The ETF SHV has not moved much in the last five years.
How is it that its volume is as high as 583609?
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Sign up to join this communityFirstly, Volume doesn't equal movement.
The best thing is to look at what it represents. SHV is the iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF.
This means it tracks short-term treasury bonds. Many forms of balanced portfolios require some portion of funds in bonds. This ETV is an easy vehicle to get fractional exposure to bonds. As far as "has not moved much" is concerned - this is because bond returns are minimal. You should also consider dividends received into your calculations..
On a simulated total return basis, including dividends re-invested on the ex-date, it has moved from 101.7187577 (since inception on 11 Jan 2007) to 110.27 on 1 Apr 2015 (3002 days) representing a CAGR of 0.99%.
Source: ETF Data from http://www.premiumdata.net/
Disclosure: I am a part-owner of Norgate/Premium Data.