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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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GOVT vs VCLT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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GOVT's duration was 5.5 years on Jul 31, 2026 and VCLT's 12.0 on May 31, 2026; VCLT charges 0.03% to GOVT's 0.05%.

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Net assets: $42.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF, and $7.5bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF.

GOVT on its own →VCLT on its own →
At a glance
−1.5%
GOVT total return, 1 year
−5.9%
VCLT total return, 1 year
0.05%
GOVT expense ratio
0.03%
VCLT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VCLT costs 0.02 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.4 points; GOVT is 5.5 times larger.

GOVT vs VCLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureGOVTVCLT
Return
Total return, 1 year−1.5%−5.9%
Drawdown
Below its high8.1%, high on Aug 4, 202017.8%, high on Sep 22, 2021
Benchmark
What it tracksICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond IndexBloomberg U.S. 10+ Year Corporate Bond Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.05%0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026$41.4bn$7.5bn
Holdings
Holdings in common0%

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

What they share

0%

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

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first GOVT VCLT
U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2036 0.38% 0.11%
U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2036 0.73% 0.08%
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 VCLT
ANHEUSER-BUSCH, due Feb 1, 2046 0.37%
CVS HEALTH CORP, due Mar 25, 2048 0.33%
META PLATFORMS, due Nov 15, 2055 0.28%
BOEING CO, due May 1, 2050 0.27%
PFIZER INVSTMNT, due May 19, 2053 0.27%
AMAZON.COM INC, due Mar 13, 2056 0.26%
ORACLE CORP, due Feb 4, 2056 0.24%
AT&T INC, due Sep 15, 2053 0.23%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF VCLT Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF
Issuer iShares Vanguard
What it is Tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond Tracks an index of Long-Term Corporate Bond
Total return, 1 year −1.5% −5.9%
Expense ratio 0.05% 0.03%
Holdings 229 2562
Net assets, GOVT as of Oct 27, 2026 and VCLT as of Sep 30, 2026 $42.8bn $7.5bn

GOVT and VCLT 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.

VCLT

VCLT tracks an index of Long-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −5.9% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 17.8% below its high of Sep 22, 2021 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GOVT or VCLT?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.5% and VCLT −5.9%.
Which is cheaper, GOVT or VCLT?
VCLT 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 JNKGOVT vs SPSBGOVT vs PFFGOVT vs TIPIEF vs VCLTVCLT vs VGITMBB vs VCLTVCLT vs VGSH
Where to next
GOVT on its own →VCLT on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →GOVT dividend history →GOVT holdings →VCLT dividend history →VCLT holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
GOVT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
GOVT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
iShares page for GOVT ↗
VCLT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
VCLT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
Vanguard page for VCLT ↗

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.

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ETFIQ, GOVT against VCLT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/govt-vs-vclt

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