Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
BNDX vs QUAL: how they differ
BNDX and QUAL hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and QUAL returned more over the year.
Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund and iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BNDX and QUAL hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in BNDX | Only in QUAL |
|---|---|
| French Republic Government Bond OAT 0.18% | NVIDIA CORPORATION 6.52% |
| Bundesschatzanweisungen 0.14% | APPLE INC. 6.28% |
| Canadian Government Bond 0.13% | MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.05% |
| Canadian Government Bond 0.10% | META PLATFORMS, INC. 3.50% |
| Canadian Government Bond 0.10% | LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION 3.23% |
| Canadian Government Bond 0.09% | THE TJX COMPANIES, INC. 3.19% |
| Canadian Government Bond 0.08% | VISA INC. 3.09% |
| Canadian Government Bond 0.08% | ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 2.92% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Apr 30, 2026.
| BNDX Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund | QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | Vanguard | iShares |
| What it is | Total International Bond | MSCI USA Quality Factor |
| Total return, 1 year | −0.7% | +16.0% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −18.2 pts | −1.5 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.07% | 0.15% |
| Holdings | 6707 | 121 |
BNDX in plain words
BNDX is a bond fund tracking the Total International Bond. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned −0.7% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% a year.
QUAL in plain words
QUAL is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +16.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 121 positions, with the top ten at 39.1%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, BNDX or QUAL?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BNDX returned −0.7% and QUAL returned +16.0%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, BNDX or QUAL?
- BNDX charges 0.07% a year and QUAL charges 0.15%, so BNDX is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, BNDX against QUAL, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/BNDX-QUAL Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources