Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IEF vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEF returned −3.2% to SPY's +13.6%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about IEF and SPY
Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $43.5bn for iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF and $814.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.
Pair scorecard
SPY costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 16.8 points; SPY is 18.7 times larger.
| Measure | IEF | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −3.2% | +13.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 13.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index | S&P 500 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $43.5bn | $814.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 100% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 38.1% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Aug 2, 2002 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,264 weekly returnsSPY returned more: +1,260.9% to +116.1%. IEF swung less: 6.4% to 17.2%. IEF fell less at its worst: −23.3% to −54.6%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IEF | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +116.1% | +1,260.9% | SPY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +3.2% | +11.3% | SPY | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +9.0% | +775.6% | SPY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 6.4% | 17.2% | IEF | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 4.6% | 12.1% | IEF | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −23.3% | −54.6% | IEF | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.25 | 0.61 | SPY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.35 | 0.87 | SPY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.14 | 0.21 | SPY | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,264 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IEF and SPY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IEF and SPY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IEF and SPY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IEF follows ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index and SPY follows S&P 500 Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IEF returned −3.2% and SPY +13.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 16.8 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
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.
SPY
SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IEF or SPY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEF returned −3.2% and SPY +13.6%.
- Which is cheaper, IEF or SPY?
- SPY is cheaper, by 0.06 percentage points a year. That is about $6 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, IEF against SPY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ief-vs-spy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IEF against SPY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ief-vs-spy
[IEF against SPY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ief-vs-spy)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.