Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
LQD vs VOX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, LQD returned −3.4% to VOX's −5.7%; 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 $6.0bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Communication Services ETF.
Pair scorecard
VOX costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.3 points; LQD is 4.7 times larger.
| Measure | LQD | VOX |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −3.4% | −5.7% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 6.3%, high on Sep 22, 2021 | 10.8%, high on Jan 29, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Communication Services 25/50 |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.14% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $28.3bn | $6.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 84% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 71.1% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 8, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,150 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: LQD against IUSB, Jun 20, 2014 to Oct 23, 2026; VOX against FCOM, Nov 1, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.
VOX returned more: +478.6% to +127.3%. LQD swung less: 8.5% to 19.7%. LQD fell less at its worst: −24.7% to −54.8%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | LQD | VOX | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +127.3% | +478.6% | VOX | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +3.8% | +8.3% | VOX | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −7.1% | +252.8% | VOX | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 8.5% | 19.7% | LQD | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 6.1% | 13.6% | LQD | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −24.7% | −54.8% | LQD | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 157.4% | 93.0% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 143.3% | 99.4% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.70 | 0.98 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.84 | 0.97 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.26 | 0.41 | VOX | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.37 | 0.59 | VOX | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.005 | 0.078 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.15 | 0.15 | Tie | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | IUSB | FCOM | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.7% a year | −1.9% a year | LQD not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.64 | −2.16 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −1.4% to +2.8% | −3.6% to −0.2% | LQD includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.14 | −0.67 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 5.2% | 3.1% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,150 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, LQD and VOX hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
LQD and VOX on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
LQD and VOX do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. LQD follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index and VOX follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Communication Services 25/50.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 LQD returned −3.4% and VOX −5.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.3 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.
VOX
VOX tracks an index of Communication Services. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −5.7% with distributions reinvested, against −5.9% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Communication Services 25/50. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 84% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 113 positions, with the top ten at 71.1%. It sat 10.8% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, LQD or VOX?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, LQD returned −3.4% and VOX −5.7%.
- Which is cheaper, LQD or VOX?
- VOX is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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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 VOX, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/lqd-vs-vox
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). LQD against VOX. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/lqd-vs-vox
[LQD against VOX (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/lqd-vs-vox)
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