# How Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCSH) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/vcsh
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on VCSH alone. It places VCSH (Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where VCSH stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: VCSH's full trading record, from November 2009 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 6 months, VCSH fell 0.8% while the S&P 500 rose 9.1%. Its similar funds split over the past 6 months: IGBH (iShares Interest Rate Hedged Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF) rose 2.9%, while LQD (iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF) fell 3.9%.
- **Fund or market?:** VCSH fell 0.8% over the past 3 months, in line with the investment grade bonds ETF LQD (iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF), which fell 2.4%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%.
- **Long term:** VCSH turned $10,000 into $12,900 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. VCSH's 10-year return of 28.6% puts it behind 84% of the ETFs with at least $100 million in assets with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%.
- **In a crash:** Across five sell-offs, VCSH has typically lost about 18% as much as the S&P 500. The Covid crash took 12.9% off VCSH, against 33.7% for the S&P 500. That was more than SPSB (State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF, 11.8%) but less than VCIT (Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF, 16.9%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, VCSH has a correlation of 0.60 over 5 years, less closely than 77% of ETFs with at least $100 million in assets. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge. Over 10 years, VCSH's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.11: 13% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 9% of its losses in falling ones.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** JPST (JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF) earned more than VCSH with less volatility over the past 5 years: 3.9% a year at 0.6% volatility, against 2.3% a year at 2.9%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** NEAR (iShares Short Duration Bond Active ETF, short-term bonds) earned more than VCSH with less volatility over the past 5 years: 3.9% a year at 1.4% volatility, against 2.3% a year at 2.9%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 31 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than VCSH with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them SGOV (iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF), BIL (State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF) and JPST (JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF).

## How much would $10,000 in VCSH have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in VCSH over the past 16 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of VCSH over the same span and VCSH's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in VCSH at the end of September 2010 would have grown to $14,959 by September 2026, less than the $88,503 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Seven of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of VCSH, and VCIT finished highest, at $17,051.

## VCSH at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the fund, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- VCSH's deepest decline since it began trading in 2009 was 12.9%, in March 2020. It took two months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 16 full calendar years, VCSH's best was 2019, when it returned 7.0%, and its worst was 2022, when it lost 5.5%. It lost money in two of those years.
- VCSH is 1.4% below its all-time high.

- Type: ETF, Bonds (Asset Management - Bonds)
- Trading since: November 23, 2009
- Assets: $51B
- Expense ratio: 0.03%
- Volatility (5 years): 2.9%; Sharpe ratio: 0.80
- Worst decline ever: −12.9%, from March 5, 2020 to March 19, 2020; back at its high by May 28, 2020

| Period | VCSH total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −0.1% |
| 3 months | −0.8% |
| 6 months | −0.8% |
| year to date | −0.1% |
| 1 year | +0.7% |
| 3 years | +17.0% |
| 5 years | +12.1% |
| 10 years | +28.6% |

## VCSH against the whole market

Where VCSH ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does VCSH rank among all ETFs?

This section ranks VCSH on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every ETF worth at least $100 million with enough history.

- VCSH's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 4% of the 951 ETFs with at least $100 million in assets, where the top fell the least.
- VCSH's 3-year return ranks in the bottom 14% of the 1,949 ETFs with at least $100 million in assets with 3 years of history.

| Measure | VCSH | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +0.7% | 1,946 of 2,485 (top 79%) |
| 3-year return | +17.0% | 1,678 of 1,949 (top 87%) |
| 5-year return | +12.1% | 1,223 of 1,560 (top 79%) |
| 10-year return | +28.6% | 807 of 958 (top 85%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 2.9% | 65 of 1,560 (top 5%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.80 | 353 of 1,560 (top 23%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −12.9% | 39 of 951 (top 5%) |

### What has beaten VCSH on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- 31 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than VCSH over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is fewer than 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half VCSH's swings, JAAA has the best return for its risk: 5.1% a year at 1.7% volatility, 43% less than VCSH's 2.9%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 2.98 against 0.80 for VCSH. FLRT earned the most, 6.0% a year, while still swinging less than VCSH (2.3% against 2.9%).
- Among VCSH's popular alternatives, JPST is in the region. JPST earned 3.9% a year against 2.3% a year for VCSH, at 0.6% volatility, 80% less than VCSH's 2.9%.

