# SHY ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What SHY holds, its 0.15% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by iShares (BlackRock). This fund holds US government bonds that will be paid back in 1 to 3 years. It charges 0.15% a year. From July 2002 to October 2026 it returned about 2.0% a year, and its worst drop was −5.7%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.15% a year (about $15 on $10,000).
- Started trading on July 22, 2002.
- Worst drop since 2002: −5.7%.
- 8 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## What does SHY hold?

This fund holds US government bonds that will be paid back in 1 to 3 years. Because the bonds are paid back soon, the fund's price usually moves less than funds with longer bonds. It pays out interest income each month.

It tracks the ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index. It had 90 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to iShares (BlackRock).

| Fact | SHY |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF |
| Issuer | iShares (BlackRock) |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% a year |
| Started trading | July 22, 2002 |
| Tracks | ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index |
| Type | US bonds, ETF |
| Holdings | 90 holdings as of October 15, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the [iShares (BlackRock) fund page](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239452/ishares-1-3-year-treasury-bond-etf) |

## What is the SHY expense ratio?

SHY charges 0.15% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.15% fee comes to about $15 a year.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

## How has SHY done since 2002?

From July 2002 to October 2026, SHY returned about 2.0% a year. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $16,041 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Measure | SHY |
| --- | --- |
| Total return | 60.4% |
| Return per year (CAGR) | 2.0% |
| Worst drop from a high | −5.7% |
| Volatility (how much it swings) | 1.5% |
| Last 12 months | 1.5% |
| Last 3 years, per year | 4.0% |
| Last 5 years, per year | 1.9% |
| Last 10 years, per year | 1.7% |

Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

## SHY returns by year

| Year | SHY return |
| --- | --- |
| 2026 (part of the year) | 0.9% |
| 2025 | 5.0% |
| 2024 | 3.9% |
| 2023 | 4.2% |
| 2022 | −3.9% |
| 2021 | −0.7% |
| 2020 | 3.0% |
| 2019 | 3.4% |
| 2018 | 1.5% |
| 2017 | 0.3% |
| 2016 | 0.8% |
| 2015 | 0.4% |
| 2014 | 0.4% |
| 2013 | 0.2% |
| 2012 | 0.3% |
| 2011 | 1.4% |
| 2010 | 2.3% |
| 2009 | 0.4% |
| 2008 | 6.6% |
| 2007 | 7.3% |
| 2006 | 3.9% |
| 2005 | 1.5% |
| 2004 | 0.7% |
| 2003 | 2.2% |
| 2002 (part of the year) | 2.4% |

## What was SHY's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. SHY's worst fall was −5.7%, from August 3, 2021 to October 20, 2022. It got back to that high on June 3, 2024.

The chart shows how far below its last high the fund was on each day. Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold SHY?

8 classic strategies hold SHY at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.

- [Vigilant Asset Allocation (VAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/vigilant-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2017
- [Defensive Asset Allocation (DAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/defensive-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2018
- [Protective Asset Allocation (PAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/protective-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2016
- [Vigilant Asset Allocation G12 (VAA-G12)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/vigilant-asset-allocation-g12.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2017
- [Paul Novell's Tactical Bond Strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/novell-tactical-bond-strategy.md), by Paul Novell, 2014
- [Golden Butterfly Portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/golden-butterfly-portfolio.md), by Tyler (Portfolio Charts), 2015
- [Lethargic Asset Allocation (Keller’s LAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/lethargic-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter J. Keller, 2019
- [Bond UI1 (Paul Novell’s unemployment bond strategy)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/novell-bond-ui1.md), by Paul Novell, 2019

## How does SHY compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for SHY:

- [VGSH](https://tactfolio.com/etf/vgsh.md): Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF, 0.03% a year
- [SGOV](https://tactfolio.com/etf/sgov.md): iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF, 0.09% a year
- [BIL](https://tactfolio.com/etf/bil.md): State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF, 0.1353% a year
- [SHV](https://tactfolio.com/etf/shv.md): iShares 0-1 Year Treasury Bond ETF, 0.15% a year

See [all 8 SHY alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/shy.md), compared on the same dates as SHY.

## Test SHY in your own rules

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add SHY, and see how a rule such as "hold it only above its 200-day average" would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

## The details

Prices come from Tactfolio's stored daily prices for SHY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns.

Fund facts come from iShares (BlackRock). We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read [what a backtest simulates](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [Portfolio rebalancing](https://tactfolio.com/learn/portfolio-rebalancing): What portfolio rebalancing is, why a 60/40 mix drifts, calendar vs threshold methods, and how taxes and costs fit in.
- [Risk parity](https://tactfolio.com/learn/risk-parity): Risk parity balances risk instead of dollars. See a simple stock and bond example, why funds use leverage, and what went wrong in 2022.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.
- [Backtesting](https://tactfolio.com/backtesting): Free backtesting software for stocks, ETFs, and crypto perps.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of SHY?

SHY charges 0.15% a year, according to iShares (BlackRock) as of October 16, 2026. That is about $15 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did SHY start trading?

SHY started trading on July 22, 2002. It is run by iShares (BlackRock).

### What does SHY track?

SHY tracks the ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index. This fund holds US government bonds that will be paid back in 1 to 3 years.

### How much has SHY returned per year?

From July 2002 to October 2026, SHY returned about 2.0% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −5.7%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Which strategies use SHY?

8 of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold SHY, including Vigilant Asset Allocation (VAA), Defensive Asset Allocation (DAA), Protective Asset Allocation (PAA).

## Sources

- [iShares (BlackRock): iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF fund page](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239452/ishares-1-3-year-treasury-bond-etf)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.