ETF Evaluator:
BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF ()
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(as of Nov 13)
Best Performing in Ultrashort Bond Over the Last Year
| 5.0% | NEOS Enhanced Inc 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (CSHI) |
| 4.8% | iShares Interest Rate Hdg L/T Corp BdETF (IGBH) |
| 4.6% | American Century® Ultrashort Income ETF (FUSI) |
| 4.6% | iShares Interest Rate Hedged Corp Bd ETF (LQDH) |
| 4.5% | VanEck IG Floating Rate ETF (FLTR) |
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ETF Details
BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF Overview
BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF (BKUI) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Ultrashort Bond exchange-traded fund (ETF). BNY Mellon launched the ETF in 2021.
The investment seeks high current income consistent with the maintenance of liquidity and low volatility of principal.
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in investment grade, U.S. dollar denominated fixed, variable, and floating rate debt or cash equivalents. The advisor typically seeks to maintain an effective duration of one year or less, although, under certain market conditions, such as in periods of significant volatility in interest rates and spreads, its duration may be longer than one year. The fund's portfolio, under normal market conditions, will have an average credit rating of at least A or equivalent.
About BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF (BKUI)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.23 years: Stephen Murphy (2021) and Anthony Honko (2021). 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 ICE BofAML 3M US Trsy Bill index with a weighting of 100%. BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF has 152 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 10.5% 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.
BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF has 14.5% 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 42.7% (28.2% domestic bond, 14.5% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF has 57.3% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $789 million 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.
BKUI 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 BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF expense ratio is low compared to funds in the Ultrashort Bond category. BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF has an expense ratio of 0.12%, which is 46% 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. BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 13%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 59% for the Ultrashort Bond category.
Recently, in the month of October 2026, BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF returned 0.4%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Ultrashort Bond category had an average return of 0.4%. 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.
BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF has a trailing yield of 3.99%, which is above the 3.96% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income monthly.
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.
BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 2.8%, 0.3 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), 4.9% over the past three years (grade of C) and 3.7% per year over the past five years (grade of F).
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BKUI Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 10/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| BKUI Return (NAV) | 0.4% | 0.8% | 3.6% | 4.9% | 3.7% | na |
| BKUI Return (Price) | 0.4% | 0.8% | 3.5% | 4.9% | 3.7% | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | 0.000% | 0.002% | 0.019% | 0.007% | 0.003% | na |
| Ultrashort Bond Avg | 0.4% | 0.9% | 3.8% | 5.0% | 4.1% | 3.0% |
| BKUI Grade (NAV) | C | D | F | C | F | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | -0.0% | -0.0% | -0.3% | -0.1% | -0.3% | na |
| BKUI Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.6% | 1.8% | 1.5% | na |
BKUI Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 10/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| BKUI Return (NAV) | 2.8% | 5.0% | 5.5% | 5.7% | -0.1% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| BKUI Return (Price) | 2.8% | 4.9% | 5.5% | 5.7% | -0.1% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | -0.001% | -0.009% | 0.005% | 0.000% | -0.192% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Ultrashort Bond Avg | 3.1% | 4.8% | 5.8% | 6.0% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 1.4% | 3.6% | 1.4% | 2.3% | 1.9% |
| BKUI Grade (NAV) | F | B | C | C | D | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | -0.3% | 0.1% | -0.3% | -0.3% | -0.6% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 0.08 |
| R-Squared: | 76% |
| Standard Deviation: | 0.6% |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.96 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Above Average |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.05 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Low |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 4.0% |
| Total Assets: | $ 790 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 790 Mil |
| Turnover: | 13.6% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.12% |
| Index Fund: | No |
| Index Tracked: | Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Monthly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 5.2 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 5.2 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Murphy Stephen (2021), Honko Anthony (2021) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 10/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 152 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 10.5% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 14.5% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 28.2% |
| Foreign Bond: | 14.5% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 57.3% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | BNY Mellon |
| Phone Number: | 833-383-2696 |
| Website: | www.bny.com/investments |
| Inception Date: | August 9, 2021 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.12% (Rating: Low) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.22% |
