Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
HYG vs IEF: Differences, Returns & Fees
On Aug 31, 2026 HYG's duration was 2.9 years and IEF's 7.0; IEF charges 0.15% to HYG's 0.49%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $17.5bn for iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF and $43.5bn for iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
IEF costs 0.34 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.5 points; IEF is 2.5 times larger.
| Measure | HYG | IEF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +1.3% | −3.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 13.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index | ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $17.5bn | $43.5bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Aug 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Apr 20, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,018 weekly returnsHYG returned more: +148.8% to +80.5%. IEF swung less: 6.6% to 11.1%. IEF fell less at its worst: −23.3% to −33.0%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | HYG | IEF | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +148.8% | +80.5% | HYG | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +4.8% | +3.1% | HYG | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −26.2% | +9.9% | IEF | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 11.1% | 6.6% | IEF | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 8.1% | 4.7% | IEF | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −33.0% | −23.3% | IEF | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.34 | 0.25 | HYG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.46 | 0.36 | HYG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.14 | 0.13 | HYG (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,018 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, HYG and IEF hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Aug 31, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
HYG and IEF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
HYG and IEF do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. HYG follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index and IEF follows ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 HYG returned +1.3% and IEF −3.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.5 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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HYG
HYG tracks an index of US high yield bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.3% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year.
IEF
IEF tracks an index of 7-10 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 13.1% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, HYG or IEF?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +1.3% and IEF −3.2%.
- Which is cheaper, HYG or IEF?
- IEF is cheaper, by 0.34 percentage points a year. That is about $34 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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, HYG against IEF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-ief
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). HYG against IEF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-ief
[HYG against IEF (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-ief)
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