Which returned more over the last year, IEF or QUAL?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEF returned −3.2% and QUAL +13.1%.

Which is cheaper, IEF or QUAL?

Neither: IEF and QUAL both charge 0.15% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IEF vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEF returned −3.2% to QUAL's +13.1%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $43.5bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF, and $48.2bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF.

IEF on its own →QUAL on its own →

At a glance

−3.2%

IEF total return, 1 year

+13.1%

QUAL total return, 1 year

0.15%

IEF expense ratio

0.15%

QUAL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.15% a year; their one-year returns differ by 16.3 points; QUAL is 1.1 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

IEF vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IEF	QUAL
Return
Measure	IEF	QUAL
Total return, 1 year	−3.2%	+13.1%
Drawdown
Measure	IEF	QUAL
Below its high	13.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	IEF	QUAL
What it tracks	ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index	MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index
Cost and size
Measure	IEF	QUAL
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026	$43.4bn	$48.3bn
Holdings
Measure	IEF	QUAL
Holdings in common	0%
In the S&P 500, by weight		97%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		44.5%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IEF and QUAL hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IEF QUAL

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IEF

TREASURY NOTE 8.82%

TREASURY NOTE 8.80%

TREASURY NOTE 8.74%

TREASURY NOTE 8.68%

TREASURY NOTE (OLD) 8.68%

TREASURY NOTE (2OLD) 8.65%

TREASURY NOTE 8.48%

TREASURY NOTE 8.40%

Only in QUAL

MICROSOFT 8.09%

APPLE 7.38%

NVIDIA 6.28%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 4.06%

ELI LILLY 4.04%

TJX 3.50%

VISA CLASS A 3.44%

LAM RESEARCH 2.84%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IEF iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of 7-10 Year Treasury Bond Tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor

Total return, 1 year −3.2% +13.1%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.6% (MLRG)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.5 pts vs MLRG

Expense ratio 0.15% 0.15%

Holdings 17 119

Net assets, IEF as of Oct 27, 2026 and QUAL as of Oct 28, 2026 $43.5bn $48.2bn

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

Alert

About each fund

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.

QUAL

QUAL tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 119 positions, with the top ten at 44.5%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IEF or QUAL?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEF returned −3.2% and QUAL +13.1%.
Which is cheaper, IEF or QUAL?: Neither: IEF and QUAL both charge 0.15% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

IEF vs IWB IEF vs SCHB IEF vs SCHX IEF vs RDVY QUAL vs VGIT GOVT vs QUAL MBB vs QUAL QUAL vs VGSH

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IEF and QUAL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEF ↗

QUAL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for QUAL ↗

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, IEF against QUAL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ief-vs-qual

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