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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, LQD returned −3.4% and VCLT −5.9%.

Which is cheaper, LQD or VCLT?

VCLT is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

LQD vs VCLT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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LQD's duration was 7.7 years on Aug 31, 2026 and VCLT's 12.0 on May 31, 2026; VCLT charges 0.03% to LQD's 0.14%.

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Net assets: $30.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, and $7.5bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF.

LQD on its own →VCLT on its own →

At a glance

−3.4%

LQD total return, 1 year

−5.9%

VCLT total return, 1 year

0.14%

LQD expense ratio

0.03%

VCLT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VCLT costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.5 points; LQD is 3.8 times larger.

LQD vs VCLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	LQD	VCLT
Return
Measure	LQD	VCLT
Total return, 1 year	−3.4%	−5.9%
Drawdown
Measure	LQD	VCLT
Below its high	6.3%, high on Sep 22, 2021	17.8%, high on Sep 22, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	LQD	VCLT
What it tracks	Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index	Bloomberg U.S. 10+ Year Corporate Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	LQD	VCLT
Expense ratio	0.14%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$28.3bn	$7.5bn
Holdings
Measure	LQD	VCLT
Holdings in common	30%

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

Risk and return

Dec 4, 2009 to Oct 23, 2026 · 881 weekly returns

LQD VCLT

Return

Total return edge VCLT +83.2% +101.2%

Annualized edge VCLT +3.6% +4.2%

Price return edge LQD −1.9% −6.3%

Risk

Volatility edge LQD 8.5% 12.5%

Max drawdown edge LQD −24.7% −34.0%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge LQD (slight) 0.28 0.27

Sortino edge LQD (slight) 0.40 0.39

Calmar edge LQD 0.15 0.12

Reading

VCLT returned more: +101.2% to +83.2%. LQD swung less: 8.5% to 12.5%. LQD fell less at its worst: −24.7% to −34.0%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: LQD vs VCLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	LQD	VCLT	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+83.2%	+101.2%	VCLT	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+3.6%	+4.2%	VCLT	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−1.9%	−6.3%	LQD	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	8.5%	12.5%	LQD	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	6.0%	8.7%	LQD	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−24.7%	−34.0%	LQD	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.28	0.27	LQD (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.40	0.39	LQD (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.15	0.12	LQD	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 881 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

30%

By the books each fund has filed, LQD and VCLT hold 30% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

30% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first LQD VCLT

Anheuser-Busch Cos LLC / Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc, due Feb 1, 2046 0.18% 0.37%

CVS Health Corp, due Mar 25, 2048 0.17% 0.33%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc/The, due Oct 1, 2037 0.14% 0.21%

Pfizer Investment Enterprises Pte Ltd, due May 19, 2053 0.14% 0.27%

Meta Platforms Inc, due May 15, 2056 0.14% 0.16%

Boeing Co/The, due May 1, 2050 0.14% 0.27%

Meta Platforms Inc, due Nov 15, 2055 0.13% 0.28%

Amazon.com Inc, due Mar 13, 2056 0.13% 0.26%

Wells Fargo & Co, due Apr 4, 2051 0.12% 0.14%

AT&T Inc, due Sep 15, 2053 0.11% 0.23%

AT&T Inc, due Sep 15, 2055 0.11% 0.23%

Oracle Corp, due Feb 4, 2056 0.11% 0.24%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in LQD

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%

Space Exploration Technologies Corp, due Jul 15, 2033 0.14%

Meta Platforms Inc, due May 15, 2036 0.14%

Only in VCLT

US TREASURY N/B, due May 15, 2046 0.13%

AMERICA MOVIL SA, due Mar 30, 2040 0.12%

SHELL FINANCE US, due Dec 15, 2038 0.12%

US TREASURY N/B, due May 15, 2036 0.11%

HONEYWELL AEROSP, due Mar 16, 2056 0.11%

SUMITOMO MITSUI, due Jul 8, 2046 0.10%

VALE OVERSEAS, due Jun 28, 2054 0.09%

CHENIERE CORP CH, due Dec 31, 2039 0.09%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

LQD iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF VCLT Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Tracks an index of US investment grade bonds Tracks an index of Long-Term Corporate Bond

Total return, 1 year −3.4% −5.9%

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

Gap to its benchmark −2.2 pts vs IUSB not measured

Expense ratio 0.14% 0.03%

Holdings 3191 2562

Net assets, LQD as of Oct 27, 2026 and VCLT as of Sep 30, 2026 $30.6bn $7.5bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-D27CB0E9E5

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

What each follows. LQD follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index and VCLT follows Bloomberg U.S. 10+ Year Corporate Bond Index.
Holdings in common. 30% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and May 31, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 LQD returned −3.4% and VCLT −5.9% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.5 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

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.

VCLT

VCLT tracks an index of Long-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −5.9% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 17.8% below its high of Sep 22, 2021 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, LQD or VCLT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, LQD returned −3.4% and VCLT −5.9%.
Which is cheaper, LQD or VCLT?: VCLT is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs LQD BND vs LQD BOND vs LQD LQD vs SPSB VCIT vs VCLT IGIB vs VCLT VCLT vs VTIP BIL vs VCLT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

LQD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

LQD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for LQD ↗

VCLT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VCLT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VCLT ↗

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

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