Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
BND vs GOVT: Differences, Returns & Fees
BND's duration was 5.7 years on Jun 30, 2026 and GOVT's 5.5 on Jul 31, 2026; BND charges 0.03% to GOVT's 0.05%.
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Net assets: $161.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF, and $42.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
BND costs 0.02 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.2 points; BND is 3.9 times larger.
| Measure | BND | GOVT |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −1.3% | −1.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.5%, high on Aug 6, 2020 | 8.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index | ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.05% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $161.4bn | $41.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 33% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Mar 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 764 weekly returnsBND returned more: +29.4% to +18.4%. GOVT swung slightly less: 4.5% to 4.7%. BND and GOVT fell about the same at their worst: −18.4% and −18.7%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | BND | GOVT | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +29.4% | +18.4% | BND | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +1.8% | +1.2% | BND | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −15.0% | −10.6% | GOVT | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 4.7% | 4.5% | GOVT (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 3.4% | 3.3% | GOVT (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −18.4% | −18.7% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.03 | −0.11 | BND | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.03 | −0.15 | BND | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.10 | 0.06 | BND | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 764 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, BND and GOVT hold 33% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.
half
33% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
BND and GOVT on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
BND and GOVT do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. BND follows Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index and GOVT follows ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index.
- Holdings in common. 33% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026).
- Number of holdings. BND holds 16,301 positions and GOVT holds 229.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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BND
BND tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.3% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index, measured by the closely related Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.5% below its high of Aug 6, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.
GOVT
GOVT tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. It sat 8.1% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, BND or GOVT?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BND returned −1.3% and GOVT −1.5%.
- Which is cheaper, BND or GOVT?
- BND is cheaper, by 0.02 percentage points a year. That is about $2 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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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, BND against GOVT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bnd-vs-govt
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). BND against GOVT. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bnd-vs-govt
[BND against GOVT (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bnd-vs-govt)
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