ETF Evaluator:
AB Ultra Short Income ETF (YEAR)
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(as of Sep 02)
Best Performing in Ultrashort Bond Over the Last Year
| 6.2% | iShares Interest Rate Hdg L/T Corp BdETF (IGBH) |
| 5.8% | Simplify Treasury Option Income ETF (BUCK) |
| 5.7% | iShares Interest Rate Hedged Corp Bd ETF (LQDH) |
| 5.3% | iShares Interest Rt Hdg U.S. Aggt Bd ETF (AGRH) |
| 5.3% | NEOS Enhanced Inc 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (CSHI) |
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Risk
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ETF Details
AB Ultra Short Income ETF Overview
AB Ultra Short Income ETF (YEAR) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Ultrashort Bond exchange-traded fund (ETF). AllianceBernstein launched the ETF in 2022.
The investment seeks to provide current income, consistent with preservation of capital.
The fund is an actively-managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”). It will pursue its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, primarily in a mix of U.S. government and investment grade corporate fixed-income securities. Under normal circumstances, the fund will maintain a dollar-weighted average duration of less than one year, although it may invest in securities of any duration or maturity. It may invest in mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities, certificates of deposit and commercial paper.
About AB Ultra Short Income ETF (YEAR)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.42 years: Matthew Sheridan (2022), Fahd Malik (2024) and Lucas Krupa (2022). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and FTSE Treasury Bill 3 Mon USD index with a weighting of 100%. AB Ultra Short Income ETF has 182 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 39.0% 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.
AB Ultra Short Income ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. AB Ultra Short Income ETF has 10.8% 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 74.2% (63.4% domestic bond, 10.8% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). AB Ultra Short Income ETF has 25.8% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is below the $5 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.
YEAR 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 AB Ultra Short Income ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Ultrashort Bond category. AB Ultra Short Income ETF has an expense ratio of 0.25%, which is 13% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. 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. AB Ultra Short Income ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 114%, 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 July 2026, AB Ultra Short Income ETF returned 0.3%, which earned it a grade of F, 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.
AB Ultra Short Income ETF has a trailing yield of 4.09%, which is above the 4.07% 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.
AB Ultra Short Income ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 1.6%, 0.5 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 3.6% over the past year (grade of F) and 4.9% over the past three years (grade of D).
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YEAR Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| YEAR Return (NAV) | 0.3% | 0.7% | 3.6% | 4.9% | na | na |
| YEAR Return (Price) | 0.3% | 0.7% | 3.6% | 4.8% | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | -0.001% | -0.005% | 0.023% | 0.041% | na | na |
| Ultrashort Bond Avg | 0.3% | 0.9% | 4.2% | 5.2% | 3.9% | 3.0% |
| YEAR Grade (NAV) | F | F | F | D | na | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | -0.0% | -0.2% | -0.6% | -0.3% | na | na |
| YEAR Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.7% | 1.9% | na | na |
YEAR Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| YEAR Return (NAV) | 1.6% | 4.8% | 5.4% | 6.0% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| YEAR Return (Price) | 1.6% | 4.7% | 5.4% | 5.8% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | -0.005% | -0.016% | -0.001% | -0.019% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Ultrashort Bond Avg | 2.2% | 4.8% | 5.8% | 6.1% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 1.4% | 3.6% | 1.4% | 2.3% | 1.9% |
| YEAR Grade (NAV) | F | C | D | C | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | -0.5% | -0.1% | -0.4% | -0.1% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 0.09 |
| R-Squared: | 77% |
| Standard Deviation: | 0.7% |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.10 |
| Category Risk Rating: | High |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.05 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Low |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 4.1% |
| Total Assets: | $ 1,514 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 1,514 Mil |
| Turnover: | 114.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.25% |
| Index Fund: | No |
| Index Tracked: | Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | Annually |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Monthly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 3.9 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 3.4 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Sheridan Matthew (2022), Krupa Lucas (2022), Malik Fahd (2024) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 182 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 39.0% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 10.8% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 63.4% |
| Foreign Bond: | 10.8% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 25.8% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | AllianceBernstein |
| Phone Number: | 800-243-5994 |
| Website: | |
| Inception Date: | September 13, 2022 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.25% (Rating: Below Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.22% |
