SHY vs GOVT Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
SHY and GOVT sit in related but distinct corners of the ETF landscape — SHY centers on the standard, most liquid short-duration Treasury holding, while GOVT focuses on one-fund exposure to the entire US Treasury maturity spectrum. Investors choosing between them should weigh how each fund's strategy lines up with their own goals rather than assuming they're interchangeable.
Choosing between SHY and GOVT comes down to which specific exposure — the standard, most liquid short-duration Treasury holding or one-fund exposure to the entire US Treasury maturity spectrum — better matches the role you want this holding to play in a diversified portfolio.
GOVT holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. SHY has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+1.54% vs -0.72% for GOVT).
- want the standard, most liquid short-duration Treasury holding
- prefer iShares (BlackRock)'s approach and fund lineup
- value extremely high liquidity as the standard short-Treasury benchmark fund
- are comfortable with lower yield than intermediate or credit-focused bond funds
- want one-fund exposure to the entire US Treasury maturity spectrum
- prefer iShares (BlackRock)'s approach and fund lineup
- value single holding for full Treasury yield-curve diversification
- are comfortable with less precise duration control than owning short, intermediate, or long funds separately
| Metric | SHY | GOVT |
|---|---|---|
| ETF scorei | 35.0 | 32.0 |
| Latest closei | $81.24 | $22.13 |
| 1M returni | -0.70% | -1.49% |
| 6M returni | +0.48% | -1.06% |
| 1Y returni | +1.54% | -0.72% |
The ETF score weights long-term returns and risk-adjusted performance most heavily, but still rewards low expense ratios, larger fund size, and broader diversification — so it can favor low-cost, broad, mega-cap funds over smaller thematic or actively-managed funds even when the latter have delivered stronger returns.
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | SHY | GOVT |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.53K (+5.3%) started 2025-09-18 | $10.3K (+3.0%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $12.73K (+27.3%) started 2021-09-20 | $10.97K (+9.7%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $14.78K (+47.8%) started 2016-09-19 | $13.78K (+37.8%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | SHY | GOVT |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratioi | 0.15% | 0.05% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $25.91B | $41.82B |
| Dividend yieldi | 3.63% | 3.65% |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 0.05 | 0.19 |
| 52-week change | 1.54% | -0.72% |
| Metric | SHY | GOVT |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y returni | +1.54% | -0.72% |
| 6M returni | +0.48% | -1.06% |
| 1M returni | -0.70% | -1.49% |
| 1Y Sharpe ratio | -2.22 | -1.46 |
| Betai | 0.05 | 0.19 |
| Dividend yieldi | 3.63% | 3.65% |
| 5Y CAGR | +1.73% | -1.11% |
Over the past year, SHY and GOVT have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.83), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | SHY | GOVT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +1.54% | -0.72% |
| CAGRi | +1.54% | -0.72% | |
| Volatilityi | 1.33% | 3.54% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -2.22 | -1.46 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -2.73 | -1.90 | |
| Max drawdowni | 0.89% | 3.34% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.73% | 3.25% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 0.17% | 1.20% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 0.25% | 1.48% | |
| Max daily dropi | 0.30% | 0.70% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 0.48% | 1.10% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +8.92% | -5.42% |
| CAGRi | +1.73% | -1.11% | |
| Volatilityi | 2.01% | 6.00% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -1.37 | -0.91 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -1.89 | -1.24 | |
| Max drawdowni | 5.63% | 16.41% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.73% | 5.46% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 1.49% | 8.35% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 2.24% | 9.24% | |
| Max daily dropi | 0.51% | 2.22% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 1.26% | 2.84% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +17.51% | +7.04% |
| CAGRi | +1.63% | +0.68% | |
| Volatilityi | 1.58% | 5.22% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -1.82 | -0.70 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -2.48 | -0.97 | |
| Max drawdowni | 5.71% | 19.07% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.73% | 8.47% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 0.89% | 6.82% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 1.64% | 8.65% | |
| Max daily dropi | 0.51% | 2.22% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 1.26% | 2.84% |
| Category | SHY | GOVT |
|---|---|---|
| Fund name | iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF | iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF |
| Type | ETF | ETF |
| Expense ratioi | 0.15% | 0.05% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $25.91B | $41.82B |
| Dividend yieldi | 3.63% | 3.65% |
- Extremely high liquidity as the standard short-Treasury benchmark fund
- Minimal interest-rate risk
- Zero default risk given pure Treasury holdings
- Single holding for full Treasury yield-curve diversification
- Pure Treasury credit quality with zero default risk
- Simplifies duration management into one broad-based fund
- Lower yield than intermediate or credit-focused bond funds
- Minimal capital-appreciation potential
- Nearly identical exposure to Vanguard's cheaper VGSH
- Less precise duration control than owning short, intermediate, or long funds separately
- Blended duration still means some price sensitivity to rate moves
- Lower yield than credit-focused bond funds
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