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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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GOVT vs SPSB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GOVT's duration was 5.5 years on Jul 31, 2026 and SPSB's 1.8 on Jun 30, 2026; SPSB charges 0.04% to GOVT's 0.05%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $42.8bn for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF and $11.3bn for State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF.

GOVT on its own →SPSB on its own →
At a glance
−1.5%
GOVT total return, 1 year
+2.2%
SPSB total return, 1 year
0.05%
GOVT expense ratio
0.04%
SPSB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPSB costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.7 points; GOVT is 3.8 times larger.

GOVT vs SPSB: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureGOVTSPSB
Return
Total return, 1 year−1.5%+2.2%
Drawdown
Below its high8.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
What it tracksICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond IndexBloomberg U.S. 1-3 Year Corporate Bond Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.05%0.04%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$42.8bn$11.3bn
Holdings
Holdings in common0%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026. Method

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, GOVT and SPSB hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first GOVT SPSB
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 SPSB
Salesforce Inc, due Mar 15, 2029 0.56%
AerCap Ireland Capital DAC / AerCap Global Aviation Trust, due Oct 29, 2028 0.44%
Bank of America Corp, due Dec 20, 2028 0.42%
Citigroup Inc, due Mar 4, 2029 0.42%
Morgan Stanley, due Apr 10, 2030 0.38%
JPMorgan Chase & Co, due Jul 25, 2028 0.38%
Pfizer Investment Enterprises Pte Ltd, due May 19, 2028 0.37%
Sprint Capital Corp, due Nov 15, 2028 0.37%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF SPSB State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF
Issuer iShares State Street
What it is Tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond Tracks an index of Short Term Corporate Bond
Total return, 1 year −1.5% +2.2%
Its benchmark over the same days not measured −1.4% (AGG)
Gap to its benchmark not measured +3.6 pts vs AGG
Expense ratio 0.05% 0.04%
Holdings 229 1684
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $42.8bn $11.3bn

GOVT and SPSB 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.

SPSB

SPSB tracks an index of Short Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.2% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.04% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GOVT or SPSB?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.5% and SPSB +2.2%.
Which is cheaper, GOVT or SPSB?
SPSB is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
GOVT vs VCSHGOVT vs IGSBBSV vs GOVTGOVT vs PFFIEF vs SPSBSPSB vs VGITSPSB vs VGSHMBB vs SPSB
Where to next
GOVT on its own →SPSB on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →GOVT dividend history →GOVT holdings →SPSB dividend history →SPSB holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
GOVT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
GOVT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
iShares page for GOVT ↗
SPSB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
SPSB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
State Street website ↗

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

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