Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
GOVT vs VHT: how they differ
GOVT and VHT hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and VHT returned more over the year.
iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF and Vanguard Health Care Index Fund.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, GOVT and VHT hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in GOVT | Only in VHT |
|---|---|
| US TREASURY N/B 0.60% | Eli Lilly & Co 14.07% |
| TREASURY NOTE (OTR) 0.55% | Johnson & Johnson 8.48% |
| TREASURY BOND (OLD) 0.42% | AbbVie Inc 6.10% |
| TREASURY NOTE (2OLD) 0.25% | UnitedHealth Group Inc 5.46% |
| TREASURY BOND (OTR) 0.16% | Merck & Co Inc 4.67% |
| BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY 0.11% | Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc 2.93% |
| TREASURY NOTE (OLD) 0.11% | Amgen Inc 2.87% |
| TREASURY BOND (2OLD) 0.08% | Gilead Sciences Inc 2.64% |
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 May 31, 2026 and Sep 10, 2026.
| GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF | VHT Vanguard Health Care Index Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | Vanguard |
| What it is | U.S. Treasury Bond | Health Care |
| Total return, 1 year | −1.0% | +21.6% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −18.5 pts | +4.1 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.05% | 0.09% |
| Holdings | 216 | 401 |
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.
VHT in plain words
VHT is an index equity fund tracking the Health Care. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +21.6% 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 May 31, 2026, 86% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 401 positions, with the top ten at 52.0%. It sat 5.7% below its high of Aug 19, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, GOVT or VHT?
- In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GOVT returned −1.0% and VHT returned +21.6%, so VHT returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, GOVT or VHT?
- GOVT charges 0.05% a year and VHT 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.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, GOVT against VHT, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/govt-vs-vht Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources