Vanguard VCSH vs. Schwab SCHO: Same Fee, Different Risk for Short-Term Bond Buyers

A higher yield from corporate bonds trades off against the lower volatility of Treasuries.

Overview

Both ETFs charge a 0.03% expense ratio, so the choice turns on yield, credit risk, and trading scale.
VCSH is larger at $48.3 billion in assets and posted a 4.7% one-year return with a 4.3% dividend yield, compared with SCHO at 3.7% and 4.0%.
SCHO holds about 96% in cash and U.S. Treasuries across 98 securities, which limits credit risk and reflects a record of more than 15 years.
VCSH invests in investment-grade corporate bonds and cash with only 12 holdings, which increases concentration and potential price swings.
Risk gauges show VCSH is choppier than SCHO, with beta, a volatility measure, at 0.41 versus 0.25 and a five-year max drawdown of 9.46% versus 5.75%.