ULST vs. XLU

Last updated Apr 2, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF (ULST) and Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU).

ULST and XLU 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. XLU is a passively managed fund by State Street that tracks the performance of the Utilities Select Sector Index. It was launched on Dec 16, 1998. Both ULST and XLU 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. XLU - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF (ULST) and Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

ULST vs. XLU - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
ULST State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF	0.67%	4.80%	5.23%	5.60%	0.87%	0.25%	1.45%	3.23%	2.04%	1.19%
XLU Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund	8.77%	16.03%	23.31%	-7.18%	1.44%	17.70%	0.51%	25.93%	3.94%	12.05%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, ULST achieves a 0.67% return, which is significantly lower than XLU's 8.77% return. Over the past 10 years, ULST has underperformed XLU with an annualized return of 2.64%, while XLU has yielded a comparatively higher 9.79% annualized return.

ULST

• 1D: 0.03%
• 1M: 0.02%
• YTD: 0.67%
• 6M: 1.60%
• 1Y: 4.09%
• 3Y*: 4.99%
• 5Y*: 3.43%
• 10Y*: 2.64%

XLU

• 1D: 0.48%
• 1M: -1.98%
• YTD: 8.77%
• 6M: 6.26%
• 1Y: 19.98%
• 3Y*: 14.30%
• 5Y*: 10.90%
• 10Y*: 9.79%

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

ULST vs. XLU - Expense Ratio Comparison

ULST has a 0.20% expense ratio, which is higher than XLU's 0.13% 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%.

ULST

State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF

XLU

Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund

Return for Risk

ULST vs. XLU — 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

XLU

XLU Risk / Return Rank: 66
XLU Sharpe Ratio Rank: 70
XLU Sortino Ratio Rank: 66
XLU Omega Ratio Rank: 62
XLU Calmar Ratio Rank: 79
XLU Martin Ratio Rank: 52

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. XLU - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF (ULST) and Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU). 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	XLU	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	5.07	1.27	+3.80
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	9.64	1.73	+7.91
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	2.43	1.23	+1.20
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	11.12	2.21	+8.91
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	68.42	5.31	+63.11
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. XLU - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current ULST Sharpe Ratio is 5.07, which is higher than the XLU Sharpe Ratio of 1.27. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of ULST and XLU, 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	XLU	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	5.07	1.27	+3.80
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	3.58	0.64	+2.94
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	1.81	0.51	+1.30
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	1.48	0.41	+1.07

Correlation

The correlation between ULST and XLU is 0.04, 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. XLU - Dividend Comparison

ULST's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 4.34%, more than XLU's 2.58% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
ULST State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF	4.34%	4.46%	5.03%	4.45%	1.70%	0.54%	1.34%	2.56%	2.13%	1.21%	0.93%	0.37%
XLU Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund	2.58%	2.71%	2.96%	3.39%	2.92%	2.79%	3.14%	2.95%	3.33%	3.33%	3.41%	3.67%

Drawdowns

ULST vs. XLU - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum ULST drawdown since its inception was -6.20%, smaller than the maximum XLU drawdown of -51.98%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for ULST and XLU.

Drawdown Indicators

	ULST	XLU	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-6.20%	-51.98%	+45.78%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-0.37%	-9.18%	+8.81%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-1.22%	-25.26%	+24.04%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-6.20%	-36.07%	+29.87%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	0.00%	-2.72%	+2.72%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-0.16%	-10.26%	+10.10%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	0.06%	3.82%	-3.76%

Volatility

ULST vs. XLU - Volatility Comparison

The current volatility for State Street Ultra Short Term Bond ETF (ULST) is 0.25%, while Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) has a volatility of 5.09%. This indicates that ULST experiences smaller price fluctuations and is considered to be less risky than XLU based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	ULST	XLU	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	0.25%	5.09%	-4.84%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	0.42%	10.36%	-9.94%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	0.81%	15.79%	-14.98%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	0.96%	17.18%	-16.22%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	1.47%	19.21%	-17.74%