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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.5% and SHY +1.6%.

Which is cheaper, GOVT or SHY?

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 SHY: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GOVT's duration was 5.5 years on Jul 31, 2026 and SHY's 1.8 on Aug 31, 2026; GOVT charges 0.05% to SHY's 0.15%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $42.8bn for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF and $27.4bn for iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF.

GOVT on its own →SHY on its own →

At a glance

−1.5%

GOVT total return, 1 year

+1.6%

SHY total return, 1 year

0.05%

GOVT expense ratio

0.15%

SHY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GOVT costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.1 points; GOVT is 1.6 times larger.

GOVT vs SHY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GOVT	SHY
Return
Measure	GOVT	SHY
Total return, 1 year	−1.5%	+1.6%
Drawdown
Measure	GOVT	SHY
Below its high	8.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	GOVT	SHY
What it tracks	ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index	ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	GOVT	SHY
Expense ratio	0.05%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$42.8bn	$27.4bn
Holdings
Measure	GOVT	SHY
Holdings in common	28%

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 SHY

Return

Total return edge SHY +18.4% +21.4%

Annualized edge SHY +1.2% +1.3%

Price return edge SHY −10.6% −3.4%

Risk

Volatility edge SHY 4.5% 1.3%

Max drawdown edge SHY −18.7% −5.6%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge GOVT −0.11 −0.32

Sortino edge GOVT −0.15 −0.47

Calmar edge SHY 0.06 0.24

Reading

SHY returned more: +21.4% to +18.4%. SHY swung less: 1.3% to 4.5%. SHY fell less at its worst: −5.6% to −18.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: GOVT vs SHY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GOVT	SHY	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+18.4%	+21.4%	SHY	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+1.2%	+1.3%	SHY	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−10.6%	−3.4%	SHY	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	4.5%	1.3%	SHY	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	3.3%	0.9%	SHY	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−18.7%	−5.6%	SHY	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.11	−0.32	GOVT	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.15	−0.47	GOVT	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.06	0.24	SHY	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

28%

By the books each fund has filed, GOVT and SHY hold 28% 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

28% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first GOVT SHY

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2028 1.62% 1.35%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2028 2.63% 1.33%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2028 1.20% 1.34%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2029 2.95% 1.16%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2028 2.08% 1.16%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2027 1.36% 1.02%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Dec 31, 2027 0.99% 1.22%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 29, 2028 0.98% 1.00%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Mar 31, 2028 0.98% 1.33%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Sep 30, 2028 0.96% 1.39%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Oct 31, 2027 0.93% 1.16%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2029 1.08% 0.92%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in GOVT

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

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%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Nov 15, 2043 1.37%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2030 1.01%

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

Only in SHY

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 30, 2028 1.97%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 30, 2029 1.51%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2028 1.37%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 29, 2028 1.35%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Dec 15, 2027 1.34%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jan 15, 2028 1.34%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2028 1.30%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 28, 2029 1.29%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF SHY iShares 1-3 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 1-3 Year Treasury Bond

Total return, 1 year −1.5% +1.6%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +1.7% (BBSB)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.1 pts vs BBSB

Expense ratio 0.05% 0.15%

Holdings 229 90

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $42.8bn $27.4bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-CE4C829C55

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

What each follows. GOVT follows ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index and SHY follows ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index.
Holdings in common. 28% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GOVT returned −1.5% and SHY +1.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.1 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.

SHY

SHY tracks an index of 1-3 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.6% with distributions reinvested, against +1.7% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GOVT or SHY?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.5% and SHY +1.6%.
Which is cheaper, GOVT or SHY?: 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 VGSH GOVT vs IEI GOVT vs LQD GOVT vs IGSB IEF vs SHY SHY vs VGIT IBTK vs SHY MBB vs SHY

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

GOVT and SHY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

GOVT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for GOVT ↗

SHY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for SHY ↗

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

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