break down the influence that fund flows and price had on overall assets.
5 Day Net AUM Change: 1.75 MThe adjacent table gives investors an individual Realtime Rating for VGSH on several different metrics, including liquidity, expenses, performance, volatility, dividend, concentration of holdings in addition to an overall rating. The "A+ Metric Rated ETF" field, available to ETF Database Pro members, shows the ETF in the Government Bonds with the highest Metric Realtime Rating for each individual field. To view all of this data, sign up for a free 14-day trial for ETF Database Pro. To view information on how the ETF Database Realtime Ratings work, click here.
This section compares the cost efficiency of this ETF to its peers.
| Max ST Capital Gains Rate | 39.60% |
| Max LT Capital Gains Rate | 20.00% |
| Tax On Distributions | Ordinary income |
| Distributes K1 | No |
This section shows how this ETF has performed relative to its peers. Returns over 1 year are annualized.
| VGSH |
ETF Database
Category Average |
Factset Segment
Average |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Month Return | 0.31% | 0.37% | 0.38% |
| 3 Month Return | 1.00% | 0.09% | 1.36% |
| YTD Return | 2.28% | 2.17% | 2.53% |
| 1 Year Return | 5.45% | 3.30% | 4.73% |
| 3 Year Return | 3.32% | 0.59% | 1.12% |
| 5 Year Return | 1.21% | -0.97% | 0.22% |
The following charts reflect the geographic spread of VGSH's underlying holdings.
The following charts reflect the allocation of VGSH's underlying holdings.
| Asset | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Sovereign | 99.76% |
| CASH | 0.26% |
| Bond Sector | Percentage |
|---|
| Maturity | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Less Than 1 Year | 0.0% |
| 1-3 Years | 0.0% |
| 3-5 Years | 0.0% |
| 5-7 Years | 0.0% |
| 7-10 Years | 0.0% |
| 10-15 Years | 0.0% |
| 15-20 Years | 0.0% |
| 20-30 Years | 0.0% |
| 30+ Years | 0.0% |
| Asset | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Sovereign | 99.76% |
| CASH | 0.26% |
This section shows how the volatility of this ETF compares to the peer group ETF Database Category.
| 5 Day Volatility | 2.80% |
| 20 Day Volatility | 1.48% |
| 50 Day Volatility | 1.97% |
| 200 Day Volatility | 1.68% |
| Beta | -0.29 |
| Standard Deviation | 0.80% |
ETF Database's Financial Advisor Reports are designed as an easy handout for clients to explain the key information on a fund. Includes new analyst insights and classification data.
Fact sheets are issued by the ETF provider and framed by ETF Database. Information contained within the fact sheet is not guaranteed to be timely or accurate.
Below is a look at ETFs that currently offer attractive buying opportunities.
The ETFs included...
Below is a look at ETFs that currently offer attractive buying opportunities.
The ETFs included...
Below is a look at ETFs that currently offer attractive buying opportunities.
The ETFs included...
ETF Trends and ETF Database , the preeminent digital platforms for ETF news, research, tools, video, webcasts, native content channels, and more. The ETF Trends and ETF Database brands have been trusted amongst advisors, institutional investors, and individual investors for a combined 25 years. The firms are uniquely positioned to aid advisor’s education, adoption, and usage of ETFs, as well as the asset management community’s transition from traditionally analog to digital interactions with the advisor community.
Our team at ETF Database is committed to making our website the premier source of information on ETF investing with the world’s highest quality ETF tools, content, and resources.
ETF Database analysts have a combined 50 years in the ETF and Financial markets, covering every asset class and investment style. The team monitors new filings, new launches and new issuers to make sure we place each new ETF in the appropriate context so Financial Advisors can construct high quality portfolios.
Copyright © 2025 FactSet Research Systems Inc. All rights reserved.
A long-running debate in asset allocation circles is how much of a portfolio an investor should...
In a digital age where information moves in milliseconds and millions of participants can transact...