Which returned more over the last year, GOVT or IEF?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.5% and IEF −3.2%.

Which is cheaper, GOVT or IEF?

GOVT is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

GOVT vs IEF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GOVT's duration was 5.5 years on Jul 31, 2026 and IEF's 7.0 on Aug 31, 2026; GOVT charges 0.05% to IEF's 0.15%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $42.8bn for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF and $43.5bn for iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF.

GOVT on its own →IEF on its own →

At a glance

−1.5%

GOVT total return, 1 year

−3.2%

IEF total return, 1 year

0.05%

GOVT expense ratio

0.15%

IEF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GOVT costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.7 points.

GOVT vs IEF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GOVT	IEF
Return
Measure	GOVT	IEF
Total return, 1 year	−1.5%	−3.2%
Drawdown
Measure	GOVT	IEF
Below its high	8.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020	13.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	GOVT	IEF
What it tracks	ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index	ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	GOVT	IEF
Expense ratio	0.05%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$42.8bn	$43.5bn
Holdings
Measure	GOVT	IEF
Holdings in common	9%

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

Risk and return

Mar 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 764 weekly returns

GOVT IEF

Return

Total return edge IEF (slight) +18.4% +19.5%

Annualized edge IEF (slight) +1.2% +1.2%

Price return edge GOVT −10.6% −13.3%

Risk

Volatility edge GOVT 4.5% 6.2%

Max drawdown edge GOVT −18.7% −23.3%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge IEF −0.11 −0.05

Sortino edge IEF −0.15 −0.08

Calmar edge GOVT (slight) 0.06 0.05

Reading

IEF returned slightly more: +19.5% to +18.4%. GOVT swung less: 4.5% to 6.2%. GOVT fell less at its worst: −18.7% to −23.3%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: GOVT vs IEF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GOVT	IEF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+18.4%	+19.5%	IEF (slight)	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+1.2%	+1.2%	IEF (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−10.6%	−13.3%	GOVT	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	4.5%	6.2%	GOVT	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	3.3%	4.5%	GOVT	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−18.7%	−23.3%	GOVT	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.11	−0.05	IEF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.15	−0.08	IEF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.06	0.05	GOVT (slight)	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, GOVT and IEF hold 9% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

9% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first GOVT IEF

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2034 0.99% 8.12%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2034 0.92% 6.73%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2034 0.83% 8.31%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2033 0.82% 7.87%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2035 0.80% 8.25%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2034 0.77% 8.63%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2033 0.76% 1.06%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2036 0.73% 9.31%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2035 0.62% 8.21%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2035 0.61% 8.52%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2033 0.48% 3.75%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2035 0.44% 8.74%

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 IEF

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jul 31, 2033 2.47%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2036 0.25%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF IEF iShares 7-10 Year Treasury 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 7-10 Year Treasury Bond

Total return, 1 year −1.5% −3.2%

Expense ratio 0.05% 0.15%

Holdings 229 17

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $42.8bn $43.5bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-C38B74C07F

GOVT and IEF are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

What each follows. GOVT follows ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index and IEF follows ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index.
Holdings in common. 9% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026).
Number of holdings. GOVT holds 229 positions and IEF holds 17.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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.

IEF

IEF tracks an index of 7-10 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 13.1% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GOVT or IEF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.5% and IEF −3.2%.
Which is cheaper, GOVT or IEF?: GOVT is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

GOVT vs VTG GOVT vs VGIT GOVT vs SCHR GOVT vs SPTI IEF vs VGIT IEF vs SCHR IEF vs SPTI FLGV vs IEF

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

GOVT and IEF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

GOVT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for GOVT ↗

IEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEF ↗

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 IEF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/govt-vs-ief

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