Which returned more over the last year, BIL or LQD?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BIL returned +3.7% and LQD −3.4%.

Which is cheaper, BIL or LQD?

Neither: BIL and LQD both charge 0.14% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

BIL vs LQD: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BIL's duration was 0.2 years on Jun 30, 2026 and LQD's 7.7 on Aug 31, 2026; both charge 0.14%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $48.7bn for SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF and $30.6bn for iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF.

BIL on its own →LQD on its own →

At a glance

+3.7%

BIL total return, 1 year

−3.4%

LQD total return, 1 year

0.14%

BIL expense ratio

0.14%

LQD expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.14% a year; their one-year returns differ by 7.1 points; BIL is 1.6 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BIL vs LQD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BIL	LQD
Return
Measure	BIL	LQD
Total return, 1 year	+3.7%	−3.4%
Drawdown
Measure	BIL	LQD
Below its high		6.3%, high on Sep 22, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	BIL	LQD
What it tracks	Bloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index	Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index
Cost and size
Measure	BIL	LQD
Expense ratio	0.14%	0.14%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$48.7bn	$30.6bn
Holdings
Measure	BIL	LQD
Holdings in common	0%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Jun 8, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,011 weekly returns

BIL LQD

Return

Total return edge LQD +30.9% +114.4%

Annualized edge LQD +1.4% +4.0%

Price return edge LQD (slight) −0.1% 0.0%

Risk

Volatility edge BIL 0.4% 9.0%

Max drawdown edge BIL −0.5% −24.7%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge LQD −0.40 0.31

Sortino edge LQD −0.57 0.44

Calmar edge BIL 3.00 0.16

Reading

LQD returned more: +114.4% to +30.9%. BIL swung less: 0.4% to 9.0%. BIL fell less at its worst: −0.5% to −24.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: BIL vs LQD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BIL	LQD	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+30.9%	+114.4%	LQD	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+1.4%	+4.0%	LQD	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−0.1%	0.0%	LQD (slight)	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	0.4%	9.0%	BIL	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	0.3%	6.4%	BIL	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−0.5%	−24.7%	BIL	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.40	0.31	LQD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.57	0.44	LQD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	3.00	0.16	BIL	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,011 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, BIL and LQD hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BIL LQD

Only in one fund ↓

Only in BIL

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Aug 6, 2026 12.04%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Sep 3, 2026 9.04%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Aug 27, 2026 7.22%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Sep 17, 2026 7.03%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Sep 10, 2026 6.98%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Sep 24, 2026 6.97%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Aug 13, 2026 6.85%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Aug 20, 2026 6.49%

Only in LQD

Anheuser-Busch Cos LLC / Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc, due Feb 1, 2046 0.18%

CVS Health Corp, due Mar 25, 2048 0.17%

T-Mobile USA Inc, due Apr 15, 2030 0.17%

Space Exploration Technologies Corp, due Jul 15, 2031 0.17%

Meta Platforms Inc, due Nov 15, 2035 0.16%

Charter Communications Operating LLC / Charter Communications Operating Capital, due Sep 1, 2038 0.15%

Charter Communications Operating LLC / Charter Communications Operating Capital, due Sep 1, 2041 0.15%

Amazon.com Inc, due Mar 13, 2036 0.14%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BIL SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF LQD iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer State Street iShares

What it is Tracks an index of 1-3 month T-bills Tracks an index of US investment grade bonds

Total return, 1 year +3.7% −3.4%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured −1.2% (IUSB)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −2.2 pts vs IUSB

Expense ratio 0.14% 0.14%

Holdings 26 3191

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $48.7bn $30.6bn

BIL and LQD on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-4F9E5B3ACF

BIL and LQD do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. BIL follows Bloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index and LQD follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index.
Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 BIL returned +3.7% and LQD −3.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 7.1 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

BIL

BIL tracks an index of 1-3 month T-bills. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.7% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.14% a year.

LQD

LQD tracks an index of US investment grade bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.4% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. It sat 6.3% below its high of Sep 22, 2021 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BIL or LQD?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BIL returned +3.7% and LQD −3.4%.
Which is cheaper, BIL or LQD?: Neither: BIL and LQD both charge 0.14% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BIL vs IGIB BIL vs VCIT BIL vs TIP BIL vs EMB LQD vs SHV LQD vs PULS LQD vs USFR LQD vs MINT

Where to next

BIL on its own →LQD on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →BIL dividend history →BIL holdings →LQD dividend history →LQD holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

BIL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BIL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

LQD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

LQD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for LQD ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, BIL against LQD, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bil-vs-lqd

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.