ULST vs. FALN

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF (ULST) and iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF (FALN).

ULST and FALN are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. ULST is a passively managed fund by State Street that tracks the performance of the Bloomberg US Treasury Bellwether 3 Month Index. It was launched on Oct 9, 2013. FALN is a passively managed fund by iShares that tracks the performance of the Bloomberg US High Yield Fallen Angel 3% Capped Index. It was launched on Jun 14, 2016. Both ULST and FALN 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

ULST vs. FALN - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF (ULST) and iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF (FALN). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

ULST vs. FALN - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
ULST State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF	0.64%	4.80%	5.23%	5.60%	0.87%	0.25%	1.45%	3.23%	2.04%	1.19%
FALN iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF	-1.06%	8.92%	7.68%	13.47%	-13.79%	5.40%	14.85%	17.42%	-4.97%	8.70%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, ULST achieves a 0.64% return, which is significantly higher than FALN's -1.06% return.

ULST

• 1D: 0.10%
• 1M: -0.01%
• YTD: 0.64%
• 6M: 1.68%
• 1Y: 4.08%
• 3Y*: 4.98%
• 5Y*: 3.42%
• 10Y*: 2.64%

FALN

• 1D: 1.04%
• 1M: -2.55%
• YTD: -1.06%
• 6M: -0.67%
• 1Y: 6.34%
• 3Y*: 8.32%
• 5Y*: 3.59%
• 10Y*: —

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

ULST vs. FALN - Expense Ratio Comparison

ULST has a 0.20% expense ratio, which is lower than FALN's 0.25% expense ratio. Despite the difference, both funds are considered low-cost compared to the broader market, where average expense ratios usually range from 0.3% to 0.9%.

FALN

iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF

ULST

State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF

Return for Risk

ULST vs. FALN — Risk / Return Rank

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

ULST

ULST Risk / Return Rank: 99
ULST Sharpe Ratio Rank: 99
ULST Sortino Ratio Rank: 99
ULST Omega Ratio Rank: 99
ULST Calmar Ratio Rank: 99
ULST Martin Ratio Rank: 99

FALN

FALN Risk / Return Rank: 54
FALN Sharpe Ratio Rank: 55
FALN Sortino Ratio Rank: 52
FALN Omega Ratio Rank: 62
FALN Calmar Ratio Rank: 48
FALN Martin Ratio Rank: 54

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.

ULST vs. FALN - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF (ULST) and iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF (FALN). 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.

	ULST	FALN	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	5.05	0.92	+4.13
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	9.61	1.31	+8.30
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	2.43	1.22	+1.21
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	11.10	1.15	+9.96
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	68.31	4.96	+63.35
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

ULST vs. FALN - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current ULST Sharpe Ratio is 5.05, which is higher than the FALN Sharpe Ratio of 0.92. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of ULST and FALN, 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

	ULST	FALN	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	5.05	0.92	+4.13
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	3.57	0.50	+3.08
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	1.81	—	—
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	1.48	0.72	+0.76

Correlation

The correlation between ULST and FALN is 0.12, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

ULST vs. FALN - Dividend Comparison

ULST's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 4.38%, less than FALN's 6.51% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
ULST State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF	4.38%	4.46%	5.03%	4.45%	1.70%	0.54%	1.34%	2.56%	2.13%	1.21%	0.93%	0.37%
FALN iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF	6.51%	6.31%	6.24%	5.37%	5.08%	3.40%	5.14%	5.35%	5.97%	6.98%	3.55%	0.00%

Drawdowns

ULST vs. FALN - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum ULST drawdown since its inception was -6.20%, smaller than the maximum FALN drawdown of -29.22%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for ULST and FALN.

Drawdown Indicators

	ULST	FALN	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-6.20%	-29.22%	+23.02%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-0.37%	-5.57%	+5.20%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-1.22%	-18.78%	+17.56%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-6.20%	—	—
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-0.01%	-2.83%	+2.82%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-0.16%	-3.37%	+3.21%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	0.06%	1.29%	-1.23%

Volatility

ULST vs. FALN - Volatility Comparison

The current volatility for State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF (ULST) is 0.25%, while iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF (FALN) has a volatility of 2.77%. This indicates that ULST experiences smaller price fluctuations and is considered to be less risky than FALN based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	ULST	FALN	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	0.25%	2.77%	-2.52%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	0.42%	3.53%	-3.11%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	0.81%	6.90%	-6.09%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	0.96%	7.28%	-6.32%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	1.47%	9.01%	-7.54%