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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBTJ returned +0.5% and IEI −1.1%.

Which is cheaper, IBTJ or IEI?

IBTJ is cheaper, by 0.08 percentage points a year. That is about $8 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBTJ vs IEI: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IBTJ's duration was 2.6 years on Jul 31, 2026 and IEI's 4.3 on Aug 31, 2026; IBTJ charges 0.07% to IEI's 0.15%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $1.5bn for iShares iBonds Dec 2029 Term Treasury ETF and $17.0bn for iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF.

IBTJ on its own →IEI on its own →

At a glance

+0.5%

IBTJ total return, 1 year

−1.1%

IEI total return, 1 year

0.07%

IBTJ expense ratio

0.15%

IEI expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IBTJ costs 0.08 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.6 points; IEI is 11.3 times larger.

IBTJ vs IEI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBTJ	IEI
Return
Measure	IBTJ	IEI
Total return, 1 year	+0.5%	−1.1%
Drawdown
Measure	IBTJ	IEI
Below its high	6.2%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	IBTJ	IEI
What it tracks	ICE 2029 Maturity US Treasury Index	ICE U.S. Treasury 3-7 Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	IBTJ	IEI
Expense ratio	0.07%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$1.5bn	$17.0bn
Holdings
Measure	IBTJ	IEI
Holdings in common	9%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Mar 6, 2020 to Oct 23, 2026 · 346 weekly returns

IBTJ IEI

Return

Total return edge IEI −3.5% +0.7%

Annualized edge IEI −0.5% +0.1%

Price return edge IEI −18.8% −13.1%

Risk

Volatility edge IEI 5.2% 4.1%

Max drawdown edge IEI −19.6% −14.1%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge IBTJ (slight) −0.65 −0.68

Sortino edge IBTJ (slight) −0.87 −0.92

Calmar edge IEI −0.03 0.01

Reading

IEI returned more: +0.7% to −3.5%. IEI swung less: 4.1% to 5.2%. IEI fell less at its worst: −14.1% to −19.6%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IBTJ vs IEI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBTJ	IEI	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	−3.5%	+0.7%	IEI	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	−0.5%	+0.1%	IEI	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−18.8%	−13.1%	IEI	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	5.2%	4.1%	IEI	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	3.9%	3.0%	IEI	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−19.6%	−14.1%	IEI	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.65	−0.68	IBTJ (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.87	−0.92	IBTJ (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	−0.03	0.01	IEI	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 346 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IBTJ and IEI hold 9% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

9% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IBTJ IEI

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 30, 2029 4.07% 1.49%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 31, 2029 3.99% 1.36%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Oct 31, 2029 4.03% 1.30%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Sep 30, 2029 3.97% 1.07%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 30, 2029 1.97% 0.93%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Sep 30, 2029 2.05% 0.85%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Oct 31, 2029 2.01% 0.79%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 31, 2029 2.03% 0.70%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2029 1.78% 0.69%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IBTJ

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 30, 2029 4.10%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 30, 2029 4.05%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2029 4.02%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jul 31, 2029 4.02%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Mar 31, 2029 3.88%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 28, 2029 3.70%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jan 31, 2029 3.51%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 15, 2029 3.34%

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

IBTJ iShares iBonds Dec 2029 Term Treasury 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 Tracks an index of 3-7 Year Treasury Bond

Total return, 1 year +0.5% −1.1%

Expense ratio 0.07% 0.15%

Holdings 37 82

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.5bn $17.0bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-5D2862DC40

IBTJ and IEI are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

What each follows. IBTJ follows ICE 2029 Maturity US Treasury Index and IEI follows ICE U.S. Treasury 3-7 Year Bond Index.
Holdings in common. 9% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026).
Size. IBTJ has $1.5bn in net assets and IEI $17.0bn (net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026); IEI is 11.3 times larger.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

IBTJ

IBTJ tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +0.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% a year. It sat 6.2% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

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, IBTJ or IEI?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBTJ returned +0.5% and IEI −1.1%.
Which is cheaper, IBTJ or IEI?: IBTJ is cheaper, by 0.08 percentage points a year. That is about $8 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

IBTJ vs IBTK IBTJ vs SCHO IBTJ vs VGSH IBTJ vs SPTS IEI vs SHY IEI vs SPTS IEI vs SCHO IEI vs VGSH

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBTJ and IEI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBTJ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBTJ ↗

IEI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

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

Open data →

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