Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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LQD vs VOO: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, LQD returned −3.4% to VOO's +13.7%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $30.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, and $1.0tn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.

At a glance
−3.4%
LQD total return, 1 year
+13.7%
VOO total return, 1 year
0.14%
LQD expense ratio
0.03%
VOO expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VOO costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 17.1 points; VOO is far larger, $1.0tn against $28.3bn.

LQD vs VOO: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureLQDVOO
Return
Total return, 1 year−3.4%+13.7%
Drawdown
Below its high6.3%, high on Sep 22, 2021
Benchmark
What it tracksMarkit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade IndexS&P 500 Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.14%0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026$28.3bn$1.0tn
Holdings
Holdings in common0%
In the S&P 500, by weight100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund39.1%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Sep 17, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026 · 840 weekly returns
LQD VOO
Return
Total return edge VOO +67.7% +804.0%
Annualized edge VOO +3.3% +14.6%
Price return edge VOO −6.7% +575.9%
Risk
Volatility edge LQD 8.7% 15.9%
Max drawdown edge LQD −24.7% −31.8%
Downside capture 143.3% 99.9%
Beta 1.70 1.00
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge VOO 0.23 0.84
Sortino edge VOO 0.32 1.22
Treynor 0.005 0.134
Calmar edge VOO 0.13 0.46
Against the benchmark
Alpha +0.7% a year 0.0% a year
Alpha t-stat 0.64 0.51
Information ratio 0.14 0.02
Tracking error 5.2% 0.4%

Each against its own benchmark: LQD against IUSB, Jun 20, 2014 to Oct 23, 2026; VOO against IVV, Sep 17, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

VOO returned more: +804.0% to +67.7%. LQD swung less: 8.7% to 15.9%. LQD fell less at its worst: −24.7% to −31.8%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: LQD vs VOO: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureLQDVOOEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+67.7%+804.0%VOOPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+3.3%+14.6%VOOTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return−6.7%+575.9%VOOPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility8.7%15.9%LQDSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation6.1%10.9%LQDLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−24.7%−31.8%LQDDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture157.4%99.8%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture143.3%99.9%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta1.701.00Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.841.00Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.230.84VOOReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.321.22VOOReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.0050.134Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.130.46VOOAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkIUSBIVVThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha+0.7% a year0.0% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat0.640.51Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−1.4% to +2.8%−0.1% to +0.2%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio0.140.02Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error5.2%0.4%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 840 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, LQD and VOO hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first LQD VOO
Only in one fund ↓
Only in LQD
ANHEUSER-BUSCH COMPANIES LLC 0.20%
CVS HEALTH CORP 0.17%
SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 144A 0.16%
T-MOBILE USA INC 0.16%
AMAZON.COM INC 0.14%
BOEING CO 0.14%
CITIGROUP INC 0.14%
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 0.14%
Only in VOO
NVIDIA Corp 8.40%
Apple Inc 7.39%
Microsoft Corp 5.79%
Amazon.com Inc 3.72%
Alphabet Inc 3.07%
Broadcom Inc 2.54%
Alphabet Inc 2.46%
Meta Platforms Inc 2.43%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

LQD iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks an index of US investment grade bonds Tracks the S&P 500
Total return, 1 year −3.4% +13.7%
Its benchmark over the same days −1.2% (IUSB) +13.7% (IVV)
Gap to its benchmark −2.2 pts vs IUSB 0.0 pts vs IVV
Expense ratio 0.14% 0.03%
Holdings 3191 507
Net assets, LQD as of Oct 27, 2026 and VOO as of Sep 30, 2026 $30.6bn $1.0tn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-13F931FB71

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

  1. What each follows. LQD follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index and VOO follows S&P 500 Index.
  2. Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
  3. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 LQD returned −3.4% and VOO +13.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 17.1 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.

VOO

VOO tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 507 positions, with the top ten at 39.1%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, LQD or VOO?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, LQD returned −3.4% and VOO +13.7%.
Which is cheaper, LQD or VOO?
VOO 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.
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ETFIQ, LQD against VOO, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/lqd-vs-voo

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