ASARX vs BIL Fund Comparison

A comparison between ASARX and BIL based on their expense ratio, growth, holdings and how well they match their benchmark performance.

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Minafi's Take on ASARX vs BIL

Here's an in depth look at the differences between Asset Management Fund Ultra Short Mortgage Fund ($ASARX) and SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF ($BIL).

To start off, here's a look at the basics of each fund. Keep an eye on the FI Score. That's a custom score from 0 to 100 that we generate based on how good this fund is for the casual investor. Most investors only need a handful of total funds in their portfolio. The higher the score, the more likely this is one of those few. Score alone isn't enough! Keep reading on to see how different (or perhaps similar) these two funds are.

  • asarx
  • Mutual Fund
  • Alternative
  • Short

Asset Management Fund Ultra Short Mortgage Fund

Expenses: 1.40% (Better than 0% of similar funds)

This is a bad choice for a Short Alternative fund. See why »

81% FI Score
  • bil
  • ETF
  • Alternative
  • Short

SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF

Expenses: 0.14% (Better than 1% of similar funds)

This is an OK choice for a Short Alternative fund. See why »

$ASARX is classified as a Mutual Fund while $BIL is classified as an ETF. Even though one of these is a mutual fund and the other is an ETF, that doesn't matter too much for their holdings. Both ETFs and mutual funds are just containers to hold lots of investments inside of them.

The biggest differences between these two is where they may be offered. ETFs are more widely availble from a larger number of investment apps and websites. Mutual funds, on the other hand, are generally offered by the platform they're issued by (Fidelity funds on Fidelity, Vanguard funds on Vanguard). Usually 401(k)'s will offer both ETFs and Mutual Funds. If you're investing outside of a 401(k), I'd recommend you verify the fees associated with ETF and mutual fund transactions. Some platforms charge an additional fee to purchase a mutual fund.

To learn more about the difference between these two, you can read about the difference between ETFs and Mutual Funds.

When evaluating a fund, the first things I look at are:

  • What it invests in
  • How much it charges in fees
  • How large the fund is

Let's look into these criteria one by one and see if either of these funds stands out.

Fund Holdings Comparison

Both of these funds are Alternative Short funds – which means they're likely both investing in about the same investments behind the scenes.

Minafi's FI Score algorithm takes into account the category and market. The more niche a fund is, the lower the score. This doesn't mean it's a worse fund, but it does mean you should stop and make sure this a fund you need to diversify your portfolio.

ASARX BIL
Market Score 0.1 /10 9.7 /10
Category Score 0.0 /10 0.0 /10
Total 0.1 9.7

A score of 10 means this is a solid market and category that almost every investor will want to have investments in. The lower the score, the more specific the investment. These scores are based on when most investors would add these funds to their portfolio. A score of 10 means that this fund (or one like it) belongs in a three-fund portfolio. The lower the score, the farther down in your portfolio a fund would go.

Winner: $BIL

Fee Comparison

Fees are one of the biggest killers of portfolio growth. The difference between a 2% fee and a 0.04% fee over 30 years can result in your portfolio having half the total value!

If you're just getting started investing and learning how fees impact your portfolio, I'd encourage you to read through my free investment course (specifically '2.2 - All About Fees') where I go over all the different types of fees you can be charged and how to lower them.

For these two funds, ASARX has an expense ratio of 1.40% while BIL has an expense ratio of 0.14%.

Winner: $BIL

Fund Size Comparison

One place these two funds differ is in their total assets under management. This is a good indication of how many other investors trust this fund. A large fund by itself doesn't mean it's a good fund, but it is one thing to consider when figuring out how to choose the right fund.

In the case of these two funds, ASARX is a small fund with 10.3 Million in assets under management. BIL, on the other hand, is a large fund with 18.5 Billion in assets under management.

Winner: $BIL, SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF

Which Should You Choose? ASARX or BIL?

Since both of these funds are Alternative Short funds, you'll most likely only need to invest in one of these funds – not both. Running both of these funds through Minafi's FI Score algorithm, gives ASARX a score of 1 and BIL a score of 81.

Neither of these funds has an FI Score above 90 – which is a red flag. I'd look into more funds to find one with a higher FI Score.

Winner: Neither, I'd research more funds if you're looking to invest for retirement.

$ASARX

Asset Management Fund Ultra Short Mortgage Fund

1

Read More
Ratings
Rating Type Rating
Expense Ratio Score 0 /10
Expense Rating 0 /10
Market Score 0 /10
Category Score 0 /10
Overview
Overview Details
Fund Type Mutual Fund
Inception Date Sep-18-1991
Exchange NMFQS
Expense Ratio 1.400%
Net Assets 10.3 Million
Yield 1.06%
Holdings
Description Info
Market Alternative
Category Short

$BIL

SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF

81

Read More
Ratings
Rating Type Rating
Expense Ratio Score 10 /10
Expense Rating 9 /10
Market Score 10 /10
Category Score 0 /10
Overview
Overview Details
Fund Type ETF
Inception Date Oct-31-2016
Exchange NYSE ARCA
Expense Ratio 0.136%
Net Assets 18.5 Billion
Yield 1.58%
Holdings
Description Info
Market Alternative
Category Short
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 0.00%
  • Communication Services 0.00%
  • Consumer Cyclicals 0.00%
  • Consumer Defensive 0.00%
  • Energy 0.00%
  • Financial Services 0.00%
  • Healthcare 0.00%
  • Industrials 0.00%
  • Real Estate 0.00%
  • Technology 0.00%
  • Utilities 0.00%

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