ETF Evaluator: iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF (ICSH) Follow This ETF

iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF Overview

iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF (ICSH) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Ultrashort Bond exchange-traded fund (ETF). iShares launched the ETF in 2013.

The investment seeks to provide current income consistent with preservation of capital. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in a portfolio of U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade fixed- and floating-rate debt securities that are rated BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings and/or Fitch Ratings, Inc. ("Fitch"), or Baa3 or higher by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's"), or, if unrated, determined by the fund's management team to be of equivalent quality.

About iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF (ICSH)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 2.80 years: James Mauro (2021), Eric Hiatt (2022), Bradford Glessner (2024) and Richard Mejzak (2026). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: ICE BofA US Broad Market TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and ICE BofA US 6-Month Tsy Bill 4PM TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF has 374 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 6.9% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF has 11.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 53.1% (41.4% domestic bond, 11.7% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF has 46.9% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $7 billion in total assets, which is above the $4 billion average for the Ultrashort Bond category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

ICSH Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF expense ratio is low compared to funds in the Ultrashort Bond category. iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF has an expense ratio of 0.08%, which is 63% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 49%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 57% for the Ultrashort Bond category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF returned 0.3%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Ultrashort Bond category had an average return of 0.3%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF has a trailing yield of 4.33%, which is above the 4.12% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

iShares Ultra Short Duration Bd Actv ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 1.7%, 0.1 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 4.1% over the past year (grade of C), 5.1% over the past three years (grade of C) and 3.7% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 2.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).

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