Alternatively, investors who are seeking money fund substitutes may look to actively managed, ultra-short duration bond ETFs that are more free to adapt holdings in a shifting market environment.
For example, the PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity ETF (NYSEArca: MINT) has a 1.33% 30-day SEC yield and a 0.31 year duration. The Guggenheim Enhanced Short Duration Bond (NYSEArca: GSY) has a 1.19% 30-day SEC yield and a 0.15 year duration. The SPDR SSgA Ultra Short Term Bond ETF (NYSEArca: ULST) has a 0.74% 30-day SEC yield and a 0.33 year duration. The iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF(NYSEArca: NEAR) has a 0.98% 30-day SEC yield and a 0.31 year duration.
Potential investors should be aware that these active ultra-short-term bond ETFs include corporate debt exposure with some lower quality investment-grade debt exposure, which may have contributed to their relatively higher yields.
Additionally, investors can look at conservative short-duration Treasury bond ETFs, such as the iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF (NYSEArca: SHV), which has an effective duration 0.37 years and 0.37% 30-day SEC yield, and the SPDR Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill (NYSEArca: BIL), which has a 0.10 year duration and a 0.14% 30-day SEC yield.
Max Chen contributed to this article.