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

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and VGSH returned +1.8%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, QUAL or VGSH?

QUAL charges 0.15% a year and VGSH charges 0.03%, so VGSH 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

QUAL vs VGSH: how they differ

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

iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Index Fund.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and VGSH 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 QUAL	Only in VGSH
NVIDIA CORPORATION 6.52%	United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.26%
APPLE INC. 6.28%	United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.41%
MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.05%	United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.36%
META PLATFORMS, INC. 3.50%	United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.32%
LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION 3.23%	United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.31%
THE TJX COMPANIES, INC. 3.19%	United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.30%
VISA INC. 3.09%	United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.27%
ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 2.92%	United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.27%

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.

QUAL and VGSH on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF	VGSH Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Index Fund
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	Vanguard
What it is	MSCI USA Quality Factor	Short-Term Treasury
Total return, 1 year	+16.0%	+1.8%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−1.5 pts	−15.7 pts
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.03%
Holdings	121	91

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.

VGSH in plain words

VGSH is a bond fund tracking the Short-Term Treasury. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +1.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or VGSH?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and VGSH returned +1.8%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, QUAL or VGSH?: QUAL charges 0.15% a year and VGSH charges 0.03%, so VGSH is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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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.

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

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources