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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.5% and IEI −1.1%.

Which is cheaper, GOVT or IEI?

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 IEI: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GOVT's duration was 5.5 years on Jul 31, 2026 and IEI's 4.3 on Aug 31, 2026; GOVT charges 0.05% to IEI's 0.15%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $42.8bn for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF and $17.0bn for iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF.

GOVT on its own →IEI on its own →

At a glance

−1.5%

GOVT total return, 1 year

−1.1%

IEI total return, 1 year

0.05%

GOVT expense ratio

0.15%

IEI expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GOVT costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.4 points; GOVT is 2.5 times larger.

GOVT vs IEI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GOVT	IEI
Return
Measure	GOVT	IEI
Total return, 1 year	−1.5%	−1.1%
Drawdown
Measure	GOVT	IEI
Below its high	8.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	GOVT	IEI
What it tracks	ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index	ICE U.S. Treasury 3-7 Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	GOVT	IEI
Expense ratio	0.05%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$42.8bn	$17.0bn
Holdings
Measure	GOVT	IEI
Holdings in common	30%

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 IEI

Return

Total return edge IEI +18.4% +21.7%

Annualized edge IEI +1.2% +1.3%

Price return edge IEI −10.6% −6.0%

Risk

Volatility edge IEI 4.5% 3.6%

Max drawdown edge IEI −18.7% −14.1%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge IEI −0.11 −0.10

Sortino edge IEI −0.15 −0.14

Calmar edge IEI 0.06 0.10

Reading

IEI returned more: +21.7% to +18.4%. IEI swung less: 3.6% to 4.5%. IEI fell less at its worst: −14.1% to −18.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: GOVT vs IEI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GOVT	IEI	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+18.4%	+21.7%	IEI	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+1.2%	+1.3%	IEI	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−10.6%	−6.0%	IEI	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	4.5%	3.6%	IEI	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	3.3%	2.6%	IEI	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−18.7%	−14.1%	IEI	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.11	−0.10	IEI	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.15	−0.14	IEI	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.06	0.10	IEI	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

30%

By the books each fund has filed, GOVT and IEI hold 30% 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

30% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first GOVT IEI

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2031 5.28% 2.26%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 28, 2030 0.94% 2.29%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2033 0.84% 2.10%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2032 0.82% 2.30%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Dec 31, 2029 0.78% 1.10%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2033 0.76% 2.17%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2031 0.73% 2.10%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 31, 2029 0.70% 0.70%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2032 0.64% 1.93%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Oct 31, 2030 0.61% 0.98%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2030 0.60% 1.83%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 30, 2030 0.59% 0.59%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in GOVT

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%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Nov 15, 2027 1.38%

Only in IEI

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 31, 2031 1.25%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 30, 2030 1.14%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jan 31, 2032 1.13%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 28, 2031 1.03%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2031 0.99%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jul 31, 2033 0.98%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Oct 31, 2031 0.97%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 30, 2031 0.94%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF IEI iShares 3-7 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 3-7 Year Treasury Bond

Total return, 1 year −1.5% −1.1%

Expense ratio 0.05% 0.15%

Holdings 229 82

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $42.8bn $17.0bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-877E947D8A

GOVT and IEI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. GOVT follows ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index and IEI follows ICE U.S. Treasury 3-7 Year Bond Index.
Holdings in common. 30% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026).
Cost. GOVT charges 0.05% of assets a year and IEI 0.15%, a gap of 0.10 points.

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.

IEI

IEI tracks an index of 3-7 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.1% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GOVT or IEI?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.5% and IEI −1.1%.
Which is cheaper, GOVT or IEI?: 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 SHY GOVT vs VGSH GOVT vs VTIP GOVT vs LQD IEI vs VGIT IEF vs IEI IEI vs MBB IEI vs VGSH

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

GOVT and IEI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

GOVT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for GOVT ↗

IEI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEI ↗

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

Open data →

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