Which returned more over the last year, GVI or VSDB?

In the year to Nov 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GVI returned −0.2% and VSDB +1.7%.

Which is cheaper, GVI or VSDB?

VSDB is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 12, 2026.

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GVI vs VSDB: Differences, Returns & Fees

Return, fees and overlap, side by side.

Return gap

+1.9 pts

1 year to Nov 12, 2026: VSDB ahead, total return

Fee gap

0.05 pts

A year: GVI 0.20%, VSDB 0.15%, per filings dated Jan 28, 2026 and Jun 18, 2026

Overlap

15%

Share of the two books held in common, holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026

Net flow

–

Needs daily flows for both funds

Risk and return

Apr 11, 2025 to Nov 6, 2026 · 82 weekly returns

GVI VSDB

Return

Total return edge VSDB +5.5% +7.7%

Annualized edge VSDB +3.5% +4.8%

Price return edge VSDB −0.4% +0.7%

Risk

Volatility edge VSDB 2.4% 1.8%

Max drawdown edge VSDB −2.7% −1.4%

Downside capture 64.2% 27.1%

Beta 0.61 0.43

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge VSDB −0.21 0.43

Sortino edge VSDB −0.29 0.61

Treynor −0.002 0.018

Calmar edge VSDB 1.27 3.39

Against the benchmark

Alpha −0.2% a year +0.8% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.71 1.18

Information ratio −0.13 0.39

Tracking error 2.3% 2.3%

Each against its own benchmark: GVI against IUSB, Jun 20, 2014 to Nov 6, 2026; VSDB against AGG, Apr 11, 2025 to Nov 5, 2026.

Reading

From Apr 2025 to Nov 2026, VSDB returned more: +7.7% to +5.5%. VSDB swung less: 1.8% to 2.4%. VSDB fell less at its worst: −1.4% to −2.7%.

Full scorecard

19 measures Open ↓

Risk and return: GVI vs VSDB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GVI	VSDB	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+5.5%	+7.7%	VSDB	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+3.5%	+4.8%	VSDB	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−0.4%	+0.7%	VSDB	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	2.4%	1.8%	VSDB	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	1.8%	1.3%	VSDB	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−2.7%	−1.4%	VSDB	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	63.3%	50.5%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	64.2%	27.1%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.61	0.43	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.87	0.76	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.21	0.43	VSDB	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.29	0.61	VSDB	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	−0.002	0.018		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	1.27	3.39	VSDB	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IUSB	AGG		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−0.2% a year	+0.8% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.71	1.18	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−0.9% to +0.4%	−0.6% to +2.2%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.13	0.39		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	2.3%	2.3%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 82 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Pair scorecard

VSDB costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.9 points.

GVI vs VSDB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	GVI	VSDB
Return
Measure	GVI	VSDB
Total return, 1 year	−0.2%	+1.7%
Benchmark
Measure	GVI	VSDB
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Intermediate Government/Credit Bond Index	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	GVI	VSDB
Expense ratio	0.20%	0.15%
Net assets, GVI as of Nov 12, 2026 and VSDB as of Oct 31, 2026	$3.8bn	$1.2bn
Holdings
Measure	GVI	VSDB
Holdings in common	15%

Method

Key numbers

−0.2%

GVI total return, 1 year

+1.7%

VSDB total return, 1 year

0.20%

GVI expense ratio

0.15%

VSDB expense ratio

What they share

15%

By the books each fund has filed, GVI and VSDB hold 15% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

15% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first GVI VSDB

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jul 15, 2028 0.65% 0.59%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Dec 31, 2030 0.51% 0.70%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Dec 31, 2027 0.51% 1.50%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Oct 31, 2027 0.49% 1.07%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 30, 2029 0.47% 0.52%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2029 0.47% 1.50%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Dec 31, 2027 0.47% 1.55%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 30, 2027 0.44% 1.90%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 28, 2031 0.54% 0.39%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2030 0.39% 0.46%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 30, 2027 0.36% 1.55%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 30, 2031 0.69% 0.35%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in GVI

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2034 0.74%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2035 0.74%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2034 0.73%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2035 0.73%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2036 0.72%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2035 0.72%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2034 0.71%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2036 0.69%

Only in VSDB

TREASURY BILL, due Jun 10, 2027 1.16%

GNR 2026-25 QA, due Dec 20, 2051 0.81%

DOMINICAN REPUBL, due Jan 30, 2030 0.75%

FNR 2026-33 FA, due Jul 25, 2055 0.70%

G2SF 5.5 7/26, due Jul 20, 2026 0.65%

SA GLOBAL SUKU, due Oct 2, 2029 0.59%

TURKIYE REP OF, due Mar 13, 2030 0.56%

FNR 2026-46 FJ, due Jun 25, 2056 0.52%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

GVI iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF VSDB Vanguard Short Duration Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Tracks an index Actively managed

Total return, 1 year −0.2% +1.7%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.0% (IUSB) −1.3% (AGG)

Gap to its benchmark +0.8 pts vs IUSB +3.0 pts vs AGG

Expense ratio 0.20% 0.15%

Holdings 6351 1522

Net assets, GVI as of Nov 12, 2026 and VSDB as of Oct 31, 2026 $3.8bn $1.2bn

GVI and VSDB on the fields both publish, as of Nov 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief:

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About each fund

GVI

GVI tracks an index. Over the year to Nov 12, 2026 it returned −0.2% with distributions reinvested, against −1.0% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.20% a year.

VSDB

VSDB is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Nov 12, 2026 it returned +1.7% with distributions reinvested, against −1.3% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GVI or VSDB?: In the year to Nov 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GVI returned −0.2% and VSDB +1.7%.
Which is cheaper, GVI or VSDB?: VSDB is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

GVI vs SUSB GVI vs USTB BSCU vs GVI CGSD vs GVI IBDU vs VSDB IBDT vs VSDB BSCS vs VSDB IBDV vs VSDB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

GVI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

GVI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for GVI ↗

VSDB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VSDB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VSDB ↗

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, GVI against VSDB, data as of Nov 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gvi-vs-vsdb

Open data →

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

Net assets: $3.8bn on Nov 12, 2026 for iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF, and $1.2bn on Oct 31, 2026 for Vanguard Short Duration Bond ETF.

GVI on its own →VSDB on its own →

Growth of 100

GVI and VSDB

Total return, distributions reinvested, 1 year.

GVI −0.2%VSDB +1.7%

Nov 12, 2025Nov 12, 2026

GVI −0.2%, VSDB +1.7%: VSDB +1.9 pts ahead, 1 year, Nov 12, 2025 to Nov 12, 2026.