Which returned more over the last year, HYG or IEI?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +1.3% and IEI −1.1%.

Which is cheaper, HYG or IEI?

IEI 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.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

HYG vs IEI: Differences, Returns & Fees

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On Aug 31, 2026 HYG's duration was 2.9 years and IEI's 4.3; IEI 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 $17.0bn for iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF.

HYG on its own →IEI on its own →

At a glance

+1.3%

HYG total return, 1 year

−1.1%

IEI total return, 1 year

0.49%

HYG expense ratio

0.15%

IEI expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IEI costs 0.34 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.4 points.

HYG vs IEI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	HYG	IEI
Return
Measure	HYG	IEI
Total return, 1 year	+1.3%	−1.1%
Benchmark
Measure	HYG	IEI
What it tracks	Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index	ICE U.S. Treasury 3-7 Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	HYG	IEI
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$17.5bn	$17.0bn
Holdings
Measure	HYG	IEI
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 returns

HYG IEI

Return

Total return edge HYG +148.8% +68.5%

Annualized edge HYG +4.8% +2.7%

Price return edge IEI −26.2% +13.9%

Risk

Volatility edge IEI 11.1% 3.8%

Max drawdown edge IEI −33.0% −14.1%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge HYG (slight) 0.34 0.31

Sortino edge HYG (slight) 0.46 0.45

Calmar edge IEI 0.14 0.19

Reading

HYG returned more: +148.8% to +68.5%. IEI swung less: 3.8% to 11.1%. IEI fell less at its worst: −14.1% to −33.0%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: HYG vs IEI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	HYG	IEI	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+148.8%	+68.5%	HYG	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+4.8%	+2.7%	HYG	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−26.2%	+13.9%	IEI	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	11.1%	3.8%	IEI	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	8.1%	2.7%	IEI	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−33.0%	−14.1%	IEI	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.34	0.31	HYG (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.46	0.45	HYG (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.14	0.19	IEI	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 IEI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first HYG IEI

Only in one fund ↓

Only in HYG

1261229 BC Ltd, due Apr 15, 2032 0.50%

Meridian Arc Holdco LLC, due Apr 30, 2031 0.45%

EchoStar Corp, due Nov 30, 2029 0.43%

PR RNO Property Owner 1 LLC, due May 1, 2031 0.34%

Quikrete Holdings Inc, due Mar 1, 2032 0.32%

Cloud Software Group LLC, due Mar 31, 2029 0.32%

Cloud Software Group LLC, due Sep 30, 2029 0.32%

Galaxy Helios Data Centers II LLC, due Aug 1, 2031 0.30%

Only in IEI

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 30, 2030 2.90%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2032 2.30%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 28, 2030 2.29%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2031 2.26%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 31, 2030 2.24%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2033 2.17%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2031 2.11%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2033 2.10%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

HYG iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF IEI iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of US high yield bonds Tracks an index of 3-7 Year Treasury Bond

Total return, 1 year +1.3% −1.1%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.2% (IUSB) not measured

Gap to its benchmark +2.5 pts vs IUSB not measured

Expense ratio 0.49% 0.15%

Holdings 1332 82

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $17.5bn $17.0bn

HYG and IEI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-9A85E9488F

HYG and IEI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. HYG follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index and IEI follows ICE U.S. Treasury 3-7 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 IEI −1.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.4 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

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.

IEI

IEI tracks an index of 3-7 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.1% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, HYG or IEI?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +1.3% and IEI −1.1%.
Which is cheaper, HYG or IEI?: IEI 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.

Other comparisons

HYG vs SHY HYG vs VGSH HYG vs VTIP HYG vs USFR IEI vs USHY IEI vs JNK IEI vs IGIB IEI vs VTIP

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

HYG and IEI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

HYG and IEI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for HYG ↗

iShares page for IEI ↗

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, HYG against IEI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-iei

Open data →

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