### Is there a better investment than VCSH?

The table below lists investments that beat VCSH over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes, and, for funds, the same exposure at a lower expense ratio.

- Among VCSH's popular alternatives, JPST earned more than VCSH with less volatility over the past 5 years: 3.9% a year at 0.6% volatility, against 2.3% a year at 2.9%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, NEAR (short-term bonds) earned more than VCSH with less volatility over the past 5 years: 3.9% a year at 1.4% volatility, against 2.3% a year at 2.9%.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 31 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than VCSH with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them SGOV, BIL and JPST.

The 14 strongest of 31 investments that beat VCSH over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with VCSH | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VCSH: Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (this page) |  | +2.3% | 2.9% | 0.80 | −12.9% | +28.6% |  |  |
| JAAA: Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF | CLO Bonds | +5.1% | 1.7% | 2.98 | −2.6% | — | 0.33 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| MINT: PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active Exchange-Traded Fund | Short-Term Bonds | +3.8% | 0.6% | 6.29 | −4.6% | +31.4% | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| TBUX: T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF | Bonds | +4.1% | 1.1% | 3.85 | −1.8% | — | 0.76 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| RAVI: Northern Trust Ultra-Short Fixed Income ETF | Bonds | +3.8% | 1.4% | 2.61 | −3.7% | +30.8% | 0.65 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| USTB: VictoryShares Short-Term Bond ETF | Bonds | +3.6% | 2.0% | 1.73 | −5.3% | — | 0.95 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| VRIG: Invesco Variable Rate Investment Grade ETF | Bonds | +4.7% | 1.3% | 3.51 | −13.1% | +40.5% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FLRT: Pacer Aristotle Pacific Floating Rate High Income ETF | Financials | +6.0% | 2.3% | 2.55 | −21.0% | +58.0% | 0.44 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FLOT: iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF | Floating Rate Bonds | +4.5% | 1.8% | 2.48 | −13.5% | +35.9% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FLRN: State Street SPDR Bloomberg Investment Grade Floating Rate ETF | Bonds | +4.5% | 1.7% | 2.58 | −14.7% | +35.9% | 0.37 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| NEAR: iShares Short Duration Bond Active ETF | Short-Term Bonds | +3.9% | 1.4% | 2.71 | −9.6% | +31.8% | 0.75 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FLTR: VanEck IG Floating Rate ETF | Multi-Asset | +4.8% | 2.1% | 2.20 | −17.8% | +41.8% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| VNLA: Janus Henderson Short Duration Income ETF | Bonds | +4.0% | 1.1% | 3.77 | −4.5% | — | 0.77 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| FLUD: Franklin Ultra Short Bond ETF | Bonds | +3.9% | 1.4% | 2.74 | −1.7% | — | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| FLDR: Fidelity Low Duration Bond Factor ETF | Bonds | +3.9% | 1.2% | 3.09 | −12.2% | — | 0.85 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## VCSH against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against VCSH, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do VCSH's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Ten of the 20 popular alternatives earned less than VCSH over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Four of the 20 popular alternatives, led by JPST, SPSB and VTIP, were both more rewarding and calmer than VCSH over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, VCSH returned 2.3% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with lower volatility (2.9% against 17.1%).

