Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
LQD vs PULS: Differences, Returns & Fees
LQD's duration was 7.7 years on Aug 31, 2026 and PULS's 0.7 on May 29, 2026; LQD charges 0.14% to PULS's 0.15%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $30.6bn for iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF and $19.8bn for PGIM Ultra Short Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
LQD costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.4 points; LQD is 1.5 times larger.
| Measure | LQD | PULS |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −3.4% | +4.0% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 6.3%, high on Sep 22, 2021 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.14% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $30.6bn | $19.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 29, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Apr 20, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026 · 444 weekly returnsPULS returned more: +32.2% to +22.5%. PULS swung less: 1.9% to 10.8%. PULS fell less at its worst: −5.9% to −24.7%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | LQD | PULS | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +22.5% | +32.2% | PULS | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +2.4% | +3.3% | PULS | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −10.1% | −0.9% | PULS | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 10.8% | 1.9% | PULS | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 7.6% | 1.6% | PULS | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −24.7% | −5.9% | PULS | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.02 | 0.27 | PULS | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.02 | 0.32 | PULS | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.10 | 0.57 | PULS | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 444 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, LQD and PULS hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 29, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
LQD and PULS on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
LQD and PULS do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. LQD follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index and PULS follows No index, actively managed.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and May 29, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 LQD returned −3.4% and PULS +4.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 7.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
PULS
PULS is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, LQD or PULS?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, LQD returned −3.4% and PULS +4.0%.
- Which is cheaper, LQD or PULS?
- 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.
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.
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ETFIQ, LQD against PULS, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/lqd-vs-puls
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). LQD against PULS. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/lqd-vs-puls
[LQD against PULS (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/lqd-vs-puls)
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