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

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

Which is cheaper, GOVT or SPTI?

SPTI is cheaper, by 0.02 percentage points a year. That is about $2 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

GOVT vs SPTI: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GOVT's duration was 5.5 years on Jul 31, 2026 and SPTI's 5.0 on Jun 30, 2026; SPTI charges 0.03% 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 $11.9bn for State Street SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Treasury ETF.

GOVT on its own →SPTI on its own →

At a glance

−1.5%

GOVT total return, 1 year

−1.5%

SPTI total return, 1 year

0.05%

GOVT expense ratio

0.03%

SPTI expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPTI costs 0.02 points a year less; both returned −1.5% over a year; GOVT is 3.6 times larger.

GOVT vs SPTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GOVT	SPTI
Return
Measure	GOVT	SPTI
Total return, 1 year	−1.5%	−1.5%
Drawdown
Measure	GOVT	SPTI
Below its high	8.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020	3.5%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	GOVT	SPTI
What it tracks	ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index	Bloomberg 3-10 Year U.S. Treasury Index
Cost and size
Measure	GOVT	SPTI
Expense ratio	0.05%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$42.8bn	$11.9bn
Holdings
Measure	GOVT	SPTI
Holdings in common	40%

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

Risk and return

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

GOVT SPTI

Return

Total return edge SPTI +18.4% +20.4%

Annualized edge SPTI (slight) +1.2% +1.3%

Price return edge SPTI −10.6% −9.3%

Risk

Volatility edge SPTI 4.5% 3.7%

Max drawdown edge SPTI −18.7% −15.7%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge Tie −0.11 −0.11

Sortino edge Tie −0.15 −0.16

Calmar edge SPTI 0.06 0.08

Reading

SPTI returned more: +20.4% to +18.4%. SPTI swung less: 3.7% to 4.5%. SPTI fell less at its worst: −15.7% to −18.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: GOVT vs SPTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GOVT	SPTI	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+18.4%	+20.4%	SPTI	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+1.2%	+1.3%	SPTI (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−10.6%	−9.3%	SPTI	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	4.5%	3.7%	SPTI	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	3.3%	2.6%	SPTI	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−18.7%	−15.7%	SPTI	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.11	−0.11	Tie	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.15	−0.16	Tie	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.06	0.08	SPTI	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

40%

By the books each fund has filed, GOVT and SPTI hold 40% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

40% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first GOVT SPTI

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2031 5.28% 1.48%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2030 1.01% 1.17%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2034 0.99% 1.86%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 28, 2030 0.94% 1.74%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2034 0.92% 1.80%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2033 0.84% 1.46%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2034 0.83% 1.88%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2033 0.82% 1.83%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2032 0.82% 1.45%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2035 0.80% 1.94%

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

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2034 0.77% 1.93%

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 SPTI

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 30, 2030 1.10%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 31, 2030 1.08%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 30, 2031 0.79%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Oct 31, 2031 0.78%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2031 0.73%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 30, 2032 0.72%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jan 31, 2032 0.72%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 28, 2031 0.72%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF SPTI State Street SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Treasury 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

Total return, 1 year −1.5% −1.5%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured −1.4% (AGG)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.1 pts vs AGG

Expense ratio 0.05% 0.03%

Holdings 229 102

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $42.8bn $11.9bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-FB196ED70A

GOVT and SPTI 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 SPTI follows Bloomberg 3-10 Year U.S. Treasury Index.
Holdings in common. 40% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
Size. GOVT has $42.8bn in net assets and SPTI $11.9bn (net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026); GOVT is 3.6 times larger.

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.

SPTI

SPTI tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.5% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.5% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GOVT or SPTI?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.5% and SPTI −1.5%.
Which is cheaper, GOVT or SPTI?: SPTI is cheaper, by 0.02 percentage points a year. That is about $2 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

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

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

GOVT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

GOVT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for GOVT ↗

SPTI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

Open data →

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