SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF

SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF (SPSB) is a State Street index fund that tracks the Bloomberg U.S. 1-3 Year Corporate Bond Index. The index holds investment-grade (higher-rated) company bonds that mature in one to three years. Because those maturities are short, price swings have been small: its worst calendar year from 2016 to 2025 was a 3.31% loss in 2022. It charges 0.04% a year, below the 0.10% average of similar funds, and pays income monthly.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, SPSB returned +2.3%, 3rd of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +2.9%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-3.3%); its best was 2025 (+5.8%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 6% (Sep 14, 2021 to Oct 20, 2022), recovered by Nov 29, 2023.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 1,603 securities; the ten largest made up 4.08% of assets, and 4.7% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

The bonds mature in 2.4 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 4.45%.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $828.1M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.37%, +0.32%, +0.16%.

The fund tracks the Bloomberg U.S. 1-3 Year Corporate Bond Index. Bloomberg builds and runs the index separately from State Street. A bond qualifies only if a company issued it, it pays a fixed interest rate in U.S. dollars, it has one to three years left before it matures, and at least $300 million of it is outstanding. It must also be investment grade, meaning rated BBB- or Baa3 or higher. Bloomberg uses the middle rating from Moody's, S&P and Fitch. Floating-rate notes, private placements, convertible bonds and Eurobonds are left out. The index held 1,667 bonds as of July 31, 2026.

Each bond's weight depends on its market value, so companies with more debt outstanding get bigger weights. The index is updated on the last business day of each month. The adviser, SSGA Funds Management, uses sampling: it may buy a representative subset of the index rather than every bond. As of June 30, 2026, the fund held 1,603 holdings. Their average maturity was 2.4 years and their average coupon (the bond's interest rate) was 4.45%. The prospectus lists portfolio turnover of 56%.

At least 80% of assets must be in bonds from the index. The fund may also hold bonds outside the index, cash, and derivatives such as credit default swaps. It reported no derivative positions as of June 30, 2026. Short-term bonds react less to interest-rate changes than longer-term bonds, but the fund's price still falls when rates rise.

• SPSB charges 0.04% a year, versus an average of 0.1% for the similar funds below (4th of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $4 in the first year and $51 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It holds short-term, investment-grade corporate bonds whose prices have moved far less than stocks, and it pays monthly income at a very low cost.

SPSB could serve as a steadier reserve alongside stocks, for money that may be needed within a few years. Its hardest stretch came as interest rates rose in 2022. It fell 4.8% from January to September and lost 3.31% for the year, its worst calendar year from 2016 to 2025. Its deepest drop was 6%, reaching bottom in October 2022, and it took about 13 months to recover. Anyone who sold near that low locked in a loss. The fund launched in December 2009, after the 2008 crisis, and returned 3.82% in 2020.

The trailing 12-month yield was 4.41% as of October 27, 2026, paid monthly. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 invested costs about $4 in the first year. Corporate bonds carry credit risk, the risk that a borrower fails to pay, which U.S. Treasuries don't. 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).