Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
BTAL vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, BTAL returned −11.5% to TLT's −4.8%, and TLT charges 0.15% to BTAL's 1.25%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about BTAL and TLT
Net assets: $283m on Jun 30, 2026 for AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund, and $48.3bn on Nov 3, 2026 for iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
TLT costs 1.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.7 points.
| Measure | BTAL | TLT |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −11.5% | −4.8% |
| Total return, 52 weeks | −10.0% | |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 41.8%, high on Aug 4, 2020 | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | not published | ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index |
| Treasury bills, 52 weeks | +3.7% | |
| Against cash | 13.7 points behind | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 1.25% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, BTAL as of Jun 30, 2026 and TLT as of Nov 3, 2026 | $283m | $48.3bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Risk | ||
| Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns | −0.74 | |
| Beta to the S&P 500 | −1.37: about 1.37% for each 1% | |
| Its average week when the S&P 500 fell | rose 1.80% | |
| Down-week capture | −168.4% | |
| Weeks the S&P 500 fell | 26 of 52, by 1.07% on average | |
Side by side
BTAL and TLT on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
BTAL
BTAL is a market neutral fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of −0.74 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of −1.37, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 1.37% the other way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks BTAL rose 1.80% on average, a down-week capture of −168.4%. Over the same 52 weeks BTAL returned −10.0% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 13.7 percentage points behind cash.
TLT
TLT tracks an index of 20+ year Treasuries. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned −4.8% with distributions reinvested, against −4.7% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 41.8% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Nov 4, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Are BTAL and TLT in the same category?
- BTAL is an alternatives ETF and TLT is a bond ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, BTAL or TLT?
- In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BTAL returned −11.5% and TLT −4.8%.
- Which is cheaper, BTAL or TLT?
- TLT is cheaper, by 1.10 percentage points a year. That is about $110 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, BTAL against TLT, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/btal-vs-tlt
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). BTAL against TLT. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/btal-vs-tlt
[BTAL against TLT (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/btal-vs-tlt)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.