SGOV owns very short Treasury bills, SPAXX is a government money market mutual fund, and USFR owns floating-rate Treasury notes. All three can serve a cash allocation, but their prices, yields, settlement, and access differ. SPAXX seeks a stable $1 share price; that is an objective, not a guarantee. SGOV and USFR trade on exchanges, so their market prices can move and trades may incur spreads. Match the vehicle to when and how you need the money.
Projections assume the current yield and share price remain constant. Actual results will vary.
Total returns
100% reinvested · ex-date convention. Period returns use this fixed assumption, independent of chart settings. YTD and 1Y are cumulative period returns; 3Y, 5Y, and 10Y are annualized. The shared Since-start window is annualized only when it covers at least one year.
USFR tops the group over the year to date with a 2.92% total return, against SGOV at 2.67% and SPAXX at 1.39%. Figures are total returns: price change plus every distribution reinvested.
Total return and risk statistics by fund. Each row is one fund; each column is one period or statistic.
Total return with all distributions reinvested on the ex-dividend date (a modeling convention, not the cash-settlement date), split-adjusted, as of September 30, 2026. YTD and 1Y are cumulative period returns; 3Y, 5Y, and 10Y are annualized. The shared Since-start window is annualized only when it covers at least one year. “Since Sep 2025” measures every fund from September 2, 2025 — the start of shared available history — so all funds share one comparison window. Volatility is the annualized standard deviation of daily total returns over the shared window since Sep 2025. Sharpe and Sortino divide the annualized return in excess of the risk-free rate by, respectively, that volatility and the downside deviation (both over the shared window since Sep 2025) — higher is better. Max drawdown is the largest peak-to-trough total-return decline over the same window — shallower is better.
Short T-bill ETFs, from our catalog
SGOV tracks ICE 0-3 Month US Treasury Securities Index and pays monthly at a forward distribution rate of 3.66% with an expense ratio of 0.09%.
BIL, another short Treasury ETF in this catalog, tracks Bloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index at a forward distribution rate of 3.66% (Monthly) with an expense ratio of 0.1353%.
These are interest-like cash rates, not equity dividends. A covered-call or dividend ETF can pay more, and it can also lose principal.
Side-by-side snapshot
Side-by-side snapshot. Each row is one metric;
each column is one fund.
Seeks to track an index of U.S. Treasury obligations maturing in three months or less, investing at least 90% of assets in U.S. Treasury securities.
Seeks as high a level of current income as is consistent with preservation of capital and liquidity. Invests at least 99.5% of total assets in cash, U.S. Government securities, and/or repurchase agreements that are collateralized fully by cash or U.S. Government securities. Commonly used as the default cash sweep in Fidelity brokerage accounts.
Track the performance of U.S. Treasury floating-rate notes (FRNs).
ETFs and AUM reflect what Dividend Vision tracks — the issuer's full lineup may be larger.
iShares is one of the largest ETF providers globally, known for offering a broad, diversified lineup of exchange-traded funds across multiple asset classes and investment strategies. The company operates 215 funds spanning 15 distinct families, including popular offerings in dividend income, covered call strategies, bonds, equities, ESG-focused investments, and factor-based approaches, with widely-held tickers like AGG (bond), ACWI (global equity), and AOA (allocation). iShares is characterized by its comprehensive fund ecosystem that serves both core portfolio holdings and specialized investment strategies, making it a prominent player for investors seeking both traditional and alternative income-generating ETF solutions.
See our curated list of related YouTube videos on SGOV.
ETFs and AUM reflect what Dividend Vision tracks — the issuer's full lineup may be larger.
WisdomTree is known for developing thematic and factor-based ETFs that go beyond traditional market-cap weighting approaches. The issuer maintains a broad lineup spanning dividend and income strategies, international equities, commodities, bonds, digital assets, and specialized thematic areas like megatrends and alternatives. WisdomTree's diverse fund family appeals to investors seeking both traditional income exposure and more specialized strategies, with popular tickers across equity, fixed income, and alternative asset classes.
See our curated list of related YouTube videos on USFR.
Start with access needs: SPAXX follows mutual-fund and brokerage cash rules, while SGOV and USFR trade as ETFs at market prices. SGOV owns short Treasury bills; USFR owns floating-rate Treasury notes. Compare current SEC yields measured on the same date, trading costs, and settlement before choosing a cash vehicle.
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On a $10,000 investment: These products use different yield measures and payment schedules. Compare current SEC yields on the same date, and account for ETF market prices, spreads, and the brokerage rules that govern SPAXX access. at current distribution rates.
SGOV yield3.66%
SPAXX yield3.38%
USFR yield3.77%
Cost & efficiency
Over 10 years on $10,000: SGOV costs ~$90, SPAXX costs ~$420, USFR costs ~$150 in fees (simplified, not compounded).
SGOV ER0.09%
SPAXX ER0.42%
USFR ER0.15%
Strategy & risk
SGOV owns very short Treasury bills, SPAXX is a government money market mutual fund, and USFR owns floating-rate Treasury notes. All three can serve a cash allocation, but their prices, yields, settlement, and access differ. SPAXX seeks a stable $1 share price; that is an objective, not a guarantee. SGOV and USFR trade on exchanges, so their market prices can move and trades may incur spreads. Match the vehicle to when and how you need the money.
SGOV beta-0.0029
SPAXX beta—
USFR beta-0.02
Fund details
SGOV is managed by iShares (launched 05/26/2020) with $112B in assets. SPAXX is managed by Fidelity Investments (launched 02/05/1990). USFR is managed by WisdomTree (launched 02/04/2014) with $19.6B in assets.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between SGOV, SPAXX, and USFR?
SGOV is a short Treasury-bill ETF, SPAXX is a government money market mutual fund, and USFR is a floating-rate Treasury ETF. SGOV and USFR have intraday market prices; SPAXX seeks a stable $1 NAV and follows mutual-fund transaction rules. Their holdings, yield measures, and access are different.
Is SPAXX the same as insured bank cash?
No. SPAXX is an investment in a money market fund, not an FDIC-insured bank deposit. It seeks to maintain a $1 share price but cannot guarantee it. Confirm brokerage cash access, transaction cutoffs, and any account-specific sweep rules before relying on same-day availability.
When might USFR be preferable to SGOV?
USFR holds floating-rate Treasury notes whose coupons reset with short-term rates, while SGOV holds very short Treasury bills. The better fit depends on interest-rate exposure, trading spread, expenses, and holding period. Compare current SEC yields on the same date rather than a past distribution amount.
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