PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF

PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF (PULS) is an actively managed fund from Prudential that holds short-term, investment-grade US dollar debt, including corporate bonds, commercial paper, asset-backed securities and collateralized loan obligations. It aims for income while preserving capital, keeping interest-rate sensitivity low. Its 0.15% fee undercuts the Goldman Sachs and T. Rowe Price ultra-short ETFs (0.16% and 0.17%), and with $18.7 billion in assets as of August 31, 2026, it dwarfs both.

• Over the year to Nov 2, 2026, PULS returned +4.1%, 1st of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +4.4%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 5.9% and regained its old high 3.2 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2021 (+0.5%); its best was 2023 (+6.3%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 5.9% (Feb 21, 2020 to Mar 20, 2020), recovered by Jun 24, 2020.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 612 securities; the ten largest made up 5.95% of assets, and 23.26% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

The bonds mature in 8.8 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 4.47%.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $2.44B (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.29%, +0.36%, +0.34%.

PULS does not track an index. Its subadviser pairs top-down economic views with bottom-up research that gives each issuer an internal rating, aided by proprietary quantitative models. At least 80% of assets go into bonds, broadly defined: corporate notes, commercial paper (short-term company IOUs), asset-backed securities (bonds repaid from pools of loans) and collateralized loan obligations, or CLOs (pools of corporate loans split by repayment priority). Holdings must be investment grade, meaning rated at least BBB- or Baa3 for longer-term debt (or judged comparable if unrated), and when agencies disagree, the fund uses the highest rating.

The fund normally keeps weighted average duration at one year or less and weighted average maturity at three years or less, though both can run longer. Duration estimates price sensitivity to rates: a one-year duration implies roughly a 1% loss if rates rise 1 percentage point. Floating-rate holdings reset their interest as rates move.

As of August 31, 2026, it had 612 holdings, and the top 10 made up just 5.95% of assets; the largest, at 1.95%, was a sister fund, PGIM AAA CLO ETF (PAAA). About 23% was in cash. Derivatives, mainly interest-rate swaps, help manage duration and hedge. Because it may create and redeem shares for cash rather than securities, it may realize taxable gains that many ETFs avoid.

• PULS charges 0.15% a year, versus an average of 0.14% for the similar funds below (4th of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $15 in the first year and $192 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It aims to preserve capital with a duration of a year or less, and it lost no more than 0.5% during the 2022 bear market.

PULS could act as a low-volatility reserve for near-term spending money. It yielded 4.39% over the 12 months to October 29, 2026, paid monthly. In the 2022 bear market it slipped no more than 0.5% and ended the year up 1.51%. From 2019 through 2025 it had no losing calendar year; the weakest was 2021, at 0.45%. Its roughest stretch was the COVID crash: it fell 5.9% from February 21 to March 20, 2020, regaining its peak by June 24. Anyone cashing out near the low would have locked in a loss. It launched in 2018, so it has no 2008 record.

Its 0.15% fee comes to $15 in year one and $192 over 10 years on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example. Payouts may shrink if short-term rates fall. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by bond funds with the closest average maturity and issuer mix (N-PORT).