SHY vs. SPY

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY).

SHY and SPY are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. SHY is a passively managed fund by iShares that tracks the performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. 1-3 Year Treasury Bond Index. It was launched on Jul 22, 2002. SPY is a passively managed fund by State Street that tracks the performance of the S&P 500 Index. It was launched on Jan 22, 1993. Both SHY and SPY are passive ETFs, meaning that they are not actively managed but aim to replicate the performance of the underlying index as closely as possible.

Performance

SHY vs. SPY - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

SHY vs. SPY - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
SHY iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF	0.27%	4.95%	3.92%	4.16%	-3.88%	-0.71%	3.03%	3.38%	1.46%	0.26%
SPY State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF	-4.37%	17.72%	24.89%	26.18%	-18.18%	28.73%	18.33%	31.22%	-4.57%	21.71%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, SHY achieves a 0.27% return, which is significantly higher than SPY's -4.37% return. Over the past 10 years, SHY has underperformed SPY with an annualized return of 1.65%, while SPY has yielded a comparatively higher 13.98% annualized return.

SHY

• 1D: 0.08%
• 1M: -0.47%
• YTD: 0.27%
• 6M: 1.34%
• 1Y: 3.61%
• 3Y*: 3.88%
• 5Y*: 1.70%
• 10Y*: 1.65%

SPY

• 1D: 2.91%
• 1M: -4.94%
• YTD: -4.37%
• 6M: -1.82%
• 1Y: 17.59%
• 3Y*: 18.19%
• 5Y*: 11.69%
• 10Y*: 13.98%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

SHY vs. SPY - Expense Ratio Comparison

SHY has a 0.15% expense ratio, which is higher than SPY's 0.09% expense ratio. However, both funds are considered low-cost compared to the broader market, where average expense ratios usually range from 0.3% to 0.9%.

SHY

iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF

SPY

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF

Return for Risk

SHY vs. SPY — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

SHY

SHY Risk / Return Rank: 96
SHY Sharpe Ratio Rank: 96
SHY Sortino Ratio Rank: 98
SHY Omega Ratio Rank: 97
SHY Calmar Ratio Rank: 96
SHY Martin Ratio Rank: 96

SPY

SPY Risk / Return Rank: 64
SPY Sharpe Ratio Rank: 56
SPY Sortino Ratio Rank: 60
SPY Omega Ratio Rank: 65
SPY Calmar Ratio Rank: 65
SPY Martin Ratio Rank: 75

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

SHY vs. SPY - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	SHY	SPY	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	2.50	0.93	+1.58
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	4.12	1.45	+2.67
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.52	1.22	+0.30
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	4.15	1.53	+2.63
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	16.03	7.30	+8.73
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

SHY vs. SPY - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current SHY Sharpe Ratio is 2.50, which is higher than the SPY Sharpe Ratio of 0.93. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of SHY and SPY, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	SHY	SPY	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	2.50	0.93	+1.58
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	0.87	0.69	+0.18
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	1.06	0.78	+0.28
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	1.29	0.56	+0.73

Correlation

The correlation between SHY and SPY is -0.20. This indicates that the assets' prices tend to move in opposite directions. Negative correlation can be particularly beneficial for diversification and risk management, as one asset may offset the losses of the other during market fluctuations.

Dividends

SHY vs. SPY - Dividend Comparison

SHY's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 3.75%, more than SPY's 1.14% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
SHY iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF	3.75%	3.81%	3.92%	2.99%	1.30%	0.26%	0.94%	2.12%	1.72%	0.98%	0.71%	0.54%
SPY State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF	1.14%	1.07%	1.21%	1.40%	1.65%	1.20%	1.52%	1.75%	2.04%	1.80%	2.03%	2.06%

Drawdowns

SHY vs. SPY - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum SHY drawdown since its inception was -5.71%, smaller than the maximum SPY drawdown of -55.19%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for SHY and SPY.

Drawdown Indicators

	SHY	SPY	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-5.71%	-55.19%	+49.48%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-0.89%	-12.05%	+11.16%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-5.71%	-24.50%	+18.79%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-5.71%	-33.72%	+28.01%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-0.47%	-6.24%	+5.77%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-0.52%	-9.09%	+8.57%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	0.23%	2.52%	-2.29%

Volatility

SHY vs. SPY - Volatility Comparison

The current volatility for iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY) is 0.58%, while State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has a volatility of 5.31%. This indicates that SHY experiences smaller price fluctuations and is considered to be less risky than SPY based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	SHY	SPY	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	0.58%	5.31%	-4.73%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	0.89%	9.47%	-8.58%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	1.45%	19.05%	-17.60%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	1.97%	17.06%	-15.09%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	1.56%	17.92%	-16.36%