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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +13.1% and TLT −7.9%.

Which is cheaper, QUAL or TLT?

Neither: QUAL and TLT both charge 0.15% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

QUAL vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QUAL returned +13.1% to TLT's −7.9%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $48.2bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF, and $47.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF.

QUAL on its own →TLT on its own →

At a glance

+13.1%

QUAL total return, 1 year

−7.9%

TLT total return, 1 year

0.15%

QUAL expense ratio

0.15%

TLT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.15% a year; their one-year returns differ by 21.0 points.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

QUAL vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	QUAL	TLT
Return
Measure	QUAL	TLT
Total return, 1 year	+13.1%	−7.9%
Drawdown
Measure	QUAL	TLT
Below its high		42.6%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	QUAL	TLT
What it tracks	MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index	ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	QUAL	TLT
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026	$48.3bn	$47.8bn
Holdings
Measure	QUAL	TLT
Holdings in common	0%
In the S&P 500, by weight	97%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	44.5%

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

What they share

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

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first QUAL TLT

Only in one fund ↓

Only in QUAL

MICROSOFT 8.09%

APPLE 7.38%

NVIDIA 6.28%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 4.06%

ELI LILLY 4.04%

TJX 3.50%

VISA CLASS A 3.44%

LAM RESEARCH 2.84%

Only in TLT

TREASURY BOND 4.32%

TREASURY BOND 4.12%

TREASURY BOND (OLD) 4.07%

TREASURY BOND 4.02%

TREASURY BOND 3.93%

TREASURY BOND 3.92%

TREASURY BOND 3.89%

TREASURY BOND 3.88%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor Tracks an index of 20+ year Treasuries

Total return, 1 year +13.1% −7.9%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.6% (MLRG) −7.8% (BBLB)

Gap to its benchmark −0.5 pts vs MLRG −0.1 pts vs BBLB

Expense ratio 0.15% 0.15%

Holdings 119 47

Net assets, QUAL as of Oct 28, 2026 and TLT as of Oct 27, 2026 $48.2bn $47.4bn

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

Alert

About each fund

QUAL

QUAL tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 119 positions, with the top ten at 44.5%.

TLT

TLT tracks an index of 20+ year Treasuries. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −7.9% with distributions reinvested, against −7.8% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index. It sat 42.6% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or TLT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +13.1% and TLT −7.9%.
Which is cheaper, QUAL or TLT?: Neither: QUAL and TLT both charge 0.15% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

EDV vs QUAL QUAL vs VGLT QUAL vs VGIT QUAL vs VCIT CGGR vs TLT RDVY vs TLT TLT vs VIG AVUS vs TLT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

QUAL and TLT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QUAL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for QUAL ↗

TLT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for TLT ↗

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, QUAL against TLT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qual-vs-tlt

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