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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEI returned −1.1% and LQD −3.4%.

Which is cheaper, IEI or LQD?

LQD is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IEI vs LQD: Differences, Returns & Fees

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On Aug 31, 2026 IEI's duration was 4.3 years and LQD's 7.7; LQD charges 0.14% to IEI's 0.15%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $17.0bn for iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF and $30.6bn for iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF.

IEI on its own →LQD on its own →

At a glance

−1.1%

IEI total return, 1 year

−3.4%

LQD total return, 1 year

0.15%

IEI expense ratio

0.14%

LQD expense ratio

Pair scorecard

LQD costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.3 points; LQD is 1.8 times larger.

IEI vs LQD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IEI	LQD
Return
Measure	IEI	LQD
Total return, 1 year	−1.1%	−3.4%
Drawdown
Measure	IEI	LQD
Below its high		6.3%, high on Sep 22, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	IEI	LQD
What it tracks	ICE U.S. Treasury 3-7 Year Bond Index	Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index
Cost and size
Measure	IEI	LQD
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.14%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$17.0bn	$30.6bn
Holdings
Measure	IEI	LQD
Holdings in common	0%

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

Risk and return

Jan 19, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,031 weekly returns

IEI LQD

Return

Total return edge LQD +71.7% +113.3%

Annualized edge LQD +2.8% +3.9%

Price return edge IEI +14.9% −2.8%

Risk

Volatility edge IEI 3.8% 8.9%

Max drawdown edge IEI −14.1% −24.7%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge IEI (slight) 0.31 0.29

Sortino edge IEI (slight) 0.45 0.41

Calmar edge IEI 0.20 0.16

Reading

LQD returned more: +113.3% to +71.7%. IEI swung less: 3.8% to 8.9%. IEI fell less at its worst: −14.1% to −24.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IEI vs LQD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IEI	LQD	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+71.7%	+113.3%	LQD	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+2.8%	+3.9%	LQD	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+14.9%	−2.8%	IEI	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	3.8%	8.9%	IEI	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	2.6%	6.4%	IEI	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−14.1%	−24.7%	IEI	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.31	0.29	IEI (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.45	0.41	IEI (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.20	0.16	IEI	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,031 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IEI and LQD 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 IEI LQD

Only in one fund ↓

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%

Only in LQD

Anheuser-Busch Cos LLC / Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc, due Feb 1, 2046 0.18%

CVS Health Corp, due Mar 25, 2048 0.17%

T-Mobile USA Inc, due Apr 15, 2030 0.17%

Space Exploration Technologies Corp, due Jul 15, 2031 0.17%

Meta Platforms Inc, due Nov 15, 2035 0.16%

Charter Communications Operating LLC / Charter Communications Operating Capital, due Sep 1, 2038 0.15%

Charter Communications Operating LLC / Charter Communications Operating Capital, due Sep 1, 2041 0.15%

Amazon.com Inc, due Mar 13, 2036 0.14%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IEI iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF LQD iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of 3-7 Year Treasury Bond Tracks an index of US investment grade bonds

Total return, 1 year −1.1% −3.4%

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

Gap to its benchmark not measured −2.2 pts vs IUSB

Expense ratio 0.15% 0.14%

Holdings 82 3191

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $17.0bn $30.6bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-B531500D56

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

What each follows. IEI follows ICE U.S. Treasury 3-7 Year Bond Index and LQD follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade 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 IEI returned −1.1% and LQD −3.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.3 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

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.

LQD

LQD tracks an index of US investment grade bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.4% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.14% a year. It sat 6.3% below its high of Sep 22, 2021 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IEI or LQD?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEI returned −1.1% and LQD −3.4%.
Which is cheaper, IEI or LQD?: LQD is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

IEI vs IGIB IEI vs VCIT IEI vs JAAA IEI vs IGSB LQD vs SHY LQD vs VGSH LQD vs SCHP LQD vs TIP

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IEI and LQD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

iShares page for IEI ↗

iShares page for LQD ↗

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

Open data →

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