A Curious Bond Buy: Is USTB Worth a Peek?

by

A Peculiar Purchase

Now, listen closely. A rather large and important fellow named Merit Financial Group – a sort of money-hoarding giant, if you will – has been snapping up shares in something called the VictoryShares USAA Core Short-Term Bond ETF (USTB). A whopping $8.6 million worth, to be precise. That’s enough to buy a small island, or perhaps a truly magnificent collection of pickled onions. They added 167,898 shares in the last quarter, you see, and the value of their little pile grew by $8.17 million. A rather tidy sum, wouldn’t you say? It’s like watching a particularly plump caterpillar munching its way through a field of lettuce – unstoppable!

What’s the Fuss?

This USTB, it turns out, now makes up about 1.05% of Merit’s entire stash of assets. A little slice of the pie, perhaps, but a slice that’s clearly caught their eye. Here’s what else they’re fiddling with:

  • NYSEMKT:VUG: $399.02 million (a rather substantial pile)
  • NYSEMKT:QLTY: $288.24 million (almost enough for a small castle)
  • NASDAQ:IUSG: $273.15 million (enough for a fleet of rubber ducks)
  • NASDAQ:IUSV: $266.08 million (a mountain of marshmallows)
  • NYSEMKT:MGK: $261.18 million (enough to fill a swimming pool with lemonade)

Now, the shares of USTB themselves were bobbing along at $50.90 recently. They’ve gone up a bit over the year, about 5.9%, but not as much as that boisterous S&P 500. It’s like a tortoise trying to race a cheetah – a valiant effort, but…well, you get the picture. They pay out a dividend of 4.60%, and were only 0.37% off their highest price. Not bad, not bad at all.

A Closer Look at the Beast

This USTB, you see, is a bit of a peculiar creature. It’s all about short-term debts and…well, let’s call them “financial wibbles.” It aims to keep things stable, with an average maturity of three years or less. It’s filled with bonds from all over, mostly from the United States, but with up to 20% from…shall we say, “more adventurous” places. It’s traded on the NASDAQ, which is a sort of bustling marketplace for these financial contraptions.

Metric Value
AUM $1.73 billion
Price (as of market close January 23, 2026) $50.90
Dividend yield 4.60%
1-year total return 5.91%

What Does it All Mean?

So, why is Merit Financial Group suddenly so keen on USTB? It suggests they think it’s a good bet. $1.7 billion under management is a rather impressive hoard, and that 4.6% yield is like a steady drip of honey. It’s designed for those who want to keep their money safe and earn a little something on the side. Think of it as a financial duvet – comforting and secure.

It’s not the cheapest thing on the market, mind you. The expense ratio is 0.34%, which is a bit like paying a small toll to ride a particularly smooth carousel. But in return, you get a fund that’s actively managed, which means someone is actually watching over it, making sure it doesn’t wander off into a swamp.

Merit Financial increasing their position from 2.4 million to 2.6 million shares suggests the ETF is delivering. It seems a sensible choice for those who wish to grow their wealth slowly, without taking too many risks. It’s not going to make you a millionaire overnight, but it might just save you from having to eat gruel in your old age.

Read More

2026-02-02 05:22