A smart beta exchange traded fund, the F/m US Treasury 6 Month Bill ETF (XBIL Quick QuoteXBIL - Free Report) debuted on 03/07/2023, and offers broad exposure to the Government Bond ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by Us Benchmark Series, XBIL has amassed assets over $806.03 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Government Bond ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the BBG US TRSR BELLWETHER 6M TR USD UNHG ID before fees and expenses.

The Bloomberg US Treasury Bellwether 6M Total Return USD Unhedged Index tracks the most recent or on-the-run 6 Month US Treasury security and is rebalanced on the last day of each month.

Cost & Other Expenses

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.15%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

XBIL's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 4.39%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

The top 10 holdings account for about 100% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added about 2.27% so far this year and was up about 4.43% in the last one year (as of 07/29/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $49.94 and $50.21

The ETF has a beta of 0.00 and standard deviation of 0.38% for the trailing three-year period. With about 2 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers .

Alternatives

F/m US Treasury 6 Month Bill ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Government Bond ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) tracks Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index and the iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) tracks ICE 0-3 MONTH US TREASURY SECURITIES IND. SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF has $41.72 billion in assets, iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF has $51.88 billion. BIL has an expense ratio of 0.14% and SGOV changes 0.09%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Government Bond ETFs

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.