Which returned more over the last year, IEF or QUAL?

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEF returned −2.7% and QUAL returned +16.0%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, IEF or QUAL?

IEF charges 0.15% a year and QUAL charges 0.15%, so IEF is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

IEF vs QUAL: how they differ

IEF and QUAL hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and QUAL returned more over the year.

iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF and iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, IEF and QUAL hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in IEF	Only in QUAL
United States of America 9.71%	NVIDIA CORPORATION 6.52%
United States of America 8.94%	APPLE INC. 6.28%
United States of America 8.91%	MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.05%
United States of America 8.89%	META PLATFORMS, INC. 3.50%
United States of America 8.87%	LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION 3.23%
United States of America 8.79%	THE TJX COMPANIES, INC. 3.19%
United States of America 8.69%	VISA INC. 3.09%
United States of America 8.46%	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 and May 31, 2026.

IEF and QUAL on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	IEF iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF	QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	iShares
What it is	7-10 Year Treasury Bond	MSCI USA Quality Factor
Total return, 1 year	−2.7%	+16.0%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−20.2 pts	−1.5 pts
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.15%
Holdings	15	121

IEF in plain words

IEF is a bond fund tracking the 7-10 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned −2.7% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 13.3% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Sep 11, 2026.

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. 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, IEF or QUAL?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEF returned −2.7% and QUAL returned +16.0%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, IEF or QUAL?: IEF charges 0.15% a year and QUAL charges 0.15%, so IEF is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

Where to next

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.

IEF against QUAL, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, IEF against QUAL, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/IEF-QUAL Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources