ETF Evaluator:
American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF ()
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(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Short-Term Bond Over the Last Year
| 6.6% | Overlay Shares Short Term Bond ETF (OVT) |
| 5.0% | AAM SLC Low Duration Income ETF (LODI) |
| 4.6% | SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF (SJLD) |
| 4.5% | Performance Trust Short Term Bond ETF (STBF) |
| 4.4% | American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF (SDSI) |
Risk
Index
Risk
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ETF Details
American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF Overview
American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF (SDSI) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Short-Term Bond exchange-traded fund (ETF). American Century Investments launched the ETF in 2022.
The investment seeks income; long-term capital appreciation is secondary consideration.
The fund invests in both investment-grade and high-yield, short duration debt securities. These securities may include corporate bonds and notes, government securities and securities backed by mortgages or other assets. It may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and certain U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities such as the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae).
About American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF (SDSI)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.45 years: Paul Norris (2023), Charles Tan (2022) and Jason Greenblath (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 Bloomberg US Govt/Credit 1-3 Yr TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF has 401 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 29.8% 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.
American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF has 12.4% 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 4.2% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 90.9% (78.5% domestic bond, 12.4% foreign bond and 0.4% convertible bond). American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF has 4.5% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $255 million in total assets, which is below the $3 billion average for the Short-Term 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.
SDSI 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 American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Short-Term Bond category. American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF has an expense ratio of 0.32%, which is 14% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. 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. American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 188%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 77% for the Short-Term Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF returned 0.1%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Short-Term Bond category had an average return of -0.1%. 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.
American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF has a trailing yield of 4.73%, which is above the 4.54% 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.
American Century® Short Dur Str Inc ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 1.6%, 0.6 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 4.4% over the past year (grade of A) and 5.8% over the past three years (grade of A).
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SDSI 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 |
|
| SDSI Return (NAV) | 0.1% | 0.7% | 4.4% | 5.8% | na | na |
| SDSI Return (Price) | 0.1% | 0.6% | 4.5% | 5.8% | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | -0.006% | 0.021% | -0.037% | 0.022% | na | na |
| Short-Term Bond Avg | -0.1% | 0.3% | 3.6% | 5.2% | 2.3% | 2.5% |
| SDSI Grade (NAV) | A | A | A | A | na | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.9% | 0.6% | na | na |
| SDSI Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.9% | 2.1% | na | na |
SDSI Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| SDSI Return (NAV) | 1.6% | 6.5% | 5.6% | 6.0% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| SDSI Return (Price) | 1.6% | 6.5% | 5.6% | 5.9% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | 0.016% | 0.004% | 0.001% | -0.024% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Short-Term Bond Avg | 1.0% | 6.3% | 5.1% | 6.0% | -5.3% | -0.4% | 4.4% | 5.6% | 1.2% | 1.7% | 2.4% |
| SDSI Grade (NAV) | A | B | A | C | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.0% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 0.28 |
| R-Squared: | 82% |
| Standard Deviation: | 1.8% |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.78 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Below Average |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.15 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Low |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 4.7% |
| Total Assets: | $ 256 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 256 Mil |
| Turnover: | 188.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.32% |
| 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: 3.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 3.4 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Tan Charles (2022), Greenblath Jason (2022), Norris Paul (2023) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 401 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 29.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 12.4% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 4.2% |
| Domestic Bond: | 78.5% |
| Foreign Bond: | 12.4% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.4% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 4.5% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | American Century Investments |
| Phone Number: | 800-345-2021 |
| Website: | americancenturyetfs.com |
| Inception Date: | October 11, 2022 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.32% (Rating: Below Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.28% |