### Has VCSH consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares VCSH with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- IGBH and LQDH outperformed VCSH in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- Two of the 21 popular alternatives, IGBH and LQDH, outperformed VCSH in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- JPST, SPSB and SLQD earned more for the risk they took than VCSH (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of VCSH | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VCSH: Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (this page) | +0.7% | +17.0% | +12.1% | +28.6% |  |  | 0.80 |
| IGBH: iShares Interest Rate Hedged Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF | +5.2% | +25.8% | +30.3% | +61.0% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.92 |
| LQDH: iShares Interest Rate Hedged Corporate Bond ETF | +4.9% | +23.9% | +29.5% | +55.5% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.21 |
| SHYG: iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | +2.1% | +25.7% | +24.5% | +56.4% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.79 |
| [VTIP](https://easycompare.io/research/vtip): Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF | +0.4% | +13.9% | +14.0% | +32.7% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.94 |
| SPSB: State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF | +2.0% | +16.3% | +14.9% | +29.2% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 1.38 |
| [JPST](https://easycompare.io/research/jpst): JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF | +3.4% | +15.5% | +20.8% | — | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 6.34 |
| SLQD: iShares 0-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | +1.3% | +16.4% | +13.3% | +28.6% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 1.02 |
| IGIB: iShares 5-10 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | −2.7% | +21.9% | +3.9% | +28.8% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.15 |
| SPIB: State Street SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Corporate Bond ETF | −0.4% | +19.4% | +8.1% | +28.4% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.37 |
| [VCIT](https://easycompare.io/research/vcit): Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF | −2.6% | +21.5% | +3.2% | +26.4% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.13 |
| CORP: PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index Exchange-Traded Fund | −2.2% | +20.0% | +1.4% | +25.9% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.07 |
| USIG: iShares Broad USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | −2.5% | +19.7% | +0.3% | +23.5% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.04 |
| LQD: iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | −3.9% | +19.7% | −4.3% | +20.5% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.06 |
| IGLB: iShares 10+ Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | −6.3% | +21.1% | −14.4% | +14.1% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.19 |
| VCLT: Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF | −6.9% | +20.0% | −15.2% | +13.7% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.20 |
| SPLB: State Street SPDR Portfolio Long Term Corporate Bond ETF | −6.6% | +20.4% | −15.3% | +12.9% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.20 |
| IGEB: iShares Investment Grade Systematic Bond ETF | −2.1% | +21.3% | +2.6% | — | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.11 |
| VGSH: Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF | +1.2% | +12.5% | +9.9% | +18.8% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.95 |
| IGSB: iShares 1-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | +0.7% | +17.3% | +12.4% | +29.4% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.80 |
| [BSV](https://easycompare.io/research/bsv): Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF | +0.7% | +14.1% | +8.8% | +20.5% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| SCHJ: Schwab 1-5 Year Corporate Bond ETF | +1.0% | +17.4% | +12.3% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.79 |

### How did VCSH do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2010, along with where VCSH ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- VCSH finished ahead of the S&P 500 in three of its 16 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last three.
- Among its popular alternatives, IGBH came out ahead of VCSH most often, in eight of the ten years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, VCSH finished in the top quarter in two of 16 years and in the bottom quarter in no. In 2025, it ranked 15 of 21.

| Year | VCSH | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +6.8% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +4.9% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +6.2% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −5.5% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | −0.6% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +5.1% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +7.0% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +0.9% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +2.2% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +2.6% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How VCSH has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were VCSH's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- The longest climb back to a previous high took 19 months, after VCSH fell 9.3% from August 2021 to October 2022.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −12.9% | March 5, 2020 | March 19, 2020 | May 28, 2020 | −20.5% | Covid crash |
| −9.3% | August 3, 2021 | October 20, 2022 | May 7, 2024 | −15.7% | 2022 bear market |

### How did VCSH do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far VCSH, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- VCSH fell less than the S&P 500 in all eight crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the Covid crash, when VCSH fell 12.9% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.
- None of its popular alternatives fell less than VCSH in most of the crashes they both traded through.
- VCSH began trading after the 2008 financial crisis, but five of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was BSV's 7.0%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500.

| Crash | Dates | VCSH fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | not trading | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −0.3% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −1.6% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −1.0% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −0.2% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −0.3% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −12.9% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −7.6% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | 0.0% | −3.4% |

