SPDR Portfolio Short Term Treasury ETF

SPDR Portfolio Short Term Treasury ETF (SPTS), from State Street, tracks the Bloomberg 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index. That index is a basket of U.S. government notes that mature in one to three years. The fund's 0.03% expense ratio matches Schwab's SCHO and Vanguard's VGSH and is well below the 0.15% charged by iShares' SHY. Its holdings averaged about 2 years to maturity, so its price moves much less than longer-term bond funds when interest rates change.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, SPTS returned +1.7%, 7th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +2.0%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-3.9%); its best was 2025 (+5.1%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 5.7% (Aug 3, 2021 to Oct 20, 2022), recovered by May 15, 2024.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 98 securities; the ten largest made up 13.96% of assets.

The bonds mature in 2 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 3.14%.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $29.5M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.19%, +0.12%, +0.05%.

SPTS is an index fund tracking the price and yield performance of the Bloomberg 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index, before fees. The index holds fixed-rate U.S. Treasury notes and bonds with between one and three years left until maturity and at least $300 million outstanding. It excludes inflation-protected Treasuries (TIPS), floating-rate notes and stripped coupons. Bonds are weighted by market value, so bigger issues count for more. The index had 96 securities as of July 31, 2026.

The adviser, State Street's SSGA Funds Management, uses sampling: it may buy a subset of index bonds with similar risk and return, or nearly all of them in index proportions. At least 80% of net assets must sit in index securities. As of June 30, 2026, the fund held 98 securities, almost entirely U.S. Treasury debt averaging about two years to maturity, and no derivatives. The 10 largest made up about 14% of assets.

The index is refreshed on the last business day of each month. Bonds that slip below one year to maturity drop out, and notes moving into the one-to-three-year range join. That roll helps explain the fund's 53% portfolio turnover, meaning roughly half its holdings were replaced over a year. Because maturities are short, prices still fall when interest rates rise, but less than longer-term bonds do.

• SPTS charges 0.03% a year, versus an average of 0.09% for the similar funds below (1st of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $3 in the first year and $39 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It holds only short-term U.S. Treasury notes, so its price has moved much less than stocks or longer-term bonds.

SPTS could serve as a steady reserve next to stocks. That gives a retiree money to spend without selling stocks during a slump. The losses have been small but real. The fund lost 3.89% in 2022, its worst calendar year, as interest rates rose quickly. Its deepest drop was 5.7%, from August 2021 to October 2022, and it took 18.8 months to recover, in May 2024. Daily price data starts in June 2020, so the 2020 crash isn't covered, though the fund returned 3.16% for calendar 2020. It launched in 2011, after the 2008 crisis.

The fund paid $1.10 per share in the 12 months to October 27, 2026, a 3.83% yield, in monthly payments. That income will shrink if short-term rates fall. On $10,000, the SEC's standard example puts costs at $39 over 10 years. 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).