How PGIM’s Ultra Short Bond ETF Is Beating Money Market Funds
PGIM Investments’ Collins talks bond, buffer and CLO ETFs.
The PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF (PULS) is up 6.3% over the past year, beating the 5.1% return for the Vanguard Treasury Money Market Fund (VUSXX) and the 5.2% return for the SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) over the same period.
In this episode of Exchange Traded Fridays, head of ETFs at PGIM Investments, Matt Collins, sits down with etf.com senior analyst Sumit Roy and etf.com wealth management editor Jeff Benjamin to discuss PULS, as well as several other interesting ETF offerings from PGIM.
“This was the No.1-selling ultra-short ETF last year in the marketplace on the active side. It is a cash-plus vehicle that offers a little more variability in the share price versus a stable NAV, but with a yield pick-up that is material,” noted Collins.
According to Collins, about 15-18% of PULS’ portfolio is made up of AAA-rated CLOs, which give the ETF “an even higher yield pick-up than your average investment grade bond in the market.”
In other words, PULS can eke out more return by employing an active strategy that holds a variety of securities.