### How closely does VCSH move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- Over the past 10 years, VCSH captured 13% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 9% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.11. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- VTIP took just 3% of the S&P 500's losses, against 9% for VCSH, while still keeping 11% of its gains.
- Five of the 17 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than VCSH's 1.47, led by VTIP, SPSB and BSV.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VCSH: Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (this page) | 13.0% | 9.0% | 0.11 |
| IGBH: iShares Interest Rate Hedged Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF | 33.0% | 32.0% | 0.33 |
| LQDH: iShares Interest Rate Hedged Corporate Bond ETF | 26.0% | 22.0% | 0.26 |
| SHYG: iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | 29.0% | 28.0% | 0.31 |
| [VTIP](https://easycompare.io/research/vtip): Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF | 11.0% | 3.0% | 0.08 |
| SPSB: State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF | 10.0% | 4.0% | 0.07 |
| SLQD: iShares 0-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | 11.0% | 6.0% | 0.09 |
| IGIB: iShares 5-10 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | 22.0% | 29.0% | 0.27 |
| SPIB: State Street SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Corporate Bond ETF | 17.0% | 18.0% | 0.18 |
| [VCIT](https://easycompare.io/research/vcit): Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF | 22.0% | 29.0% | 0.26 |
| CORP: PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index Exchange-Traded Fund | 22.0% | 30.0% | 0.26 |
| USIG: iShares Broad USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | 22.0% | 31.0% | 0.27 |
| LQD: iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | 25.0% | 39.0% | 0.33 |
| IGLB: iShares 10+ Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | 33.0% | 58.0% | 0.46 |
| VCLT: Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF | 33.0% | 59.0% | 0.46 |
| SPLB: State Street SPDR Portfolio Long Term Corporate Bond ETF | 33.0% | 60.0% | 0.47 |
| VGSH: Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF | 5.0% | −1.0% | 0.01 |
| IGSB: iShares 1-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | 13.0% | 8.0% | 0.11 |
| [BSV](https://easycompare.io/research/bsv): Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF | 7.0% | 3.0% | 0.04 |

### What diversifies VCSH?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- MCK made money in two of the two calendar years in which VCSH lost money.
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, EMLP and HDV have moved largely independently of VCSH over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.49 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- Among large stocks, CAH, CLS and FIX have moved largely independently of VCSH over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.21 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with VCSH | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in VCSH's 2 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.25 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 2 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.45 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 2 of 2 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.49 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 2 of 2 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.48 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 1 of 2 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.42 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 0 of 2 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.40 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 1 of 2 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.09 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 2 of 2 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.23 | +111% | 18.9% | 0.89 | 2 of 2 |

## Common questions

### What was VCSH's worst drawdown?

VCSH's deepest decline since it began trading in 2009 was 12.9%, in March 2020. It took two months from the low to climb back to its old high. Because VCSH launched in November 2009, that record does not include the dot-com bust or the 2008 financial crisis.

### What were VCSH's best and worst years?

Over 16 full calendar years, VCSH's best year was 2019, when it returned 7.0%. Its worst was 2022, with a return of -5.5%.

### Is there a better investment than VCSH?

Among VCSH's popular alternatives, JPST earned more than VCSH with less volatility over the past 5 years: 3.9% a year at 0.6% volatility, against 2.3% a year at 2.9%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, NEAR (short-term bonds) earned more than VCSH with less volatility over the past 5 years: 3.9% a year at 1.4% volatility, against 2.3% a year at 2.9%.

### Is VCSH more volatile than the S&P 500?

No. VCSH's volatility over the past 5 years was 2.9%, 17% of the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, VCSH's return lands within 2.9% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is VCSH's Sharpe ratio?

VCSH's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.80, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so VCSH earned more for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is VCSH with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, VCSH's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.60 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They often move together: some diversification next to an index fund, but not a cushion. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against VCSH instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a VCSH holding.

### What are the best alternatives to VCSH?

Of the 21 popular alternatives we compared, two outperformed VCSH in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: IGBH and LQDH.

### Did VCSH outperform the S&P 500?

VCSH finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of 16 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +6.8%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did VCSH do in stock market crashes?

VCSH fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in eight of the eight major crashes it has traded through, and further in no. The clearest case was the Covid crash, when VCSH fell 12.9% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.

### What diversifies VCSH?

These had a low correlation with VCSH over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.25), EMLP (correlation 0.45) and HDV (correlation 0.49); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.21), CLS (correlation 0.12) and FIX (correlation 0.16). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

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- [JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF (JPST) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/jpst)
- [Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCIT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vcit)
- [Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/bsv)
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## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/vcsh
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against VCSH live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=VCSH&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research