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

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.0% and SPY returned +17.5%, so SPY returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, GOVT or SPY?

GOVT charges 0.05% a year and SPY charges 0.09%, so GOVT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

GOVT vs SPY: how they differ

GOVT and SPY hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and SPY returned more over the year.

iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, GOVT and SPY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in GOVT	Only in SPY
US TREASURY N/B 0.60%	NVIDIA CORP 8.08%
TREASURY NOTE (OTR) 0.55%	APPLE INC 7.33%
TREASURY BOND (OLD) 0.42%	MICROSOFT CORP 5.59%
TREASURY NOTE (2OLD) 0.25%	AMAZON.COM INC 3.77%
TREASURY BOND (OTR) 0.16%	ALPHABET INC CL A 2.98%
BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY 0.11%	BROADCOM INC 2.61%
TREASURY NOTE (OLD) 0.11%	ALPHABET INC CL C 2.39%
TREASURY BOND (2OLD) 0.08%	META PLATFORMS INC CLASS A 2.16%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 10, 2026.

GOVT and SPY on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF	SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	State Street
What it is	U.S. Treasury Bond	S&P 500
Total return, 1 year	−1.0%	+17.5%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−18.5 pts	0.0 pts
Expense ratio	0.05%	0.09%
Holdings	216	505

GOVT in plain words

GOVT is a bond fund tracking the U.S. Treasury Bond. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned −1.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. It sat 8.4% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Sep 11, 2026.

SPY in plain words

SPY is an index equity fund tracking the S&P 500. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 505 positions, with the top ten at 38.2%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GOVT or SPY?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.0% and SPY returned +17.5%, so SPY returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, GOVT or SPY?: GOVT charges 0.05% a year and SPY charges 0.09%, so GOVT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

GOVT against SPY, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, GOVT against SPY, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/govt-vs-spy Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources