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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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GOVT vs HYG: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GOVT's duration was 5.5 years on Jul 31, 2026 and HYG's 2.9 on Aug 31, 2026; GOVT charges 0.05% to HYG's 0.49%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $42.8bn for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF and $17.5bn for iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF.

GOVT on its own →HYG on its own →
At a glance
−1.5%
GOVT total return, 1 year
+1.3%
HYG total return, 1 year
0.05%
GOVT expense ratio
0.49%
HYG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GOVT costs 0.44 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.8 points; GOVT is 2.4 times larger.

GOVT vs HYG: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureGOVTHYG
Return
Total return, 1 year−1.5%+1.3%
Drawdown
Below its high8.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
What it tracksICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond IndexMarkit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.05%0.49%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$42.8bn$17.5bn
Holdings
Holdings in common0%

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

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, GOVT and HYG hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first GOVT HYG
Only in one fund ↓
Only in GOVT
U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2031 5.28%
U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2029 2.95%
U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2028 2.63%
U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2028 2.08%
U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2028 1.62%
U.S. Treasury Bonds, due May 15, 2046 1.48%
U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Nov 15, 2042 1.46%
U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Feb 15, 2051 1.46%
Only in HYG
1261229 BC Ltd, due Apr 15, 2032 0.50%
Meridian Arc Holdco LLC, due Apr 30, 2031 0.45%
EchoStar Corp, due Nov 30, 2029 0.43%
PR RNO Property Owner 1 LLC, due May 1, 2031 0.34%
Quikrete Holdings Inc, due Mar 1, 2032 0.32%
Cloud Software Group LLC, due Mar 31, 2029 0.32%
Cloud Software Group LLC, due Sep 30, 2029 0.32%
Galaxy Helios Data Centers II LLC, due Aug 1, 2031 0.30%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF HYG iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF
Issuer iShares iShares
What it is Tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond Tracks an index of US high yield bonds
Total return, 1 year −1.5% +1.3%
Its benchmark over the same days not measured −1.2% (IUSB)
Gap to its benchmark not measured +2.5 pts vs IUSB
Expense ratio 0.05% 0.49%
Holdings 229 1332
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $42.8bn $17.5bn

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

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About each fund
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.

HYG

HYG tracks an index of US high yield bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.3% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GOVT or HYG?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.5% and HYG +1.3%.
Which is cheaper, GOVT or HYG?
GOVT is cheaper, by 0.44 percentage points a year. That is about $44 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
GOVT vs USHYGOVT vs JNKGOVT vs IEIGOVT vs SCHPHYG vs VGITHYG vs IEFHYG vs MBBHYG vs VGSH
Where to next
GOVT on its own →HYG on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →GOVT dividend history →GOVT holdings →HYG dividend history →HYG holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
GOVT and HYG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
GOVT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
iShares page for GOVT ↗
HYG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
iShares page for HYG ↗

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, GOVT against HYG, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/govt-vs-hyg

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