Compare yields and expense ratios for the four recommended ETFs

Here’s a clean comparison of the **four “cash-plus” ETFs** we’ve been discussing, focusing just on **fees and yields** (i.e., how much you keep vs a sweep account). ### 1. Expense ratios (what you pay) | ETF | What it holds | Net expense ratio (annual) | |------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------| | **SGOV** | 0–3 month U.S. T‑bills | **0.09%** | | **SHV** | 0–1 year U.S. Treasuries | **0.15%** | | **USFR** | Floating‑rate U.S. Treasuries | **0.15%** | | **TBIL** | On‑the‑run 3‑month T‑bill (single bond) | **0.15%** | - **Cheapest:** SGOV (0.09%) - The other three are effectively tied at **0.15%**. --- ### 2. Yields (what you earn) **Macro anchor:** The **3‑month U.S. Treasury yield is ~3.7%** as of 2 Mar 2026. All four ETFs sit right around this, plus/minus small differences in structure and timing. **What our data shows right now (trailing 12‑month dividend yield):** | ETF | Latest TTM dividend yield (approx) | Comments | |------|------------------------------------|----------| | **SGOV** | Data from our internal feed is noisy for yield; conceptually it should sit **just under the 3‑month T‑bill yield (~3.7%) minus 0.09% fee → roughly mid‑3%**. | | **SHV** | Same story: internal “TTM yield” looks off, but with a 0–1y Treasury portfolio and 0.15% fee, you should expect **a yield very close to front‑end Treasuries (~3.6–3.8%)**. | | **USFR** | **~4.1% TTM dividend yield** (recent readings around 4.07–4.4% in late Feb). Being floating‑rate, it tracks short‑term rates closely and currently sits a bit above the 3‑month point. | | **TBIL** | **~4.3% TTM dividend yield** (4.33% on 2 Mar); fund site shows a recent **30‑day SEC yield of 3.44% as of 31 Jan 2026**. It’s tightly linked to the on‑the‑run 3‑month bill. | **Takeaways from the yield side:** - **All four** are in the **mid‑3% to low‑4%** range given a 3‑month Treasury around 3.7%. - **USFR and TBIL** show the **highest trailing yields** in the data right now (roughly 4.1–4.3%). - **SGOV** likely yields **very similar to TBIL** in practice (same part of the curve, slightly lower fee), even though the raw TTM field in our database looks understated. --- ### 3. How to read this in practice - If you care **most about fees / simplicity**: - **SGOV** wins on cost (0.09%) and is pure ultra‑short T‑bills. - If you care **most about squeezing yield** from the front end: - **TBIL** and **USFR** currently show **slightly higher TTM yields** (~4%+), at the cost of a **0.15% fee** and a *tiny* bit more structure complexity. - **Sweep account vs these ETFs:** - If your cash sweep is paying materially less than ~3–4%, any of these four is a meaningful upgrade in **net yield**, with **Treasury credit quality** and intraday liquidity. If you tell me roughly **how long you expect to keep the cash parked** (e.g., “<3 months” vs “6–12 months”), I can narrow this down to **1–2 ETFs** with a clear “use this one first, this one second” ranking for your situation. : Referencable-result ID 26 (TBIL fund page – 30 Day SEC Yield and expenses). : Referencable-result ID 59 (USFR dividend yield data from FinDatabase). : Referencable-result ID 63 (TBIL dividend yield data from FinDatabase). : Referencable-result ID 65 (SGOV expense ratio from FinDatabase). : Referencable-result ID 69 (SHV expense ratio from FinDatabase). : Referencable-result ID 73 (USFR expense ratio from FinDatabase). : Referencable-result ID 77 (TBIL expense ratio from FinDatabase). : Referencable-result ID 82 (U.S. 3‑Month Treasury yield macro data).