Are HOLD and TLT in the same category?

HOLD is an alternatives ETF and TLT is a bond ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, HOLD or TLT?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HOLD returned +0.8% and TLT −4.8%.

Which is cheaper, HOLD or TLT?

TLT is cheaper, by 0.55 percentage points a year. That is about $55 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

HOLD vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, HOLD returned +0.8% to TLT's −4.8%, and TLT charges 0.15% to HOLD's 0.70%.

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Net assets: $3.9m on Nov 4, 2026 for Harbor Alpha Layering ETF, and $48.3bn on Nov 3, 2026 for iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF.

HOLD on its own →TLT on its own →

At a glance

+0.8%

HOLD total return, 1 year

−4.8%

TLT total return, 1 year

0.70%

HOLD expense ratio

0.15%

TLT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

TLT costs 0.55 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.6 points; TLT is far larger, $48.3bn against $3.9m.

HOLD vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	HOLD	TLT
Return
Measure	HOLD	TLT
Total return, 1 year	+0.8%	−4.8%
Total return, 52 weeks	+0.3%
Drawdown
Measure	HOLD	TLT
Below its high		41.8%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Against its benchmark
Measure	HOLD	TLT
What it tracks	not published	ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index
Treasury bills, 52 weeks	+3.7%
Against cash	3.3 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	HOLD	TLT
Expense ratio	0.70%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$3.9m	$48.3bn
Holdings
Measure	HOLD	TLT
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	HOLD	TLT
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns	+0.66
Beta to the S&P 500	+0.81: about 0.81% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell	fell 1.29%
Down-week capture	120.5%
Weeks the S&P 500 fell	26 of 52, by 1.07% on average

Method

Side by side

HOLD Harbor Alpha Layering ETF TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

Where it sits Alternatives ETF Bond ETF

Issuer Harbor iShares

What it is Managed futures Tracks an index of 20+ year Treasuries

Total return, 1 year +0.8% −4.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.8% (VOO) −4.7% (BBLB)

Gap to its benchmark −14.0 pts vs VOO −0.1 pts vs BBLB

Expense ratio 0.70% 0.15%

Holdings not read by ETFIQ 47

Net assets, HOLD as of Nov 4, 2026 and TLT as of Nov 3, 2026 $3.9m $48.3bn

HOLD and TLT on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

HOLD

HOLD is a managed futures fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.66 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.81, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.81% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks HOLD fell 1.29% on average, a down-week capture of 120.5%. Over the same 52 weeks HOLD returned +0.3% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 3.3 percentage points behind cash.

TLT

TLT tracks an index of 20+ year Treasuries. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned −4.8% with distributions reinvested, against −4.7% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 41.8% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Nov 4, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are HOLD and TLT in the same category?: HOLD is an alternatives ETF and TLT is a bond ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, HOLD or TLT?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HOLD returned +0.8% and TLT −4.8%.
Which is cheaper, HOLD or TLT?: TLT is cheaper, by 0.55 percentage points a year. That is about $55 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs HOLD BND vs HOLD GLD vs HOLD HOLD vs QQQ PRAE vs TLT AHLT vs TLT RSBT vs TLT TFPN vs TLT

Where to next

BIL, the T-bill fund these are measured against →SPY, the S&P 500 fund these are measured against →HOLD on its own →TLT on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →HOLD dividend history →TLT dividend history →TLT holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

HOLD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

HOLD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Harbor page for HOLD ↗

TLT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

TLT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for TLT ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, HOLD against TLT, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hold-vs-tlt

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