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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEI returned −1.1% and SPTS +1.7%.

Which is cheaper, IEI or SPTS?

SPTS is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IEI vs SPTS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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IEI's duration was 4.3 years on Aug 31, 2026 and SPTS's 1.9 on Jun 30, 2026; SPTS charges 0.03% 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 $7.3bn for State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Treasury ETF.

IEI on its own →SPTS on its own →

At a glance

−1.1%

IEI total return, 1 year

+1.7%

SPTS total return, 1 year

0.15%

IEI expense ratio

0.03%

SPTS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPTS costs 0.12 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.8 points; IEI is 2.3 times larger.

IEI vs SPTS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IEI	SPTS
Return
Measure	IEI	SPTS
Total return, 1 year	−1.1%	+1.7%
Benchmark
Measure	IEI	SPTS
What it tracks	ICE U.S. Treasury 3-7 Year Bond Index	Bloomberg 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index
Cost and size
Measure	IEI	SPTS
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$17.0bn	$7.3bn
Holdings
Measure	IEI	SPTS
Holdings in common	0%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Dec 9, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026 · 776 weekly returns

IEI SPTS

Return

Total return edge SPTS (slight) +22.4% +23.9%

Annualized edge SPTS (slight) +1.4% +1.4%

Price return edge SPTS −5.8% −4.1%

Risk

Volatility edge SPTS 3.6% 2.6%

Max drawdown edge SPTS −14.1% −5.8%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge IEI (slight) −0.09 −0.09

Sortino edge IEI −0.12 −0.14

Calmar edge SPTS 0.10 0.25

Reading

SPTS returned slightly more: +23.9% to +22.4%. SPTS swung less: 2.6% to 3.6%. SPTS fell less at its worst: −5.8% to −14.1%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IEI vs SPTS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IEI	SPTS	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+22.4%	+23.9%	SPTS (slight)	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+1.4%	+1.4%	SPTS (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−5.8%	−4.1%	SPTS	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	3.6%	2.6%	SPTS	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	2.5%	1.8%	SPTS	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−14.1%	−5.8%	SPTS	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.09	−0.09	IEI (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.12	−0.14	IEI	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.10	0.25	SPTS	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 776 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IEI and SPTS hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IEI SPTS

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 SPTS

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jan 31, 2028 1.82%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 30, 2029 1.42%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Dec 31, 2027 1.37%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 30, 2027 1.37%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2029 1.37%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 29, 2028 1.36%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 30, 2029 1.36%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Mar 31, 2029 1.30%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IEI iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF SPTS State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Treasury ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks an index of 3-7 Year Treasury Bond Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year −1.1% +1.7%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured −1.4% (AGG)

Gap to its benchmark not measured +3.1 pts vs AGG

Expense ratio 0.15% 0.03%

Holdings 82 96

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $17.0bn $7.3bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-4E2B1E6773

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

What each follows. IEI follows ICE U.S. Treasury 3-7 Year Bond Index and SPTS follows Bloomberg 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index.
Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IEI returned −1.1% and SPTS +1.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.8 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.

SPTS

SPTS tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.7% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IEI or SPTS?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEI returned −1.1% and SPTS +1.7%.
Which is cheaper, IEI or SPTS?: SPTS is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

IEI vs SCHO IEI vs SHY IBTJ vs IEI IBTI vs IEI SPTS vs VGSH IBTI vs SPTS IBTJ vs SPTS SCHO vs SPTS

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IEI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IEI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEI ↗

SPTS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SPTS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

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 SPTS, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iei-vs-spts

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