Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
LQD vs VTEB: Differences, Returns & Fees
LQD's duration was 7.7 years on Aug 31, 2026 and VTEB's 7.1 on Jul 31, 2026; VTEB charges 0.03% to LQD's 0.14%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about LQD and VTEB
Net assets: $30.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, and $49.6bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTEB costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.0 points; VTEB is 1.8 times larger.
| Measure | LQD | VTEB |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −3.4% | −0.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 6.3%, high on Sep 22, 2021 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index | S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.14% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $28.3bn | $49.6bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Sep 4, 2015 to Oct 23, 2026 · 581 weekly returnsLQD returned more: +32.5% to +26.3%. VTEB swung less: 6.7% to 9.7%. VTEB fell less at its worst: −14.8% to −24.7%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | LQD | VTEB | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +32.5% | +26.3% | LQD | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +2.6% | +2.1% | LQD | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −10.5% | −2.9% | VTEB | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 9.7% | 6.7% | VTEB | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 6.8% | 4.6% | VTEB | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −24.7% | −14.8% | VTEB | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.07 | 0.00 | LQD | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.10 | 0.01 | LQD | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.10 | 0.14 | VTEB | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 581 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, LQD and VTEB hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
LQD and VTEB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
LQD and VTEB do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. LQD follows Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index and VTEB follows S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 LQD returned −3.4% and VTEB −0.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.0 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
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.
VTEB
VTEB tracks an index of Tax-Exempt Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −0.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, LQD or VTEB?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, LQD returned −3.4% and VTEB −0.4%.
- Which is cheaper, LQD or VTEB?
- VTEB 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.
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 VTEB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/lqd-vs-vteb
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). LQD against VTEB. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/lqd-vs-vteb
[LQD against VTEB (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/lqd-vs-vteb)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.