Volatility has ruled the global market this year now thanks to a host of factors ranging from U.S.-Iran tensions, energy price rise, rising rate concerns in the United States. The S&P 500 has lost about 2.2% over the past week and retreated 2.1% over the past month (as of June 24, 2026).
Rising rate worries have been prevalent as the Fed may hike rates this year. If this happens, the bond investing could be at worse. This happens because, bond prices share an inverse relationship with bond yields. Stocks can also be at shambles.
This is especially true given the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index rose 4.1% in May, in line with expectations, and up from 3.8% in April, as quoted on Yahoo Finance. However, inflation rose to 0.4% sequentially, a tenth of a percentage point less than expectations and the same level as April.
The Fed's preferred inflation gauge now hit a three-year high, which may lead the Fed to hike short-term rates this year. Short-term U.S. treasury bond yields have already been hovering around 4%. The two-year U.S. treasury bond yield touched 4.16% on June 23, 2026.
Why Are Ultra-Short Duration Cash-Like ETFs Favored?
Since these ETFs have very low duration, these are less susceptible to rising rate worries. Cash and short-dated fixed income may play a greater role in providing stabilization in a portfolio.Yields on short-term U.S. Treasury bills are almost in line with the U.S. inflation, which is a positive factor.
Also, note that if the Fed keeps hiking rates ahead and short-term bond yields will rise alongside. Traders expect a rate hike in September as very likely, per Reuters.
Financial markets are now pricing in only about a 30% chance of a rate hike at the central bank’s July 28-29 meeting, based on trading in CME Group’s Fed funds futures contracts, at the time of writing. They still see about an 80% chance that the Fed will hike rates at the September meeting, as quoted on the same Reuters article.
No wonder, iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF SGOV amassed about $4.68 billion in assets over the past month, per ETF Central data. Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF VBIL has garnered about $1.15 billion in assets over the past month. SGOV yields about 3.85% and charges about 9 bps in fees. VBIL charges 6 bps and yields 3.65% annually.
Below we highlight a few money-market ETFs and their performance plus yields.
ETFs in Focus
JPMorgan UltraShort Income ETF JPST – Yields 4.25% annually
The JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF seeks to achieve its investment objective by primarily investing in investment grade, U.S. dollar denominated short-term fixed, variable and floating rate debt. The fund charges 18 bps in fees. The fund added about $1.09 billion in assets over the past month, per ETF Central data. In 2026, the fund has already captured about $3.61 billion in assets.
PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ETF MINT – Yields 4.27% annually
The PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ETF is an actively managed exchange-traded fund that seeks greater income and total return potential than money market funds, and may be appropriate for non-immediate cash allocations. The fund charges 36 bps in fees. The fund has garnered about $218 million in assets over the past month. So far this year, the fund has accumulated about $1.77 billion in assets.
iShares Short Duration Bond Active ETF NEAR – Yields 4.43% annually
The NEAR ETF seeks consistent income with low-interest rate sensitivity through actively managed exposure to short-term bonds. The NEAR ETF charges 25 bps in fees. The fund has amassed about $200 million in assets over the past month. So far this year, the fund has accumulated about $953 million in assets.
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PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ETF (MINT): ETF Research Reports
iShares Short Duration Bond Active ETF (NEAR): ETF Research Reports
iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF Shares (VBIL): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).