VFIUX vs. VGSH
Compare and contrast key facts about Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund Admiral Shares (VFIUX) and Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF (VGSH).
VFIUX is managed by Vanguard. It was launched on Feb 12, 2001. VGSH is a passively managed fund by Vanguard that tracks the performance of the Barclays U.S. 1-3 Year Government Float Adjusted Index. It was launched on Nov 19, 2009.
Scroll down to visually compare performance, riskiness, drawdowns, and other indicators and decide which better suits your portfolio: VFIUX or VGSH.
Correlation
The correlation between VFIUX and VGSH is 0.74, which is considered to be high. That indicates a strong positive relationship between their price movements. Having highly-correlated positions in a portfolio may signal a lack of diversification, potentially leading to increased risk during market downturns.

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VFIUX vs. VGSH - Performance Comparison
Key characteristics
VFIUX:
1.15
VGSH:
3.43
VFIUX:
1.72
VGSH:
5.66
VFIUX:
1.21
VGSH:
1.77
VFIUX:
0.39
VGSH:
5.89
VFIUX:
2.82
VGSH:
17.03
VFIUX:
2.08%
VGSH:
0.34%
VFIUX:
5.11%
VGSH:
1.66%
VFIUX:
-18.44%
VGSH:
-5.70%
VFIUX:
-8.26%
VGSH:
-0.09%
Returns By Period
In the year-to-date period, VFIUX achieves a 3.15% return, which is significantly higher than VGSH's 1.94% return. Over the past 10 years, VFIUX has underperformed VGSH with an annualized return of 0.81%, while VGSH has yielded a comparatively higher 1.49% annualized return.
VFIUX
3.15%
1.01%
1.48%
6.30%
-1.30%
0.81%
VGSH
1.94%
0.76%
2.46%
5.91%
1.18%
1.49%
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VFIUX vs. VGSH - Expense Ratio Comparison
VFIUX has a 0.10% expense ratio, which is higher than VGSH's 0.04% 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%.
Risk-Adjusted Performance
VFIUX vs. VGSH — Risk-Adjusted Performance Rank
VFIUX
VGSH
VFIUX vs. VGSH - Risk-Adjusted Performance Comparison
This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund Admiral Shares (VFIUX) and Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF (VGSH). 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.
Dividends
VFIUX vs. VGSH - Dividend Comparison
VFIUX's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 3.72%, less than VGSH's 4.16% yield.
TTM | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VFIUX Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund Admiral Shares | 3.75% | 4.16% | 3.55% | 2.07% | 1.03% | 1.28% | 2.42% | 2.44% | 1.88% | 1.70% | 1.79% | 1.75% |
VGSH Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF | 4.17% | 4.19% | 3.32% | 1.15% | 0.66% | 1.75% | 2.28% | 1.79% | 1.10% | 0.84% | 0.71% | 0.46% |
Drawdowns
VFIUX vs. VGSH - Drawdown Comparison
The maximum VFIUX drawdown since its inception was -18.44%, which is greater than VGSH's maximum drawdown of -5.70%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for VFIUX and VGSH. For additional features, visit the drawdowns tool.
Volatility
VFIUX vs. VGSH - Volatility Comparison
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Fund Admiral Shares (VFIUX) has a higher volatility of 1.70% compared to Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF (VGSH) at 0.60%. This indicates that VFIUX's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than VGSH based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.
User Portfolios with VFIUX or VGSH
Recent discussions
Dividend Paying Stock Portfolio
4803heights
Going forward performance roughly coinciding with historically optimized portfolios on this site?
I'm quite new to the site, but I am concerned that a portfolio optimized with past data may have no bearing at all on its future performance. Has anyone been around long enough to speak to this concern. Have you outperformed a relevant benchmark with actual invested money?
Also, if you've been here awhile, what tools on the site do you find most useful?
Thanks for reading!
Bob Peticolas
calculation of performance
Portfolio performance graph for past 1Y (thru 3/13/2025):
GLD=37.82%
IAU=37.97%
IAUM=38.34%
using daily adjusted closing market price (from NASDAQ) integrating the logarithmic daily rate of return between 3/13/2025 to 3/14/2025 to calculate the cumulative rate of return, I calculate
GLD=31.34%
IAU=31.45%
IAUM=31.66%
These ETF's do not pay a dividend, Expense cost is included in the closing price.
The difference in rate of return is about 6%, which is too large. I can send you my calculation (xls) if this would be useful.
What is causing the error?
Marcus Crahan