SHY vs BIL Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
SHY and BIL are both ultra-low-risk US Treasury ETFs for capital preservation, but at different maturities. BIL holds 1–3 month T-bills with near-zero duration — true cash equivalent. SHY holds 1–3 year Treasury bonds with slightly more duration — minimal but real interest rate sensitivity. In high-rate environments, both yield attractively. BIL is for cash parking; SHY is for slightly longer safe fixed income with marginally higher yield.
SHY vs BIL is short-term Treasury bonds with 1.9-year duration for slightly higher yield (SHY) versus money market-equivalent Treasury bills with near-zero duration for pure cash preservation (BIL) — BIL for cash parking with zero principal risk; SHY for the next step up in yield with minimal but real duration exposure.
BIL holds the edge across 5 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. BIL has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+3.87% vs +3.10% for SHY).
- →prefer slightly longer 1–3 year Treasury bonds for marginally higher yield than T-bills while maintaining very low duration risk
- →value SHY's established iShares ETF structure for institutional bond portfolio short-end allocation
- →want short-term safe fixed income as a defensive allocation with enough duration to outperform T-bills in falling rate environments
- →are comfortable with the small duration risk (1.9 years) that causes minor price fluctuations during Fed rate cycles
- →prefer true cash-equivalent Treasury bill exposure with essentially zero principal risk regardless of interest rate changes
- →value BIL as a tactical cash parking vehicle earning money market yields while maintaining complete flexibility to redeploy quickly
- →want US Treasury money market equivalent in an ETF form that can be held in brokerage accounts alongside equity portfolios
- →are comfortable with yield declining rapidly when the Fed cuts rates — BIL income tracks the overnight rate closely
| Metric | SHY | BIL |
|---|---|---|
| ETF score | 38.0 | 47.0 |
| Latest close | $81.99 | $91.57 |
| 1M return | +0.24% | +0.32% |
| 6M return | +0.58% | +1.80% |
| 1Y return | +3.10% | +3.87% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | SHY | BIL |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.7K (+7.0%) started 2025-06-18 | $10.8K (+8.0%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $12.63K (+26.3%) started 2021-06-18 | $14.23K (+42.3%) started 2021-06-18 |
| 10Y ago | $14.66K (+46.6%) started 2016-06-20 | $15.81K (+58.1%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | SHY | BIL |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.14% |
| Total assets (AUM) | $25.43B | $46.12B |
| Dividend yield | 3.71% | 3.90% |
| Trailing P/E | 3726.82 | N/A |
| Beta | 0.05 | 0.00 |
| 52-week change | 3.10% | 3.87% |
| Metric | SHY | BIL |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y return | +3.10% | +3.87% |
| 6M return | +0.58% | +1.80% |
| 1M return | +0.24% | +0.32% |
| 1Y Sharpe ratio | -1.04 | -3.45 |
| Beta | 0.05 | 0.00 |
| Dividend yield | 3.71% | 3.90% |
| 5Y CAGR | +1.76% | +3.45% |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | SHY | BIL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +3.10% | +3.87% |
| CAGR | +3.11% | +3.87% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -1.04 | -3.45 | |
| Max drawdown | 0.89% | 0.01% | |
| Max daily drop | 0.30% | 0.01% | |
| Max wkly drop | 0.42% | 0.00% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +9.12% | +18.46% |
| CAGR | +1.76% | +3.45% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -1.37 | -4.22 | |
| Max drawdown | 5.71% | 0.09% | |
| Max daily drop | 0.51% | 0.03% | |
| Max wkly drop | 1.26% | 0.03% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +17.62% | +24.31% |
| CAGR | +1.64% | +2.20% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -1.82 | -9.03 | |
| Max drawdown | 5.71% | 0.21% | |
| Max daily drop | 0.51% | 0.04% | |
| Max wkly drop | 1.26% | 0.09% |
| Category | SHY | BIL |
|---|---|---|
| Fund name | iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF | State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF |
| Type | ETF | ETF |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.14% |
| Total assets (AUM) | $25.43B | $46.12B |
| Dividend yield | 3.71% | 3.90% |
- →Extremely low interest rate risk (1.9-year duration) — modest rate changes cause minimal price changes vs long-duration bonds
- →US Treasury credit quality — zero credit risk, only duration risk which is minimal in the 1–3 year range
- →Actively traded with tight bid-ask spreads — easy to deploy and redeploy capital as market conditions change
- →Near-zero duration — virtually no interest rate risk; BIL price is essentially stable regardless of rate changes
- →Money market yield equivalent — BIL provides Treasury bill yields matching the short end of the federal funds rate
- →Liquidity is exceptional — T-bills are the most liquid securities in the world, traded in massive volumes daily
- →0.15% expense ratio vs BIL's 0.14% — minimal difference but BIL is slightly cheaper for the shortest end of Treasury market
- →Duration risk, though minimal, does exist — a rapid Fed rate hike cycle (like 2022) can create small but real negative returns briefly
- →Yields track the Fed funds rate lag — in a rapidly rising rate environment, SHY may temporarily underperform money market rates
- →BIL yields decline rapidly when the Fed cuts rates — in low rate environments, BIL returns near zero (as they did 2008–2022)
- →No capital appreciation potential — BIL is purely income, not a return-generating investment beyond the current T-bill yield
- →0.14% expense ratio reduces the net yield by 14 basis points — in near-zero rate environments, this eats a significant portion of total yield
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