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

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, LQD returned −2.7% and QUAL returned +16.0%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, LQD or QUAL?

LQD charges 0.14% a year and QUAL charges 0.15%, so LQD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

LQD vs QUAL: how they differ

LQD and QUAL hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and QUAL returned more over the year.

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF and iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, LQD and QUAL hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in LQD	Only in QUAL
BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY 0.88%	MICROSOFT 7.67%
ANHEUSER-BUSCH COMPANIES LLC 0.12%	APPLE 7.10%
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM INTERNATIONAL FIN 0.11%	NVIDIA 6.44%
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS OPERATING L 144A 0.10%	META PLATFORMS CLASS A 4.32%
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO MTN 0.09%	ELI LILLY 3.62%
BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLC 0.08%	LAM RESEARCH 3.59%
MORGAN STANLEY (FXD-FRN) MTN 0.08%	TJX 3.23%
CITIGROUP INC (FX-FRN) 0.07%	VISA CLASS A 3.21%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 10, 2026.

LQD and QUAL on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	LQD iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF	QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	iShares
What it is	US investment grade bonds	MSCI USA Quality Factor
Total return, 1 year	−2.7%	+16.0%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−20.2 pts	−1.5 pts
Expense ratio	0.14%	0.15%
Holdings	3149	121

LQD in plain words

LQD is a bond fund tracking the US investment grade bonds. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned −2.7% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.14% a year. It sat 6.4% below its high of Sep 22, 2021 on Sep 11, 2026.

QUAL in plain words

QUAL is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +16.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 121 positions, with the top ten at 44.4%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, LQD or QUAL?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, LQD returned −2.7% and QUAL returned +16.0%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, LQD or QUAL?: LQD charges 0.14% a year and QUAL charges 0.15%, so LQD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

LQD against QUAL, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, LQD against QUAL, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/lqd-vs-qual Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources