BMO Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF (ZST)

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• Investment focus:Canadian investment-grade bonds with very short maturities
• Category:Canadian diversified bonds
• Management style:Active
• Managed by:BMO
• Market data as of:October 30, 2026

With C$3.41 billion in assets, ZST is the 10th largest of the 42 bond ETFs WOWA tracks. Its management expense ratio (MER) is 0.17%, and over the past 12 months it paid out 2.51% of its unit price in distributions.

Jump to section: Overview • Index • Performance • Distributions • Risks • Fit • Ranking • Compare

BMO Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF (ZST) is a bond ETF from BMO, launched on January 28, 2011. It is actively managed to a maturity limit: every bond has a year or less of effective term left. It follows no index, so there are no target weights.

ZST doesn’t follow an index. Its managers buy investment-grade bonds in Canadian dollars that have a year or less to go before they effectively come due. Most of what it owns is corporate debt.

Total returns with distributions reinvested, in CAD, as of October 30, 2026. Category median: the middle value among the funds in the Canadian diversified group with a return for that period (14 funds for one year, 13 for three and five years, 8 for ten years). N/A: no complete return record for the period. Past performance does not predict future results.

$10,000 invested in ZST ten years ago would be worth about $12,800 as of October 30, 2026, with distributions reinvested and before taxes and trading costs.

Volatility shows how much monthly returns have swung, as a yearly percentage. The Sharpe ratio compares the return above 3-month Government of Canada T-bills with that volatility. Higher means more return for each unit of risk, and below 0 means the fund earned less than T-bills.

ZST pays distributions monthly. Over the 12 months to October 30, 2026, it paid 2.51% of its unit price, its trailing distribution yield. Amounts can change from one payment to the next.

• Interest and other income is taxed like employment income in a non-registered account.
• Capital gains are taxed more lightly than interest.
• Return of capital is not taxed when you receive it, but it lowers your adjusted cost base, which raises the capital gain when you sell.

Inside a TFSA or RRSP, the type of income does not change your tax. Our guide to registered and non-registered accounts explains the trade-offs.

2025 tax-year breakdown reported for the fund. Shares of the total distribution per unit.

BMO rates ZST’s risk as low on the standard Canadian fund scale, which runs from low to high. The rating reflects how much the fund’s returns have varied, not the chance that a borrower defaults.

Very short maturities keep interest-rate sensitivity low, but returns fall when short-term rates fall. It holds bonds, not insured deposits.

• Credit: It holds only investment-grade bonds, so default risk is low, though a borrower's bonds can still lose value if its outlook weakens or its rating is cut.
• Active management: Results depend on the managers' choices of bonds, maturities and credit, so returns can differ from any benchmark.

General pointers based on the fund’s category, structure and costs, not personal advice.

ZST ranks 10th by assets among the 42 bond ETFs WOWA monitors, 19th (tied) by lowest MER, and 1st of 13 by five-year return in the Canadian diversified group, as of October 30, 2026. See the full list of Canadian bond ETFs.

ZST is in the Canadian diversified group on our Best Canadian Bond ETFs page. These are the largest other funds in that group.

See all 14 funds in this group.

We cover 9 more bond ETFs from BMO. See them all on our Best Canadian Bond ETFs page.

You can buy ZST through any Canadian brokerage account, including a TFSA, RRSP or FHSA, by searching for its ticker. When comparing Canadian trading platforms, look at commissions, account fees and currency-conversion costs.

Before you place the order, check the bid-ask spread and consider a limit order, which caps the price you pay but may not fill. If this is your first account, our brokerage account guide walks you through opening one. Buying inside a TFSA? Our guide to the best TFSA investment options covers the other choices for that account.

If you’re from BMO and would like to add or update information on this page, please contact us.

Returns, volatility, Sharpe ratios, trailing yield and trading volume: WOWA calculations from Yahoo Finance prices adjusted for distributions, as of October 30, 2026. Assets under management: as of October 30, 2026. Fees, risk rating and inception date: BMO fund documents. Distribution breakdown: 2025 tax year. Fund page: BMO Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF.

Disclaimer: This page is for general information only and is not investment advice. WOWA does not recommend any specific fund. Figures come from issuer and third-party sources, may contain errors and can change after publication, so check the fund’s own documents before you invest.